Good Sir
Knight - you are doing well by me and the minions of freedom from the authentic living and change-able God! Continue in pressing forward and pay little heed to the side to side twisting gyrations, I pray that Hilston's heart is more steady and true than his contrary words sometimes would show.
Hilston - The first entire part of your (show me, I don't know what you mean) post to Knight is dismissible unless you want to honestly claim ignorance over so much foundational Christian thought. You are a cantankerous character.
But, you did say
Y'all chose the term "Open View" and "Open Theism" to describe your theology. I am happy to use it out of respect, where it is due. I do not refer to my view as "the closed view," so I am loath to answer a question put in such misrepresentative terms.
To which I say, it is just a view, it is not an entire theology, nor is it your entire theology, nor is there any other meaningful option either. Either the future is open or closed to future contingency, one or the other. Those are the only two choices. If you want to invent a new choice or create a new name over this issue, then feel free to do so, but don't avoid the question just because of so much semantic hoopla, deal uprightly, you charged Knight, he responded well, and he charged you with the same questioning and so now your too good to answer? Please, try again.
You said
Just stating it doesn't make it so, 1Way. What does He do when He moves and is active?
For starters, what He does not do is what you claim He does, and that is cause sinners to sin. 911 was not the hand of God, it was not part of God's will or His sovereign decree that it should happen. God does do exactly what Knight said He does. As to forgiveness, it is not as you said because not everyone who will be saved in this dispensation is saved yet, so necessarily God has more forgiving to do. Remember, while you are granting our views to be critical of them, you must accurately represent them, not contradict them, your remark about Him being done forgiving contradicts the open view in that God honestly responds to man in reality.
And I echo what Knight said. We are dealing with each other here and now, and so let's open our bible's and discuss these things without interjecting unnecessary problems.
In case you are wondering, Knights comparison with stagnation is with a closed view God that never changes. Stagnation means "a state of inactivity", synonymous ideas, but different words. God is active in the Open View, in the opposing view, God is stagnant, everything is changeless from God.
So which view do you take? Are you more towards Arminian, or Calvinistic? Does God only know the entire future, or does He also purpose or predestine it?
