How to respond to classical theists who dodge Open Theism arguments

Unsettler

Member
To me it seems transparently dishonest. They know the Open Theist has a strong point, so instead of considering it and *gasp* possibly repenting of their classical theism, they essentially appeal to ignorance and avoid conceding a point.

Any advice in how to respond to such cases is greatly appreciated.
 

JudgeRightly

裁判官が正しく判断する
Staff member
Administrator
Super Moderator
Gold Subscriber
I've met Chris personally. He's a pretty cool dude, knows his theology well.
 

Unsettler

Member
I've met Chris personally. He's a pretty cool dude, knows his theology well.
I love watching Chris Fisher debate, and I would love to meet him someday if he is ever vacationing down in Florida (where I live). My favorite debate (that I have seen so far) was when Chris and Will teamed up against a couple of Arminians.
 

Clete

Truth Smacker
Silver Subscriber
To me it seems transparently dishonest. They know the Open Theist has a strong point, so instead of considering it and *gasp* possibly repenting of their classical theism, they essentially appeal to ignorance and avoid conceding a point.

Any advice in how to respond to such cases is greatly appreciated.
My advice is to go in knowing that you're not going to get them to move an inch off their doctrine no matter what you say or how you say it.
 

Nick M

Black Rifles Matter
LIFETIME MEMBER
Hall of Fame
Frank Turek, who does not rightly divide the word of truth, even sees it. He asks "If it were true, would you change your mind?" And the answer is usually "No" because they already know it is true and are arguing from a false position. They are trying to pull people from the faith. And when they might not know or unsure, they don't want it to be true. I saw this on TOL 10 years ago.
 

Clete

Truth Smacker
Silver Subscriber
Frank Turek, who does not rightly divide the word of truth, even sees it. He asks "If it were true, would you change your mind?" And the answer is usually "No" because they already know it is true and are arguing from a false position. They are trying to pull people from the faith. And when they might not know or unsure, they don't want it to be true. I saw this on TOL 10 years ago.
There is a strong human instinct against standing apart from the crowd. People want to feel like they're normal and that they belong to the "in" crowd. If it isn't an innate instinct, it for sure is drilled into every child's head when they attend almost any school in the civilized world, including most private schools and most especially both public and private Christian schools. Public schools are antithetical to independent thinkers for political reasons while Christian schools are so for religious reasons (i.e. Calvinist, Lutheran, Catholic or whatever flavor of school it is will want you to toe their particular doctrinal line).

Open Theism is still in the stage where it is relatively rare and so it is easy to dismiss as a fringe doctrine just as Luther's doctrine was during the 17th century.
 
Last edited:
Top