I see some points went--unaddressed.
Lon said:
... foreknowledge is a given in scripture.
It certainly is, proginosko is a perfectly good word, applied to God knowing ahead of time (Rom. 8:29, Rom. 11:2, 1 Pt. 1:2) speaking of salvation, of foreknowing his people Israel, and not just knowing a group, but the people themselves, as similarly here:
Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
Recall also Cyrus:
Isaiah 44:28 ... who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say [note a free choice here] of Jerusalem, "Let it be rebuilt," and of the temple, "Let its foundations be laid."'
Isaiah 45:1 "This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut..."
How could God foreknow these choices too?
How could God know there would even be someone named Cyrus who would be king? What if all the kings and queens chose freely to name their boys Nabinidius or Orvacius?
"Before they call, I will answer"...
God sees our thoughts before we speak.
This is rather sad. This verse is certainly not saying God is quick and nimble. An answer also implies an answer to the prayer, not like an answering of the phone (I say this lest this tack be taken).This verse implies God knows the request, and has planned the answer, and it is both done and ready.
And this verse only means spoken prayers? Then God has time to construct an answer? Surely not...
This proof text cannot be extrapolated as proof of exhaustive definite foreknowledge of future free will contingencies.
Then where are your interpretations in the commentaries? This has all the air of an expedient.
It is also proximal knowledge (near) based on knowable things, not remote knowledge from trillions of years ago ...
Then how about those in Revelation, some of whom will repent, some of whom will not? How can this be proximal knowledge? And saying it's groups--doesn't solve the knot.
Revelation 9:20 The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent ...
Revelation 11:13 and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Revelation 16:9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.
Time is unidirectional. The future is not here yet to know.
This (alas) is not a verse--why do Open Theists inveigh against philosophy as doctrine, and then give us ... their philosophy?
Blessings,
Lee