Open Theism

Does God have complete control over everything related to his creation, or are the evils of this world our own doing? When disaster strikes, the easy reaction is to blame God. We ask “Why would God allow this to happen?” or “Why is God doing this to me” What portion of our hardship is God really responsible for? This week’s assignment asks us to determine if the Open Theist view that God neither causes tragedy or allows it is more helpful than the doctrine of election which contends that god is in complete control.
For the most part I do not find myself in agreement with Open Theism which contends that “God does not know what we will freely do in the future” (Rissler, n.d.). While I do agree with some thoughts behind the movement, as a whole it diminishes God’s sovereignty all in an attempt to explain that we still have free will in life. Their belief is if God knows what is going to happen, we cannot change it and therefore do not truly have free will. To solve this, they believe that God doesn’t know what choices we will make, but He will eventually be victorious regardless of our choices. The doctrine of Election believes that God knows and controls all that happens …show more content…
He is not caught off guard by the happenings of men or this world. I do believe that he gives men free will to create their own choices, because of this man fell from His grace and were cast out of the garden. With our original sin came much of the pain and hardship faced today. I do believe that God does have control of situations in our lives, but does not always directly cause them. A good Biblical example of this happening is the story of Job. In Job chapter 1 we see God and Satan converse, God allows Satan to test his servant Job, and because of this Job faces many tragedies and trials. While God did allow for Job to be tested, it was not his hand that caused it, He did however use it to the completion of His