f f f Openness theology is at odds with a traditional understanding of God.
First, Feinberg points out that openness theology proposes that God is distinct
but not remote or unrelated.[1] According to the terminology Feinberg uses it is
reasonable to say that by remote or unrelated he is not speaking of physical
distance, rather he is speaking of an extreme qualitative difference between
God and man. God is distinct, but not that distinct. Yet Scripture paints a
picture of God’s being as infinitely different than man’s. Isaiah wrote that God’s
ways are as far removed from our ways as the heavens are from the Earth
(Isa. 55:8-9). Paul declares that God’s ways are unsearchable and inscrutable
(Rom. 11:33). The holiness of God is perhaps the most telling trait of God’s
absolute otherness. It is the only descriptive of Him emphasized thrice around
His throne in Scripture (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8). The word holy meaning, “the quality
of God who is transcendently distinctive, unique, majestic, perfect, and pure.”[2]
f f f f f f f f f Second, the assertion that God chooses not to act in favor of
man’s free will leads to the conclusion that God is not fully committed to the
Gospel. This line of thinking is a logical failure. If God does not act because
He has given man the power to have libertarian free will (distinct from the
Edwardian understanding of free will, and many other reformers) it is possible
that none or all would have been saved. If none accepted, because they freely
refused, then God allowed Christ to die for nothing. That was a possibility,
according to libertarian free will. Furthermore, Scripture offers examples that
refute this and even hint that God has acted against the will of His people
before. In Matthew 7:23 Jesus plainly says that in the future judgment people
will be cast away. Not all will be saved, and not all will be lost. This is a
statement of fact before the act of those people at that judgment. Additionally,
in Genesis 19:15-16, the angels forcefully removed Lot and his family from the
city. Lot and his wife showed where their heart was, and it later cost him his
wife. Yet the angels did not consider what they wanted or willed, they acted
according to God’s will.
f f f f f f f f Third, openness theology as presented by Feinberg contradicts
itself. On the one hand it states that God does not override the free will of
creatures, and on the other insists that this understanding of God is not
static.[3] On the one hand if creatures resist God, He is bound to honor their
will. If it means resisting help such as Lot, or resisting salvation, God does
nothing in order to preserve human freedom. This is the definition of being
static. If free will is the insurmountable obstacle, even by His own choice, God
is static in so far as His dealings with that individual. Whereas if God is
sovereign over salvation at the cross some were saved, and some were judged
in eternity past (Rom. 9:20-23; Eph. 1:4; Rev. 13:8).
f f f f f f f f f In the book, God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-love of God
Reorients Our World, Wells asserts that God’s character can be summed up in
the term holy-love.[4] Each attribute (justice, mercy, etc.) can fit under holiness,
or love, and thus sum up His entire character. At the same time Wells
acknowledges that the attributes of God are inseparably intertwined and
unified. He says for example, “The truth is that his love comes as part of his
holiness and his holiness likewise permeates all that he is, including his love.
Every act of mercy, then, is at the same time an act of righteousness; every
act of wrath has, at the same time, gone hand in hand with patience…”[5]
Because Wells does acknowledge these attributes it seems he agrees with
Feinberg. While he argues well that God’s character is summed up under holy-
love he does not swallow up one with the other.[6] When Wells looks back into
the Old Testament, he acknowledges that disobedience sacrifices the covenant
blessings Israel has access to from God.[7]
Feinberg, John S. No One Like Him: The Doctrine of God. Wheaton, IL:
Crossway, 2001.
Mangum, Douglas, ed. The Lexham Theological Wordbook. s.v. “Holiness.”
Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014. Ebook.
Wells, David F. God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-love of God Reorients Our
World. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014.
[1] John S. Feinberg, No One Like Him: The Doctrine of God (Wheaton, IL:
Crossway, 2001), 69.
[2] Douglas Mangum, ed., The Lexham Theological Wordbook, s.v. “Holiness,”
(Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), eBook.
[3] Feinberg, No One Like Him, 69.
[4] David F. Wells, God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-love of God Reorients Our
World (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 87.
[5] Ibid., 87.
[6] Ibid., 85.
[7] Ibid., 89.
