Open Theism

Elements in Religion and Monotheism

by Alan R. Rhoda

This Element shows Open theism as a monotheist model of God according to which the future is objectively open-ended, not just from the finite perspective of creation, but from God's perspective as well. This Element has three main sections. The first carefully defines open theism, distinguishes its major variants, compares it to other monotheistic models, and summarizes its history. The second develops biblical and philosophical arguments for open theism against its main rivals, emphasizing a novel philosophical argument that a causally open future must also be ontically, alethically, epistemically, and providentially open as well. The third responds to common objections against open theism related to perfect being theology, the ethics of risk-taking, biblical prophecy, and theological tradition.

76 pages, Paperback

Published March 21, 2024

Reviews

[Daniel Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of reading this before publication. I'll just share here what I shared with Alan Rhoda:

"I just finished your Element "Open Theism." The first word that comes to mind is: BEAUTIFUL.

That's not a word commonly used to describe an academic work, but I think yours qualifies. The architecture of the book works so well at showing the precise points of disagreement between these various perspectives, while also showing the conceptual tradeoffs one makes at each disjunct—it really is beautiful."

I will be chatting with Alan Rhoda about it on my Surprising God podcast soon. I highly recommend this book!