The New Dictionary of Theology, 2nd edition (IVP) has an entry on Open Theism. The writer says, in part,
Our salvation depends on the fact that God cannot change, because his immutability is the assurance that what he has done is guaranteed to remain the same for ever. By overemphasizing relationality at the expense of the divine nature, open theists have failed to appreciate that what they are trying to affirm has always formed an essential part of classical theology. Although much of the traditional Christian theological vocabulary may have been borrowed from ancient philosophy, its substance is more purely biblical than open theists are prepared to allow. For all these reasons, most evangelicals have rejected open theism or openness theology, which remains a minority voice even in circles where it has attracted a certain amount of attention. (G. L. Bray, "Open Theism/Openness Theology," New Dictionary of Theology, 2nd edition: Historical and Systematic, IVP, 2016)There are so many things wrong with the above quote that I cannot confront them all. For this article, I am most interested in G. L. Bray's characterization of Open Theism as a fringe theology that readers can safely dismiss as a teaching that will die on its own without any help from opponents.
On one hand, Bray's thoughts are somewhat discouraging. On the other, he is quite incorrect to present Open Theism as a young movement. The tenants of Open Theism have been around since the fifth century. Calvinism has been around for an equal length of time. Opponents of Open Theism like to characterize the theology as having emerged recently while Calvinism (=Reformed Theology) has been around for much longer and therefore, can be expected to endure longer.
Now, toss into this stew the fact that I have been reading a very excellent book about generations and how their respective cultures affect how people in those groups relate to God.
Beginning with the Baby Boom, Christians in that generation have begun to relate to God differently. As I read through the general descriptions of the generations, it hit me that the generational cultures would motivate members to latch on to Calvinism or Open Theism as theological formulas. Driven by that hunch, I posted a little non-scientific poll on a pro-Open Theism Facebook page.
Note that of the folks who answered the poll, most are from Generation X. Below are some brief descriptions of these generations as explained by the author of the book I am reading.
The book:
Haydn Shaw. Generational IQ. Tyndale, 2015.
Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) began to approach God in terms of relationship rather than a kind of religion of believing and doing the right things. Says Haydn, "God first reached out to us to bring us close to him." Speaking autobiographically, he said, "I forever gave up trying to please a distant God and began to look at obedience as a way of getting closer to the one who was already close to me" (50-51). Baby Boomers wanted to relate to God. It must be the Boomers that said, "We need to focus less on knowing about God and more on knowing God." Haydn says, "Boomers also put a greater emphasis on experiencing God rather than simply learning doctrine" (51). If God is doing the work of bringing me into fellowship with him, then I may be attracted to a God who unconditionally elected me (Calvinism). Alternatively, I may be attracted to a God who is working to attract me into fellowship (Open Theism). This Baby Boom theology that it is not me who is seeking God but it is God who is seeking me would find its expression in either camp.
We know that Open Theism, as a named theology, emerged in the mid-1980s. In the early '80s is when this Baby Boomer turned 20. That is when my thoughts about God sharpened from general Arminianism to Open Theistic thinking. As I said, the details of Open Theism are as old as those of Calvinism (=Augustinianism). So, in the '80s, there was a new special interest in it. I wonder if Calvinism had a similar Baby Boom renewal of interest. Yes, it did. Calvinism surged as a major theology beginning in the '80s!
Roger E. Olson, an astute observer of church culture, gave a speech on September 10, 2017 entitled “Arminianism Is Grace-Centered Theology." The speech focuses on Baptist theological culture. He says, in part,
Beginning in the 1980s and gaining steam throughout the 1990s and first decade of the twenty-first century Calvinism made a major “comeback” among Baptists and other conservative Protestants.Indeed, the books that young Calvinists read today are written in the 1990s and later. As the Baby Boom generation began to relate to God as seeking man and not the other way around, both Calvinism and Open Theism made sense.
These observations, of course, are theoretical; but it feels like a light bulb was just turned on.
How might the cultures of the next two generations have affected these two parallel theologies?
About Generation X (born 1965-1980), Haydn says, "Xers were the first generation to be taught that something can be true for you but not for me―that truth is constructed by a group of people, not revealed by God or discovered by science" (72). Xers reject the view that "there is a right answer to every question" (73). What I see here is a generation less threatened to disagree with the status quo or the standard wisdom. This generation might be suspicious of a theology so strict as Calvinism and with a God so static as Calvinism's God. The God of Open Theism has ears that listen and has a mind that can be persuaded. A relational may appeal to a Gen-Xer. Recall Bray's concern in the Theology Dictionary: "Our salvation depends on the fact that God cannot change, because his immutability is the assurance that what he has done is guaranteed to remain the same for ever." Immutability is a box Calvinists want to put God in. Otherwise, our salvation is in jeopardy. I mean, really! What if God changes his mind! We cannot let him do that! It looks to me like an average Gen-Xer is more comfortable than any previous generation that God is able to change his mind on any matter.
Millennials (born 1981-2001), says Shaw, want real, practical meaning. Rock-concert worship services don't really impact Millennials. "What Millennials really want is a meaningful place where they can settle in" (88). "Even if they attend a Bible study, it isn't where they find their sense of belonging―not as they do from hanging out with friends or family" (94). Millennials are used to being listened to. Their parents (on average) paid a lot of attention to what they had to say. Their parents were very hands-on and were excited to have and raise children. Thus, Millennials value family more than any previous generation. Churches are making a gave mistake to marginalize the Millennial Generation by talking/teaching at them without valuing what they have to say about how they read the Bible or how they find meaning in relationship to God.
Millennials probably relate to God as one who values what they have to say in their prayers. They may approach God as one who can be persuaded just by asking. The Millennials I know (my children) are very comfortable with a God who has the right to change his mind. He can still be trusted because of who he is, not because he is immutable.
I have a hunch Open Theology is a more comfortable home for the younger generations. I hope I am around to see what the Millennials do with church.
No comments:
Post a Comment