Some more materials

Hi all-

So it's been a while since we had a podcast posted, been a bit busy, and we go over that in the latest episode. Also, I've been posted recordings of my Sunday school class and much to my chagrin, I lost the audio to class three. So, there's been a bit of a layoff but we're back now. 

In the latest episode, we mention some resources that we're using for reference, and here they are. 

First is my paper, which is the subject of the discussion:

https://www.academia.edu/10694798/πᾶς_ὁ_in_John_3_16_as_Proof_of_Particular_Redemption

Here's the James White video on John 3:16:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUVeorKy0HM

Here's the funny but informative "Arminian boot camp" video:

http://youtu.be/OebZJzB7W_c

And the final link is to Gundry's paper on John 3:16 (requires free registration to read)-

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1561476?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Well that should do it. Hope this all is a blessing to you. 

In Him,

Mike Senders

Notes for Sunday School Class: Open Theism

Open Theism

I.               Defining Openness

A.   God does not possess exhaustive foreknowledge

1.     God knows as much as he can know

2.     God knows per quantity

3.     Redefines omniscience

B.    God experiences time as we do

1.     Experiences change

2.     Can be surprised

C.    God experiences emotions as we do

1.     Can change his mind

2.     Denies anthropopathism as an explanation of God’s emotions

II.             History

A.   Classical Arminianism

1.     “Simple foreknowledge”

a)     God looks ahead to see what will take place

b)    God knows concretely the future free actions of moral beings

2.     A Problem

a)     Creatures are free to do a or non-a

b)    God knows the future

                                                                              i.         “Looking ahead” presumes God is subject to time

                                                                             ii.         “The Future” exists apart from God

c)     Logical inconsistency

B.    Process Theology

1.     Liberal, non-evangelical

2.     God is static in classical theism

3.     They say God is dynamic, he is constantly changing

III.           Scripture references

A.   Gen 22:1-19

1.     God gives Abraham a task to see his response

2.     The test is an “actual” test

3.     God doesn’t know what Abraham’s response will be

B.    1 Sam 15:11, 35

1.     Saul commanded to destroy everything

2.     Saul spared the king and some animals

3.     Lord regrets he made Saul king

C.    Gen 6:6

1.     Violence fills the earth, man is evil continually

2.     The Lord regrets making man

3.     The Lord decides to send a flood

D.   Jonah 4:2

1.     Jonah sent to Ninevah to deliver message of repentance

2.     Jonah knew they would, and that God would forgive

3.     Jonah attempted to flee to Tarshish

4.     God sent the fish, Jonah relented, and Ninevah repented

IV.           Theology

A.   Linear temporality

1.     Focus on the economic Trinity

2.     Dismissal of the ontological Trinity

3.     Limitation of Eternality

a)     God experiences time

b)    God’s knowledge is not exhaustive

B.    God is like us

1.     Openness denies Biblical anthropomorphisms

a)     Anthropomorphism- giving human attributes to a non-human

b)    Anthropopathism- giving human emotions to a non-human

c)     In order for God to relate with us, he needs to have “actual” feelings

2.     Passibility

a)     God exhibits, and has, “actual” emotions

b)    Circumstances “actually” affect God

C.    Omniscience

1.     God knows everything he can know

2.     “Quantitative”

3.     No qualitative difference

D.   Counseling

1.     God changes his plans based on changes in time

2.     God can will one thing, and then something different

3.     God can “write a new song”

4.     God is not ultimately responsible for any evil

Orthodox Beliefs

I.               Scripture

A.   Is 40-48

1.     41:21-22

a.     Declaration of the future

b.     Purpose of the past

2.     46:8-11

a.     God has declared the future

b.     God brings it to pass

c.     God has purpose in events

d.     God will do as he has decreed

e.     God does whatever he desires

B.    Ps 139:4

C.    Rom 8:29-30

D.   Gen 22:1-19

a.     Heb 11:19

b.     If God knows all he can know, then he knows what people are thinking- how did he not know Abraham’s resolve?

E.    1Sam 15

a.     1Sam 15:29

b.     1Sam 13:13-14

c.     Gen 49:10

F.    Gen 6:6

G.   Jonah 4:2

II.             Theology

A.   Ontological Trinity

1.     Must be able to discuss God apart from his works

2.     Must be able to discuss God as he is in himself

3.     His knowledge of future events is directly linked to his existence outside of time

B.    Theology Proper

1.     Ex 3:14

a.     “I am who I am”

b.     Self- definitional

c.     Self- reliant

d.     Present

2.     Modalistic Governmentalism

a.     Attributes exist in modes of one another

b.     Certain attributes are communicably subjective

1.     God must be objective

2.     Moral attributes must be objective in particular

c.     Certain attributes must govern the definitions of other attributes

3.     Aseity

a.     Necessary, non-contingent

b.     Self-determining

4.     Infinite

a.     Simple

                                                                              i.         Not comprised of parts

                                                                             ii.         Indivisible

b.     Eternal

1.     Timeless

2.     Not constrained by time

3.     Non-linear temporality

4.     Exists wholly in an indivisible, non-successive, comprehensive present

c.     Love

1.     Objective vs. Subjective

                                                                                       i.         “Dr. Evil” scenario

                                                                                      ii.         Limited vs. Unlimited atonement

d.     Must be governed by holiness, and ultimately aseity

5.     Omniscient

a.     Simple

b.     Indivisible

c.     Eternal

d.     Present

e.     Necessary knowledge

1.     God’s knowledge of what must be

2.     God’s knowledge of himself

f.      Free or contingent knowledge

1.     God’s knowledge of what could be

2.     God’s knowledge of possible and actual

3.     Knows his works as contingent, dependent upon his choices and could be otherwise than it is

Praising God For What Is, Not For What Might Have Been

Hi all,

So I'll be teaching a course on heresies over the next couple of months at my church and our first up is open theism (btw- you can find the recorded classes at our sound cloud account, and I'll eventually be doing screen flows with the notes on YouTube). One of the issues I have with Open Theism is their counselling model, how they deal with grief. From the perspective that God does not know the future, God's will for a person's life can change at the drop of a hat. He can desire one thing one moment, and then in the wake of unforeseen circumstances, have a different desire the next. This creates a God of little hope. What hope can we have in what God will do, if we can't hope in what he hasn't done? I believe not in the God of the simply possible, but the God of purpose. 

A few months back I had a major tragedy in my life- maybe you heard about it, it was covered on national news- my two year old son got hit in the head by a ball at an MLB baseball game. I held him as he threw up half a pint of blood, stood over him as he slept, not knowing what was going on inside his body or if he would ever wake up. Thankfully, he did. And was quite himself to boot the very next day. However, his skull was fractured and he had some internal problems that will be with him from now on. As a dad, it hurts. It hurts to know my son won't ever be the same, and certain hopes for his future may never come to pass. How am I to respond to that in my grieving process? I think that as a Christian, the correct response is to rejoice in our trials (James 1:2), obviously. The real question is how do we do that? I can think of two responses:

Praise the Lord because-

-things could have been worse, but we were spared, or

-what actually happened was intended for his Glory and our benefit. 

One of these is easy to do, and one of these is difficult. As with most things, I think the path that is more difficult runs more true. 

If the answer is to praise the Lord simply because things could have been so much worse, how does that provide thanks or praise for what it was that actually happened? Not to say that this virew is entirely wrong- the Lord is gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in covenant faithfulness- and certainly deserves praise for withholding the full of his wrath from us, for we deserve it. However, it needs a balance. On its own weight or merit, this view provides us with no thanks to God for what it was that actually happened. How does this view actively represent Romans 8:28? How can we rejoice in what actually happened, if our focus is perpetually on what didn't happen? Think about Job's words for a moment:

"Naked I came from my mother’s womb, 

And naked I shall return there. 

The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. 

Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

And,

"Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?"

In none of this does Job ever come close to saying, "hey, at least I still have my life." Look at what Job praises God for- "the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away"- he's praising the Lord for what it was that happened. And again, he speaks of "accept[ing] diversity," not of being thankful for what didn't happen.  

Job's perception of thankfulness and praise is not to dwell on how much worse it could've been- and it couldn't have gotten much worse- but rather, praising him for reality. 

Psychologically, I think praising God merely for what could've been is a means of self protection, a means of ignoring the facts of life in order to not be forced to come to grips with reality. It's a way out. An easy path. A means of coping with life without actually having to deal with it.  J.R.R. Tolkien once asked the question, "Which one of God's punishments are not also a gift?" I think this applies greatly here. For every difficulty in our life, ever closed door, God opens a new one for us.

What happened to my son was tragic. He will have to deal with it more than I ever will. Something so random, and yet,

"The lot is cast into the lap, but their decision is from the Lord (Prov 16:33)." The Lord's hand was in it, and as random as it seemed, it was his intention. For that, I can praise him, because with that comes the knowledge that there is only good purpose in it, "to those who love God and are called according to his purpose."

God bless,

Mike Senders