June 24, 2002

Biblical support for open theism
___ After telling the prophet Isaiah to announce that King Hezekiah would not recover from his illness, God told Isaiah to report God had changed his mind, and Hezekiah would recover (2 Kings 20).
___ Jesus healed a paralyzed man because of the faith of the man's friends (Mark 2:5).
___ Jesus could not perform many miracles in his hometown, Nazareth, because the people there lacked faith (Mark 6:5-6).
___ The Apostle James told Christians, "You do not have, because you do not ask God" (James 4:6).

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___ God was grieved because humans sinned over and over (Genesis 6:6).
___ The Bible says God thought "perhaps" the people would listen to God's prophet and "maybe" they would stop worshipping idols (Ezekiel 12:1-3; Jeremiah 26:2-3).
___ God conditions divine action upon repentance of the people (Jeremiah 7:5).
___ God expected certain actions from the people of Israel which did not come about (Jeremiah 3:7; 32:35).
___ God presented King Zedekiah with alternative actions and resulting possibilities (Jeremiah 38:17-23).
___ God "consults" with biblical figures before determining divine action, such as Abraham (Genesis 18), Amos (Amos 7) and Moses (Exodus 32).
___ God agonizes over how to respond to people when they sin (Hosea 6:4, Jeremiah 5:7).
___ God "tests" people to see how they will respond, including Abraham (Genesis 22:12) and the Children of Israel (Exodus 15:25; 13:3).
___ In response to Moses, God changed his mind about destroying the people of Israel (Exodus 32).
___ After Eli's son's sinned, God took back his declaration that Eli's family would remain in the priesthood (1 Samuel 2:30).
___ God rejected Saul's family, which was to be the line of royal succession (1 Samuel 13:13).
___ The prerogative to change God's mind is included in a summary of the divine nature (Exodus 34:5-7).
___Source: John Sanders

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