End of Duffy vs. Borns Debate; Six Misconceptions
Today Bob wraps up his commentary on the debate between Will Duffy and CJ Borns, "Is Open Theism Biblical?" Hear on today's show Duffy's closing statement which was one of the greatest closing statements in the history of debate. Then Bob goes through the six main misconceptions about time (which can be found at kgov.com/time).
Misconception 6: Unchanging omniscience could tell time: Unchanging omniscience is a contradiction. Some knowledge cannot be held statically, including something as simple as the current date and time. Even if such a deity knew Earth's entire history moment by moment, He would have no way of knowing what time it is right now to us creatures, including what day it is, the month and year. The concept of divine static knowledge is defective. One can know the script of a stage show, but to know at what point the cast is at in a performance requires a different kind of knowledge that cannot even theoretically be held statically. It is a trivial matter for created human beings to know which act and scene a performance is at in a play, or what is the date. The absurdity though of atemporality is demonstrated in that such trivial information is unattainable for an unchanging omniscience. This realization enables theologians to build a list of things that our dynamic and free God can know but that an unchanging deity could never know. For example, if the classical description of God held by Calvinists and Arminians were true, that He has unchanging knowledge, here is a tiny list of the almost infinite things that such a God could not know:
- How many hairs are on your head (right now, that is).
- What time it is. What day it is. What month it is.
- What year it is. What century it is. Whether it's AD or BC.
- How long has it been since creation and since the flood.
- How long has it been since the cross (or maybe the cross is yet future).
- How long until the Second Coming.
- How many people are in your family.
- How many people have died and how many are still living on Earth.
- How many miles on your car and how full your gas tank is.
- Etc. (i.e., add a billion things unknowable to immutable knowledge).
Today's Resource: Predestination & Free Will Seminar
So much is at stake when people consider predestination and free will. Strong emotions often surface with a discussion of this topic. That passion points to our critical need to understand the truth regarding whether or not God has predetermined who will go to heaven and who will go to hell.
Also, the question of whether or not God has planned out each person’s life affects us. Does God have a plan for your life? Does a blueprint exist for your future? Did God predetermine whether or not you would get married, and to whom? Did God plan whether you would be wealthy or poor, happy or sad? If God does plan your life, does He do so in minute detail or in general themes? If God has a plan for your life, are you able to alter that plan? This topic directly influences people concerning how they live their lives. As Christians, we must seek God to accurately portray the LORD to others. For any misrepresentation of God will dishonor Him and perhaps bring harm to those misled.
You can now order the seminar video in a 3-DVD set or MP4 video download.
Today Bob wraps up his commentary on the debate between Will Duffy and CJ Borns, "Is Open Theism Biblical?" Hear on today's show Duffy's closing statement which was one of the greatest closing statements in the history of debate. Then Bob goes through the six main misconceptions about time (which can be found at kgov.com/time).
Misconception 6: Unchanging omniscience could tell time: Unchanging omniscience is a contradiction. Some knowledge cannot be held statically, including something as simple as the current date and time. Even if such a deity knew Earth's entire history moment by moment, He would have no way of knowing what time it is right now to us creatures, including what day it is, the month and year. The concept of divine static knowledge is defective. One can know the script of a stage show, but to know at what point the cast is at in a performance requires a different kind of knowledge that cannot even theoretically be held statically. It is a trivial matter for created human beings to know which act and scene a performance is at in a play, or what is the date. The absurdity though of atemporality is demonstrated in that such trivial information is unattainable for an unchanging omniscience. This realization enables theologians to build a list of things that our dynamic and free God can know but that an unchanging deity could never know. For example, if the classical description of God held by Calvinists and Arminians were true, that He has unchanging knowledge, here is a tiny list of the almost infinite things that such a God could not know:
- How many hairs are on your head (right now, that is).
- What time it is. What day it is. What month it is.
- What year it is. What century it is. Whether it's AD or BC.
- How long has it been since creation and since the flood.
- How long has it been since the cross (or maybe the cross is yet future).
- How long until the Second Coming.
- How many people are in your family.
- How many people have died and how many are still living on Earth.
- How many miles on your car and how full your gas tank is.
- Etc. (i.e., add a billion things unknowable to immutable knowledge).
Today's Resource: Predestination & Free Will Seminar
So much is at stake when people consider predestination and free will. Strong emotions often surface with a discussion of this topic. That passion points to our critical need to understand the truth regarding whether or not God has predetermined who will go to heaven and who will go to hell.Also, the question of whether or not God has planned out each person’s life affects us. Does God have a plan for your life? Does a blueprint exist for your future? Did God predetermine whether or not you would get married, and to whom? Did God plan whether you would be wealthy or poor, happy or sad? If God does plan your life, does He do so in minute detail or in general themes? If God has a plan for your life, are you able to alter that plan? This topic directly influences people concerning how they live their lives. As Christians, we must seek God to accurately portray the LORD to others. For any misrepresentation of God will dishonor Him and perhaps bring harm to those misled.
You can now order the seminar video in a 3-DVD set or MP4 video download.