book reviews, articles of interest, and other random things
3/05/2007
How Much Does God Foreknow? - review
The book lives up to it's subtitle, "a comprehensive biblical study." Steven Roy takes on the task of investigating and ultimately refuting the claim that God does not know the future (a claim made by a theological movement called Open Theism). By looking at passage after passage, Roy affirms God's complete and total knowledge of the future.
This is a thick read. While I enjoy Roy's style, he is careful and thorough as he builds his case. There is considerable time investigating the pertinent passages, working with various issues such as language use and logical consistency, and tying a particular passage to the broader corpus of Scripture. Even though this book was a good read, it will be a reference as I encounter these passages and thoughts concerning God and his ability to know the future.
A couple of points of particular interest to me:
1) Roy represents the Open Theist position well. He didn't simply set up a straw man or result to ad hominem attacks; he gives full voice to the force of their arguments. While Roy sees this as a serious issue, he uses a tone of respect when he addresses the issues within Open Theism.
2) Roy is a pastor as well as a professor. He gives great insights into areas of worship, prayer, God's guidance, suffering, and hope in the return of Christ. He shows how if God did not know the future, then all of these areas are greatly affected.
I'm a Steve Roy fan; so there you go. He lays out his case with clarity and brings the implications to bear on our lives.
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