Is he able to change anything, anytime under any circumstances?
This is a very difficult question, but I will try to answer it briefly. This is ultimately a question of God’s sovereignty: his ability to know the future and act accordingly to that knowledge.
A theological concept known as Open Theism has emerged in recent decades: God knows the future only as it is not dependent on human, free-will decisions. God does not know what any free-will agents (i.e. humans) will do, because those decisions do not yet exist and God cannot know what does not exist. God decided, in Creation, that He would limit Himself in this way in order to give complete freedom to human beings. Therefore, God does not know or control the future - He learns from our decisions and constantly adapts as necessary. He often needs to change His mind or re-evaluate His options as the future unfolds.
What would this look like practically? For instance, Pastor Greg Boyd finds it pastorally helpful to counsel a person who has experienced great tragedy that God was as surprised as everyone else at what happened. In Boyd's mind this makes God kinder and gentler and therefore more trustworthy.
(1) God’s goodness, greatness and glory are at stake. The God of the Open Theists is, in the words of Bruce Ware, too small. He is not the all-knowing, all-powerful God revealed so clearly in the pages of the Bible (Isa. 46:10a; cf. Job 28; Ps. 90; Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1)). Christians need to always be concerned that both they and God are making poor decisions based on inadequate information. Thus we cannot always count on God to do what is best, because even He does not always know what this is.
(2) The Christian’s confidence in God is at stake. If open theism is true, the Christian cannot put his full trust and confidence in God. “The God of open theism will always want our best, but since he may not in fact know what is best, it becomes impossible to give him our unreserved and unquestioning trust” (Bruce Ware, Their God is Too Small, 20). When hardships arise we will have to ask if God anticipated these, or if He is as shocked and distressed as we are.
Donald Bloesch answers the question well: “Nothing happens…apart from God’s sanction, but this is not to say that God expressly wills everything that happens. There are some things that happen that God does not will and that have their reality precisely in God’s negation instead of his affirmation. [God] sustains the world in its sin and misery, but is not the direct cause of its sin and misery.”
A theological concept known as Open Theism has emerged in recent decades: God knows the future only as it is not dependent on human, free-will decisions. God does not know what any free-will agents (i.e. humans) will do, because those decisions do not yet exist and God cannot know what does not exist. God decided, in Creation, that He would limit Himself in this way in order to give complete freedom to human beings. Therefore, God does not know or control the future - He learns from our decisions and constantly adapts as necessary. He often needs to change His mind or re-evaluate His options as the future unfolds.
What would this look like practically? For instance, Pastor Greg Boyd finds it pastorally helpful to counsel a person who has experienced great tragedy that God was as surprised as everyone else at what happened. In Boyd's mind this makes God kinder and gentler and therefore more trustworthy.
The basic concept of open theism says that God is not really in control. He can react to circumstances, and possibly can change the eventual outcome, but for the most part, he’s just waiting around for things to happen.
The primary concerns with open theism are as follows (this is a summary of Tim Challies' article):
(1) God’s goodness, greatness and glory are at stake. The God of the Open Theists is, in the words of Bruce Ware, too small. He is not the all-knowing, all-powerful God revealed so clearly in the pages of the Bible (Isa. 46:10a; cf. Job 28; Ps. 90; Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1)). Christians need to always be concerned that both they and God are making poor decisions based on inadequate information. Thus we cannot always count on God to do what is best, because even He does not always know what this is.
(2) The Christian’s confidence in God is at stake. If open theism is true, the Christian cannot put his full trust and confidence in God. “The God of open theism will always want our best, but since he may not in fact know what is best, it becomes impossible to give him our unreserved and unquestioning trust” (Bruce Ware, Their God is Too Small, 20). When hardships arise we will have to ask if God anticipated these, or if He is as shocked and distressed as we are.
If open theism is wrong, where does this leave us? How much control does God really have?
Donald Bloesch answers the question well: “Nothing happens…apart from God’s sanction, but this is not to say that God expressly wills everything that happens. There are some things that happen that God does not will and that have their reality precisely in God’s negation instead of his affirmation. [God] sustains the world in its sin and misery, but is not the direct cause of its sin and misery.”
[Answered by Pastor Ho-Ming]
