Considering Different Opinions- A Primer to Open Theism
Open theism posits that God is limited in knowledge of the future, particularly when it comes to human free will. This means that God does not have a predetermined plan for every event and can be influenced by our prayers and actions. This begs the question then, what do we talk about when we talk about God? If you have been following my stuff for a while, the notion of Jesus’s God vs. a God that we made up around Jesus appears often in my work. Examples of this are the God that you find in original sin and the God you find in Penal Substitutionary Atonement, both are ideas not believed in by the historical Jesus.
For the Jews of Jesus’ time, they were not concerned with proving God’s existence or categorically defining God’s nature. The bible lays out many examples of what or who God was and many of these are contradictory. One can simply look to the book of Psalms and see the dizzying forms that God takes. Sometimes God is merciful, sometimes God is wrathful. Jesus famously calls God Abba. There was no consistency. What is consistent is God’s capacity for creativity and God’s oneness.
Consider this thought from my Jewish Learning: “The Rabbis do not try to define God, and they continue to describe God in multiple, human terms. However, some differences do emerge. In rabbinic literature, God is a bit more removed from humankind. God no longer communicates with humans through prophets and is no longer considered an active religious legislator (the rabbinic sages occupy this role). In a famous talmudic dispute, a group of rabbis rule in favor of a majority opinion that directly contradicts a heavenly voice. The passage concludes that, “the Torah is not in heaven.” God, it seems, is not the final arbiter of religious law.”
The problem here is that open theism is not a traditional Jewish belief. Here, we cannot go with the religion of Jesus. The Jewish people are monotheists, and God is understood to be all powerful, all knowing and all present. While Judaism acknowledges human free will, it also affirms God’s ultimate control over the universe. This tension has been a subject of theological debate throughout Jewish history.
So, what do we do with this idea of open theism? While the notion of open theism is not a Jewish concept, I do think Jesus points us in the direction of a God who is caring and loving when Jesus proclaims God as Abba. To compound the problem, open theism does not have any ground in early Christianity either.
Instead, Open Theism and its newer sibling Open and Relational theology are options to see God in a different light. As a clinician who works with authoritative parenting models, I see both of these approaches as the authoritative approach to the theology of God.
What is Petitionary Prayer?
A common prayer style for many Christians is petitionary prayer. Simply speaking, petitionary prayer is one asking for something such as an intercession or a healing from a divine being. In traditional monotheistic believe, God is assumed to know everything that an be known, is perfectly good, impassable and immutable and free.
Can Open Theism and Petitionary Prayer Coexist?
We arrive then at an impasse, petitionary prayer and an open theist view of God cannot co-exist … or can they? When we consider open theism as discussed above, God cannot know those parts of the future that are yet to be determined, such as the future free actions of human beings, either because there are no truths to be known yet or because there is no way for anyone, including God, to know them. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy posits that this view does not mean that God “not omniscient, because God still knows everything that can be known (and that is what it means to be omniscient, according to open theists).”
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy also suggests something called the Middle Knowledge by Thomas Flint. “Here, this holds that God knows the future in all of its detail as a result of knowing both (1) what everyone and everything would do in any possible situation and (2) which situations everyone and everything will be placed in.” Here, God knows all the future in detail, but what God knows about the future is depended on what the humans choose. Here, there the idea leans heavily on free will. God may know what you will do in the future, however, because of free will, what you do is up to you.
Let’s consider these two ideas of how the two can coexist:
God as a Partner: Open theists often view God as a partner in creation, working with humanity to bring about good. Prayers can be seen as ways to express our desires and needs to God, who then responds in ways that align with God’s ultimate purposes. I believe God’s ultimate purpose is the be the presence of love in our lives. Prayer is the vehicle in which we attune ourselves to this love.
Influencing God’s Decisions: If God is limited in God’s knowledge of the future, then our prayers can potentially influence God’s decisions and actions. This doesn’t mean that God is powerless or that our prayers are always answered in the way we desire, but it does suggest that our prayers can make a difference. I see this much like how my children an I have come to the ability to converse our needs and hear each other. Sometimes my children ask me for things or present a need and either asking, or the presence the offer cause me to lean into their asking.
Finally, from the context of process theology, which can parallel Open Theism, prayer is seen as a dialogue where both parties—human and Divine—are influenced. Your prayers matter deeply, they can be seen as contributions to a Divine-human collaboration, each petition shaping possibilities and inspiring new pathways for both personal and collective well-being. As I noted on the section on open theism, Jesus calls God Abba, and I see open theism as the authoritative, collaborative relationship with God. Just as my kids come to me for advice and have at times begged me for help, I like a loving father, embraced them physically and emotionally and gently guided them through the challenges they were facing. As I offered in my post on the Holy Spirit, it is the Holy Spirit of the Trinity that is God’s spiritual energy that moves and breaths through us to comfort us through the hard times.
To Close
To close, as mindful and compassionate seekers, we ought to consider prayer both as communication and co –creation. When we pray, such as petitionary prayers, we are not just expressing a need or conveying gratitude, we are engaging in a co-created dialogue with the divine. I hold that the belief in God is a subjective experience of a transrational being. It makes no sense to anyone but the believer(s). Mystery is a spiritual practice that when embraced, helps us to learn to be comfortable with not knowing. It is the embracing of the isness of a situation and not clinging to an outcome. In our discussion, it is the embracing the nothingness and everythingness of God. It is allowing God’s presence to be a mystery that is at the same time here and not here. God is and always will be, how that is defined has be maintained with the believer. No ologie can fully grasp the presence of God. It is kinda what God told us in the first place at the burning bush.
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