Free will theism and openness theology are other names for open theism. In the event that [God] is all-knowing, all-powerful, and why do horrible things happen? Many people are curious about the answer to this issue since it would appear that an all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving God would be willing and able to stop negative things from happening in our lives, yet He doesn’t seem to do so. Why not? Over the years, numerous responses have been provided. Some are more biblical and do an excellent job of considering everything that is written in Scripture. However, some responses, though they try to offer a satisfactory response, do not maintain the Bible. The theory known as “Open Theism” offers one such response to this query.
Open Theism says God is not all knowing
The theory known as “Open Theism” holds that although God is all-knowing and all-powerful, he is not all-knowing. In other words, there is much that God does not know about the future. God’s and our futures are therefore “open.” In summary, God can and will assist us whenever needed, but He is unable to stop all negative things from happening because His knowledge of the future may not be any more than ours.
Open Theism fails to uphold God’s sovereignty
Although this theory deserves praise for its attempts to uphold God’s kindness, might, and compassion toward humans, it falls short in defending God’s integrity, sovereignty, ability to save, and the certainty of Christian hope. The future events that the Bible foretells, predicts, and reveals include our salvation, the ultimate judgment, the Second Coming of Christ, the ultimate victory over evil and death, our physical resurrection, and the creation of the new earth and heavens. What hope do we have, though, if God does not foresee the future and the events that the Bible so confidently prophesies are just God’s “wish list” of things He would want to accomplish rather than facts?
Hang on to the teaching of Scripture
As it is, while it will always be difficult to understand how God can be all-powerful, all-loving, and all-knowing yet bad things still happen, we can hang on to the teaching of Scripture that God does know the future, and has planned good and certain things for those who trust Him. Because of His great mercy, He has “caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3) and in “him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). We may not understand all of God’s ways because of our limited human capacity, but the Bible assures us that He is good and we can trust Him. His Word never fails (Isaiah 55:10-11).
