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.”10Although 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.”20In 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.”30As 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.”40In the twentieth century more theologies emerged.
The more theologies emerging the more distant God became.50The 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),”60and 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.”70Another
reason I agreed was that the dipolar pole would encompass God’s
foreknowledge to be used. “(God) foreknew, (therefore) he also
foreordained.”80The 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
from0https://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 from0https://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
from0https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com/workspace.
8. (Rom. 8:29).
9. (1 Cor. 2:16).
