Beyond the Bounds: Open Theism and the Undermining of Biblical Christianity [Paperback]

John Piper (Author), Justin Taylor (Author), Paul Kjoss Helseth (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2003

"Everyone who believes in God at all believes that He knows what you and I are going to do tomorrow."
–C. S. Lewis

This understanding of God's foreknowledge has united the church for twenty centuries. But advocates of "open theism" are presenting a different vision of God and a different view of the future.

The rise of open theism within evangelicalism has raised a host of questions. Was classical theism decisively tainted by Greek philosophy? How should we understand passages that tell us that God repents? Are essentials of biblical Christianity–like the inerrancy of Scripture, the trustworthiness of God, and the Gospel of Christ–at stake in this debate? Where, when, and why should we draw new boundaries–and is open theism beyond them? Beyond the Bounds brings together a respected team of scholars to examine the latest literature, address these questions, and give guidance to the church in this time of controversy.

Contributors include:

• John Piper
• Wayne Grudem
• Michael S. Horton
• Bruce A. Ware
• Mark R. Talbot
• A. B. Caneday
• Stephen J. Wellum
• Justin Taylor
• Paul Kjoss Helseth
• Chad Brand
• William C. Davis
• Russell Fuller

"We have prepared this book to address the issue of boundaries and, we pray, bring some remedy to the present and impending pain of embracing open theism as a legitimate Christian vision of God. . . . As a pastor, who longs to be biblical and God-centered and Christ-exalting and eternally helpful to my people, I see open theism as theologically ruinous, dishonoring to God, belittling to Christ, and pastorally hurtful. My prayer is that Christian leaders will come to see it this way, and thus love the church by counting open theism beyond the bounds of orthodox Christian teaching."
–From the Foreword by John Piper

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The downsized deity of open theism is a poor substitute for the real God of historic Christianity-as taught by Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox theologians through the centuries. This book offers an important analysis and critique of this sub-Christian view of God. Well researched and fairly presented."
—Timothy George, Founding Dean, Beeson Divinity School; General Editor, Reformation Commentary on Scripture

"Here is a weighty tract for the times, in which a dozen Reformed scholars survey the "open theism" of Pinnock, Sanders, Boyd, and colleagues, and find it a confused, confusing, and unedifying hypothesis that ought to be declared off limits. Some pages are heavy sledding, but the arguing is clear and strong, and the book is essential reading for all who are caught up in this discussion."
—J. I. Packer, Board of Governors' Professor of Theology, Regent College

Product Details

• Paperback: 395 pages
• Publisher: Crossway; First Edition edition (January 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581344627
• ISBN-13: 978-1581344622
• Product Dimensions: 1.1 x 5.4 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #885,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 81 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Perfect, but maybe the best critique currently available April 5, 2003

By J. F Foster

Format:Paperback

As of the time of this review, this book is hot off the press and has been a book eagerly anticipated by many. And while the book is not perfect, as I will discuss below, there are a number of things about this critique that make it the best critique of open theism available at present.

Piper and company have assembled an impressive group of mainly Reformed scholars to tackle numerous issues regarding open theism. Almost every chapter is well documented, with numerous and lengthy footnotes accompanying much of the base material. There is a great deal here to ponder and study, and I suspect that many readers who are relatively familiar with the open theism controversy will be struck by the depth in which this book engages fundamental questions of hermeneutics and theological method.

I think there is little doubt that for the average reader, Parts 4 and 5 will be the best parts of the book. In these parts, various authors tackle critical theological and pastoral problems that open theism creates, and these are the kinds of issues that the average reader will most identify with and profit from I suspect. In particular, Wellum's critique of open theism's necessary compromise of the inerrancy of Scripture is outstanding, along with Ware's devastating analysis of how the gospel of Christ is gutted by open theism. The tackling of these critical theological ramifications is the part of this book that I felt was critically missing from Ware's 'God's Lesser Glory' book (which has been generally acknowledged to be the most devastating critique of open theism thus far, and was the book that really delivered the first mortal blow to open theism and got Boyd and company to play defense ever since), so in that respect, this book is an outstanding companion to that book.

The first parts of this book are great and necessary, but are likely to be sections that will take many readers by surprise. It is in these sections that attempts are made to discredit the inconsistent hermeneutic (to put it nicely) of open theism, as well as to discredit the much trumpeted assertion by open theists that historical theism is based on Greek philosophical ideas that are not found in the Bible. In addition, the section on the analogical nature of Scripture and the treatment of anthropomorphisms is likewise outstanding.

The one notable drawback of this book is that Biblical exegesis is not the thrust of this book. There are times when solid exegesis is conducted, but this book is not an exegetical critique of open theism. It's mainly a negative philosophical, methodological, and worldview critique that rightly exposes the mess that open theism is as a matter of scholarship. But someone looking for a sustained emphasis on Biblical exegesis of controversial passages, as well as a Biblical analysis of those many areas of Scripture that contradict open theism may be somewhat dissatisfied by the efforts here. There are other resources that deal with these issues, but it is the one critical area where this book lets open theism off the hook. This is unfortunate because as a result of this, this book, while perhaps the most comprehensive critique of open theism available, still ends up joining all of the other able critiques in doing serious damage to open theism, but not delivering the kind of comprehensive 'shock and awe' that it was capable of.

Nonetheless, for what this book deals with, it is outstanding and perhaps best of all, very current. The thought of Greg Boyd in particular has been in a seemingly constant state of modification and flux in recent years in his attempts to do damage control. His latest neo-molinist concoction gets a great deal of attention in this book where it is demonstrated to be a wholly inadequate solution to the problems his open theist perspective creates across the board. I highly recommend this book and believe that in many ways, it will become the book that open theists feel most compelled to respond to in light of the lucid and cogent arguments it lobs at open theism.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A SERIES OF ESSAYS CRITIQUING THE "OPEN THEISM" PERSPECTIVE May 24, 2012

By Steven H. Propp TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

This 2003 book collects eleven essays critiquing various different aspects of Open Theism; contributors include Bruce Ware (God's Lesser Glory: The Diminished God of Open Theism), Wayne Grudem, John Piper, etc.

John Piper wrote in his Foreword, "It remains one of the most stunning things in evangelicalism today that so many leaders can treat as optional what C.S. Lewis... called 'mere Christianity'... We have prepared this book to address the issue of boundaries and, we pray, bring some remedy to the present and impending pain of embracing open theism as a legitimate Christian vision of God."

One essayist suggests that nothing takes God by surprise because "he has ordered---or 'ordained'---every event from before creation." (Pg. 79) He then proposes "compatibilism": "that someone's choice to stop and aid a sick homeless woman is free and morally significant as long as it is voluntary and thus neither physically forced not psychologically coerced." (Pg. 82)

Another essayist deplores the fact that Christianity Today magazine treats Open Theism "as an evangelical option," offering both editorials that praise its proponents and links to the official open theism website. (Pg. 111) He admits, however, that Open Theism offers "serious exegetical studies that labor to take the words of Scripture seriously." (Pg. 116)

An essayist asks pointedly, if one denies that God is able to know future contingencies, then "how does one explain how God can KNOW that these prophecies will truly come to pass?... then how would one also affirm that Scripture is an infallible and inerrant revelation on all areas that it touches, including the prophetic realm?" (Pg. 267)

This collection is a broad and detailed examination of Open Theism, and is a very significant contribution to the ongoing debate.

31 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Endorsements and Table of Contents February 10, 2003

By Justin G Taylor

Format:Paperback

The downsized deity of open theism is a poor substitute for the real God of historic Christianity-as taught by Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox theologians through the centuries. This book offers an important analysis and critique of this sub-Christian view of God. Well researched and fairly presented.

-Dr. Timothy George
Dean of Beeson Divinity School, Samford University and an executive editor of Christianity Today

Here is a weighty tract for the times, in which a dozen Reformed scholars survey the "open theism" of Pinnock, Sanders, Boyd, and colleagues, and find it a confused, confusing, and unedifying hypothesis that ought to be declared off limits. Some pages are heavy sledding, but the arguing is clear and strong, and the book is essential reading for all who are caught up in this discussion.

-Dr. J. I. Packer
Professor of Theology
Regent College

Table of Contents

Contributors

Foreword
John Piper

Introduction
Justin Taylor

Part 1 Historical Influences

1 The Rabbis and the Claims of Openness Advocates
Russell Fuller

2 Genetic Defects or Accidental Similarities? Orthodoxy and Open Theism and Their Connections to Western Philosophical Traditions
Chad Brand

Part 2 Philosophical Presuppositions and Cultural Context

3 True Freedom: The Liberty that Scripture Portrays as Worth Having.
Mark R. Talbot

4 Why Open Theism Is Flourishing Now
William C. Davis

Part 3 Anthropomorphisms, Revelation, and Interpretation

5 Veiled Glory: God's Self-Revelation in Human Likeness-
A Biblical Theology of God's Anthropomorphic Self-Disclosure
A. B. Caneday

6 Hellenistic or Hebrew? Open Theism and Reformed Theological Method
Michael S. Horton

Part 4 What Is at Stake in the Openness Debate?

7 The Inerrancy of Scripture
Stephen J. Wellum

8 The Trustworthiness of God and the Foundation of Hope
Paul Kjoss Helseth

9 The Gospel of Christ
Bruce A. Ware

Part 5 Drawing Boundaries and Conclusions

10 When, Why, and for What Should We Draw New Boundaries?
Wayne Grudem

11 Grounds for Dismay: The Error and Injury of Open Theism
John Piper

Bibliography on Open Theism
Justin Taylor

Scripture Index
Person Index
Subject Index