As discussed on Dannyfast.com… Interview With An Open-theist
I understand the appeal of OVT, as I am a former Arminian-turned-OVT-turned-Reformed, but I don’t understand how a God, to whom we credit the creation of the universe, is bound to the same time and space continuum that we are. The very constants and laws of the universe are set in place by God Almighty, if He is who we claim to believe. Gravity works in such a way because God designed it so. Light works in such a way because God designed it so. Time is effected in such a way because God made it. He made the universe, and when we say the universe, we mean the laws and constructions that hold the universe together.
The problem of OVT is it’s way of thinking that God is restricted to a linear time/space continuum. God designed the present age and us humans to operate on a linear time/space continuum. But we can’t assume for a minute that He is tied into the same thing. He exists eternally, and the difference between linear time and God-time is like the different between linear editing and non-linear editing.
In linear video editing, you are limited to seeing only one frame at a time. You might remember what you just saw a few frames back, but you never know for sure what’s ahead on the tape until you play forward into it. This is how we operate in life.
In non-linear editing, the video is digitized and you can see beginning and end at the same time. It’s an easy thing for God to fulfill prophesy, since it must feel like it’s being fulfilled. It’s an easy thing for God to have foreknowledge, since all the events that will transpire have transpired as they are transpiring.
Now, my linear/non-linear analogy is very simple, and really doesn’t do the truth justice. I don’t really know how God relates to time. What does “A thousand years is as on day, and one day like a thousand years” mean? But if God is not confined to our linear way of viewing time, I don’t see how He could not know everything about the future with absolute certainty. There could be no surprises, no “unsettled” events or actions, yet at the same time, everything is unsettled as far as God is concerned. Again, my point is that as much as we have no real concept of non-linear time, God is not confined to linear time. However, He does understand it. It’s one of the greatest mysteries of Christ’s incarnation. How does a non-linear thinking God pour into a linear human mind? All I know for certain is my mind can’t answer such a question without the risk of sounding heretical or having a broken gear pop out of my head.
Indeed, the Reformed view can seem fatalistic if the focus of the Christian life is self and not God. But WE are not the point, God is. I think the greatest infection in evangelical Christianity is the myth that Christians are being held back from spiritual blessings or missing their “purpose” in life, all because they haven’t read the latest book or joined the latest program, and if WE could only get OUR act together, more people would be saved and vote Republican.
Bah! God gets GLORY in our failures because it shows the world to trust Him alone. Our joy is that His purpose is carried out by Him and we get to come along for the ride. He is our Rock, HE is. Not this church or that ministry. Christ – He is our Rock.