The Future of Open Theism: From Antecedents to Opportunities

by Richard Rice

Open theism has reached its adolescence. How did it get here? And where does it go from here? Since IVP's publication of The Openness of God in 1994, evangelical theology has grappled with the alternative vision of the doctrine of God that open theism offers. Responding to critics who claim that it proposes a truncated version of God that fails to account for Scripture and denies many of the traditional attributes of God, open theism's proponents contend that its view of God is not only biblically warranted but also more accurate--with a portrayal of God that emphasizes divine love for humanity and responsiveness to human free will. No matter what one's assessment, open theism inarguably has made a significant impact on recent theological discourse. Now, twenty-five years later, Richard Rice recounts in this volume the history of open theism from its antecedents and early developments to its more recent and varied expressions. He then considers different directions that open theism might continue to develop in relation to several primary doctrines of the Christian faith.

Genres: Theology, Christian Non Fiction

260 pages, Paperback

Published April 28, 2020

About the author

Richard Rice (PhD, University of Chicago Divinity School) is professor of religion at Loma Linda University. He is the author of several books, including Suffering and the Search for Meaning, Reason and the Contours of Faith, and God's Foreknowledge and Man's Free Will, and coauthor of The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God.

Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful to better understand the history of open/relational theologies, relation to scripture, Christology, etc. I wonder how orthodox, Jewish, and Catholic theologians relate to this movement!

[Devin Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rice did a lot with this book. He provides a history of the movement, clarifies theological positions of OP, and tackles big topics under the OP lens that haven’t been touched yet. When moving into new territory of OP like Christology, he relies on scripture and draws good conclusions. When treading worn topics of OP like human freedom he relies more on philosophical arguments - his biblical arguments can be read in “The Openness of God” (1994).

[Steve Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently, Richard Rice has published an important volume entitled The Future of Open Theism, in which he reviews its development over the past twenty-six years and suggests interest in open theism’s ongoing development. At this point, Rice is less polemical and less reactive to evangelical Calvinism than he and his collaborators were in the 1990s. Rice clearly and winsomely reviews open theology’s central themes and appeal. This is a theology that emphasizes “the primacy of divine love, libertarian freedom, and the temporal nature of reality.” This is a theology that given biblical themes and Christian traditions of portraying God as both “caring parent and aloof monarch” insists that the parental metaphor is much closer to the truth. “The open view of God emphasizes God’s sensitivity, responsiveness, and vulnerability. It portrays God as intimately involved in history….” This aspect of open theology is critical to me. We need theology that portrays God as beautiful and that constructively engages image-of-God anthropology. I’ve often wondered to what degree men of northern European Christian heritage have been shaped in the image of their aloof God and to what degree an aloof image of God has been shaped in the image of emotionally distant, controlling, aloof men. I expect this is a tragic circle. Just as we often shape our image of God from our experience of humanity, so do we humans also become like what we worship.

Reviewing the expansion of open theology over the past couple of decades as well as the need for its further development, Rice acknowledges the need for the movement to be less reactive, more constructive. He also acknowledges some of the range of views among open theologians, regarding its relationship to process theology, how to understand divine providence, how to grapple with the problem of evil, and other matters.

[Esther Louw · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good overview of Open Theism in general. However, it never addresses the basic main question that is up for debate. If the future is as open as the various proponents propose, how should Adventists relate to and understand God’s prophetic voice throughout history and which points forward to a certain, known future?

[Joel Wentz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid and balanced overview of the history of the open theism movement within evangelicalism.

Full review at the Englewood Review of Books: https://englewoodreview.org/richard-r...

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book never addresses the big question about why open theists believe foreknowing is akin to active determining. It effectively responds to classical theism, which is great, but doesn’t serve as a satisfactory response to a more Arminian understanding of God which is characteristic of Adventism. This book provides a good picture of what open theism stands for, but don’t expect much of a response to the big objections. For another take that is inclusive of key objections to open theism, see Dr. Peckham’s Love of God and Theodicy of Love.

[Daniel Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

THank you, Richard Rice. This is the perfect book for a guy starting to write his own book on open theism.

Dan Kent
SurprisingGod.com