According to John S. Feinberg, the author of the book, No One Like Him: The Doctrine
of God, process theologians and openness scholars purports that since God is
completely love, that an alternate stance between the traditional and process
perspectives can be attained that God is also irresponsive and impersonal and God
should be forsaken by humans for a god that appears to be more approachable and
responsive. Feinberg emphasizes that these scholars and theologians that believe
and or support the ideology of the openness of God is not completely congruent with
Biblical disclosure on attributes or characteristics of God and that all theologies held
should be based on the presupposition of sound Biblical principles. Feinberg states
that. “Process theologians and openness of God advocates encourage us to abandon
this God and replace him with their versions of a more responsive God. While I find
their complaints about the traditional God very thought provoking, I cannot agree with
them that their replacement “Gods” are the answer or that they more accurately
reflect biblical revelation about God.”1 Although David F. Wells, the author of the book,
God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-love of God Reorients Our World, asserts that
God’s divine agape love is central to theology and Scripture’s “theme cuts right
through all our Christian doctrines. It is woven through the whole fabric of Christian
thinking which grows out of these doctrines.”2 In providing a personal assessment of
Feinberg’s analyzation of the matter a conclusion has been determined that even
though God’s love is central to proper theology, the openness theology continues to
be at odds with the traditional orthodox viewpoint regarding divine knowledge.
Feinberg mentions several theories and expound on theologians perspectives. The
process theory was rejected because God was viewed as being powerless over evil.
There are a few contemporary theologies that were persuasive and very close to the
Christian Biblical perspective but only one that supported fundamental Biblical
principles. Within the realm of the traditional approach, the Rationalist Approach and
the Empiricist Approach were discussed, the in light of scientific discoveries and
technology he discussed the Relativity theory. The Making of Religion theology was
appealing, it aligns “God’s primordial nature in line with this perception, it is nothing
more than the ordering of the eternal objects, getting them ready for ingression into
the world.”3 As this is analyzed it would appear as if this is a form of foreknowledge or
predestination, but Feinberg cautions his audience to details, he states “in light of
these claims and the challenge process theology presents to evangelical theology, we
must understand it and assess it accurately.”4 In the twentieth century more
theologies emerged. The more theologies emerging the more distant God became.5
The Process theory is the theology that I found most agreeable. At first, it appeared to
be pantheism but Feinberg explains that “traditionally there have been only two
apparent answers to God’s relation to the world: either God is totally independent of it
(traditional theism) or he is identical to it (pantheism),”6 and I agree. Another reason
for agreeance was the explanation of the dipolar pole, so my logic tied it in with the
scripture “and we know that to them that love God all things work together for good,
even to them that are called according to his purpose.”7 Another reason I agreed was
that the dipolar pole would encompass God’s foreknowledge to be used. “(God)
foreknew, (therefore) he also foreordained.”8 The traditionalist desire to provide
accurate Biblical apologetics is great, because Scripture state that believers can
know the thoughts of the Lord.9
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1. John S. Feinberg. (2019). (p. xxv). No One Like Him: The Doctrine of God.
Accessed June 3, 2021. Retrieved from
https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com.
2. David F Wells (2019). (p. 14). God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-love of
God Reorients Our World. Accessed June 3, 2021. Retrieved from
https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com.
3. John S Feinberg (2019). (p. 162).
4. (p. 149).
5. (p. 158).
6. John S Feinberg (2019). (p. 169).
7. Unless otherwise noted, all Biblical citations come from American
Standard Version. (Rom 8:28). Accessed June 3, 2021. Retrieved from
https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com/workspace.
8. (Rom. 8:29).
9. (1 Cor. 2:16).
