Edited By Thomas Jay Oord

In this volume openness theologians and biblical scholars including Pinnock, Boyd, and Sanders have chapters.

Edited By William Hasker, Thomas Jay Oord, and Dean Zimmerman

Since its inception, the discussion surrounding Open Theism has been dominated by polemics. On crucial philosophical issues, Openness proponents have largely been devoted to explicating the underlying framework and logical arguments supporting their perspective against competing theological and philosophical perspectives. As a result, very little constructive work has been done on the interconnections between Open Theism and the natural sciences. Given the central place of sciences in today’s world, any perspective that hopes to have a broad impact must necessarily address such disciplines in a sustained and constructive manner. To date such engagements from the Openness perspective have been rare.

God in an Open Universe addresses this deficiency. This book demonstrates that Open Theism makes a distinctive and highly fruitful contribution to the conversation and constructive work occurring between philosophy, theology, and the sciences. The various essays explore subjects ranging from physics to prayer, from special relativity to divine providence, from metaphysics to evolution, and from space-time to God. All who work at the intersection of theology and the sciences will benefit greatly from these essays that break new ground in this important conversation.

By Larry Witham

The God Biographers presents a sweeping narrative of the Western image of God since antiquity, following the theme of how the “old” biography of God has been challenged by a “new” biography in the twenty-first century. The new biography has made its case in free will theism, process thought, evolutionary doctrines, relational theology, and “open theism”—a story of people, ideas, and events that is brought up to the present in this engaging narrative.

Readers will meet the God biographers in the old and new camps. On the one side are Job, Augustine, Boethius, Anselm, Aquinas, and Calvin. On the other side is a group that includes the early Unitarian and Wesleyan thinkers, the process thinkers Alfred North Whitehead, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Charles Hartshorne, and finally a new breed of evangelical philosophers. This story looks closely at the cultural and scientific context of each age and how these shaped the images of God. In the twenty-first century, that image is being shaped by new human experiences and the findings of science. Today, the debate between the old biographers and the new is playing out in the forums of modern theology, courtrooms, and social movements. Larry Witham tells that panoramic story in an engaging narrative for specialists and general readers alike.

By James Beilby

Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views provides a unique venue for well-known proponents of four distinct views in the openness of God debate to present their case. Paul Helm of King’s College, London, presents the Augustinian/Calvinistic view. David Hunt of Whittier College contends for a simple foreknowledge view. William Lane Craig of Talbot School of Theology argues for middle knowledge, or Molinism, and Gregory A. Boyd of Bethel College presents the openness view.

By Gregory E. Ganssle

How should we best understand God’s relationship with our time-bound universe? In this book, four notable philosophers skill fully take on this difficult topic, all from within a Christian framework yet contending for difficult views. Paul Helm presents the divine timeless eternity as relative timelessness. William Lane Craig offers the timeleness and omnitemporality view while Nicholas Wolterstorff argues for God of time position.

By David & Randall Basinger

If God is in control, are people really free? The Basingers present four views on this thought-provoking question: Bruce Reichenbach on God’s self-limited power, John Feinberg on God’s control through foreordination, Clark Pinnock on God’s self-limited knowledge, and Norman Geisler on God’s control by foreknowledge. Paper, IVP.

By Barry L. Callen

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Who is the God of the Bible? In this book Barry Callen presents the Triune God of loving grace. Callen contends that God’s loving grace “is at the center of the answer” to all questions we humans have about God: about creation, divine revelation, incarnation, and any hope we have for salvation.

While beginning and ending with the scriptural narrative of God’s loving grace, Callen interacts with many contemporary ideas and thinkers in a reasonable and irenic way. The result is a biblically based presentation of God that addresses the questions that many are asking today.

Discerning the Divine: God in Christian Theology

By Barry L. Callen

Exploring the many-faceted doctrine of God from multiple angles, Callen reaffirms its pre-eminence in Christian theology. Topics of discussion include the deeply moved “First Mover”; the theistic quest; the tensions between “domesticating the Deity” and “letting God be God”; and Divine revelation in history, including near-death experiences and God’s presence in suffering and marginalization. 232 pages, softcover from Westminster/John Knox.

By Gregory Boyd

We have all heard about spiritual warfare, and putting on the armor of God. But who are we fighting? And what form does our conflict take? Dr. Greg Boyd, in God at War: The Bible and Spiritual Conflict, attempts to answer these questions and more.

Some in our culture, because of the call for Christians to be peacemakers, feel that a warfare mentality is un-Christian. Dr. Boyd feels that a warfare mentality is the only mindset that enables us to truly deal with the very real problem of evil (and a call to be a peacemaker assumes that war is going on). He shows that the writers of the Bible, like the cultures around them, saw existence as a cosmic conflict between good and evil, and how the Bible calls us to join that conflict. This call is to more than just exorcisms and the like. It is a call to holiness and a passion for God. All godly actions, including prayer, feeding the poor, charity, etc., can be seen as warfare, as acts which stand against the evil and chaos present in our world.

So join with Dr. Boyd in restoring a warfare mentality to the church. This book will open your eyes to the continuing activity of God in the world. It may also give you a new and greater sense of significance, as humans, through God and choosing God’s way, can work with God in restoring the world to the perfection that God intended it to have.

God at War is a challenging and provocative book, challenging some of our traditional philosophical ideas about God and reality and provoking us to join this cosmic battle on God’s side, the side of good. Dr. Boyd displays a keen understanding of the scriptural passages about conflict, and he quotes extensively from authors who have studied spiritual warfare. The result is a book both conservative and contemporary at the same time, well worth the effort in reading.

By Gregory Boyd

Following his book God at War, Boyd here seeks to defend his scripturally grounded trinitarian warfare theodicy with rigorous philosophical reflection and insights from human experience and scientific discovery. He suggests that thereis an alternative to the classical Calvinist understanding of the sovereignty of the trinitarian God and of the reality of Satan that sheds light on our fallen human condition. While all may not agree with his conclusions, this book promises to advance the church’s discussion over these critical issues.

By Dr. Gregory A. Boyd

Greg Boyd is an apologetics professor at Bethel College. When he became a Christian, his father, Ed, thought he had joined a cult. For fourteen years, Greg tried to talk to his father about Christianity, with little success. Then, in what he saw as a last ditch effort, Greg invited his father participate in a dialogue through letters in which Ed could express all his doubts and questions and Greg could attempt to answer them, and prove the validity of his own views. To Greg’s surprise, his father agreed. This book is the collection of those letters.

Who is this book for? It has a wide potential audience. Its a great example of the power of apologetics, and could be used in a classroom setting to stimulate discussion. Its also a hopeful example for those who have loved ones not yet saved (Ed became a Christian after three years of dialog with Greg). But its also valuable for people who are already Christians, on two fronts. One, its helpful for those seeking answers to questions provided by friends and loved ones. Two, its a wonderful exposition of basic Christian beliefs, and can help believers strengthen their faith.

Honest, thought-stimulating, intelligent, well-written. A good addition to any library.

By Gregory A. Boyd

Is God to Blame? This is often the question that comes to mind when we confront real suffering in our own life or in the lives of those we love. Pastor Gregory Boyd helps us deal with this question honestly and biblically while avoiding glib answers. Writing for ordinary Christians, Boyd wrestles with a variety of answers that have been offered by theologians and pastors in the past. He finds that a fully Christian approach must keep the person and the work of Jesus Christ at the very center of what we say about human suffering and God’s place in it. Yet this is often just what is missing and what makes so much talk about the subject seem inadequate and at times misleading. What comes through is a hopeful picture of a sovereign God who is relentlessly opposed to evil, who knows our sufferings and who can be trusted to bring us through them to renewed life.

By Vincent Brummer

This short work shows how systematic theology is itself a philosophical enterprise. After analyzing the nature of philosophical enquiry and its relation to systematic theology, and after explaining how theology requires that we talk about God, Vincent BrÜmmer illustrates how philosophical analysis can help in dealing with various conceptual problems involved in the fundamental Christian claim that God is a personal being with whom we may live in a personal relationship.

By Rob Ellis

“Prayer changes things” according to the old clich`. But what things, and how? Engaging with biblical texts on prayer, Rob Ellis finds valuable guidance on the contents of prayer, as well as evidence of early wrestling with its problems. He also reviews the works of leading historical theologians such as Origen, Augustine, Aquinas and Calvin before asking how the question “Who is God?” connects with our thinking about intercession. Concluding with a Trinitarian theology of intercession that draws on the work of Karl Barth, Answering God will be of interest to church ministers, leaders and students of theology.

By Terence Fretheim

This new volume in the helpful Interpretation series competently steers preachers and teachers through theological and literary difficulties in the second book of Moses. Fretheim begins by reviewing issues of faith and history, drawing out ways in which the Hebrew story of redemption can be applied to modern Christian experience. In his commentary, he pays special attention to the significance of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, the relationship between law and narrative, and the shaping of literature by liturgy. About 300 pages, hardcover from Westminster/John Knox.

By Terence Fretheim

By focusing his attention upon the plot of 1 and 2 Kings, Fretheim does not allow ancient history to obscure a timely, prophetic message. He convincingly shows that 1 and 2 Kings were far more concerned with real life issues than with chronicling the historical accomplishments of various monarchs.

By Terence Fretheim

In this comprehensive and thought-provoking study, Terence Fretheim focuses on the theme of divine suffering, an aspect of our understanding of God which both the church and scholarship have neglected. Maintaining that “metaphors matter,” Fretheim carefully examines the ruling and anthropomorphic metaphors of the Old Testament and discusses them in the context of current biblical-theological scholarship. His aim is to broaden our understanding of the God of the Old Testament by showing that “suffering belongs to the person and purpose of God.”

By Clark H. Pinnock

This magnum opus from one of evangelicalism’s most stimulating theologians. Pinnock’s systematic theology examines the centrality of the Holy Spirit to the church’s life and witness, and invites us to move beyond rationalism to recover “intimacy and immediacy” with God. A theological bridge of mainstream, evangelical, and charismatic thought. 280 pages, softcover from InterVarsity.

By Clark Pinnock

The Grace of God and the Will of Man brings together an impressive array of evangelical scholars from many traditions to examine the scope of God’s saving purposes and His manner of working for the salvation of human beings. Developing the proposition that the dynamic, personal God of the Bible respects the freedom He has given to the human race, the essays in this book paint a picture of how God sensitively works out His plans for individuals and the whole of history. The writers of this volume don’t claim the last word on this subject, but they make a convincing case for an evangelical alternative to deterministic theology.

By John Polkinghorne, Michael Welker

The development of kenotic ideas was one of the most important advances in theological thinking in the late twentieth century. Now a diverse group of acknowledged experts brought together by the Templeton Foundation presents a stimulating interdisciplinary evaluation of these controversial ideas.