The Pangea Blog
Today Rachel Evans posted her latest “Ask a…” conversation partner: N.T. Wright. You all probably know that I have several influences in my theological life and that N.T. Wright is at the top of that list. I asked him the following question on Rachel’s post:
Hi Dr. Wright,
First, allow me to admit that your writing and speaking has been the most influential thing in my theological, missional, and spiritual journey in the last 10 years. Before I was introduced to your work, I was convinced that Christianity was all about pie in the sky and leaving this world – not redeeming it. Discovering Romans 8 and a God who groans with creation for its ultimate redemption – [re]new[ed] creation – changes everything! For showing me this – along with various other things about the historical Jesus, the apostle Paul, and theology in general – I am truly grateful.
I do have a question for you: I am wondering if you would be willing to “show your cards” when it comes to open theism? Most of my friends who are open theists, Greg Boyd and others, are very influenced by your work. Certainly, nothing you have said seems to contradict such a God of possibilities. In fact, your reading of Abraham and Israel as God’s “plan B” actually helps give us a framework for thinking about such things. Even so, what would your thoughts be on open theism? I realize that you may not agree with this position of mine, but I would be intrigued to hear some your observations.
Thanks for your continued ministry to the church!
Kurt Willems
I have not hidden the fact that I’m indeed an Open Theist. I came to this conclusion during my graduate studies. I have a series that serves as a bit of an “Intro” to the topic titled: The Binding of God – Genesis 22 as a Test Case for Open Theism in the OT.
I realize that this might be a new idea for some of my readers. With that in mind, another theological influence that is at the top of my list is Greg Boyd. In the following video, Greg gives a short intro to Open Theism.
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