A few years ago myself and a friend of mine wrote an article concerning the going’s on in the Evangelical Theological Society. The beliefs of two members, Clark Pinnock and John Sanders were being challenged. The crux of the issue is how can one hold to Open Theism and Biblical inerrancy at the same time. Biblical Inerrancy is a plank of the ETS and one that all members must hold. The defense of Pinnock in Sanders was indeed unique and sadly worked. Please check out this article [starts on p. 8 ] that was published by The Midwest Christian Outreach Journal and let me know your thoughts.
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Worth looking at:
http://www.gregboyd.org/essays/essays-open-theism/defending-open-theism/inerrancy-and-open-theism-are-they-incompatible/
Hi Tim,
I read Greg’s article – thanks for pointing me to it. Just a couple of short comments:
1. He seems to dismiss the importance of the character (or characteristics) of God as it relates to inerrancy. He sees it as irrelevant. I think it is quite relevant. Before coming to the pages of Scripture – one must have some understanding of what he is reading. Before exegesis can commence – several prerequisites must exist. Truth, logic, and language to name a few. Where do these come from? These flow from the character of God. So, what this God looks like is extremely relevant to the question of inerrancy.
2. Boyd writes, ” God always reserves the right to revise his intentions toward nations, even after he’s prophetically declared these intentions (Jere. 18:1-10).” The problem is this passage in Jeremiah is not dealing with prophecy – its describing the character of God. Namely, He show mercy to the repentant, and He will show wrath to the unrepentant. God is not changing His mind – He is acting with consistency in relation to His character.