Does God Have Limitations?
In his book The Future of Open Theism: From Antecedents to Opportunities (IVP Academic 2020), Richard Rice does a myriad of helpful things. He reports on the origins of open theology, describes contemporary debates among open theists, and looks at where open theism might move in the future.
Rice rightly calls openness theology a “paradigm shift” for many who encounter it. This theological perspective can “potentially put a new light on the entire scope of Christian faith.”
While Arminians, Wesleyans, and their ilk make the themes of divine central to theology, open theology adds the element of divine timefulness. God experiences time sequentially — moment by moment — like we do.
This view of God and time helps when considering what God knows about the undetermined future. It portrays God as lovingly giving to and receiving from creation moment by moment.
In this essay, I describe Rice’s helpful book. Most of my essay, however, explores his advice to open theists that they avoid “limit” language when talking about God. I respond to this advice.
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