The openness of the future
is illustrated in the Bible’s depictions of God as grieving the outcome of
decisions he himself has made. Regarding the incredible wickedness of humanity
before Noah, for example, we read, “The Lord was sorry that he had made
humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (Gen 6:6). How could
the Lord possibly be sorry for making humanity if he was eternally certain they
would turn out exactly this way when he created them?
Some interpret this
expression as anthropomorphic. But we must ask, “What is this an
anthropomorphic expression of?” If the Lord didn’t really regret his decision
to make humans, what does the expression that tells us he did regret making
humans truthfully communicate to us? Suppose that God truly wanted to tell us
that he sometimes truly regrets decisions. How could he do so in terms any
clearer than in this passage?
Another example of God’s
regret is found in the story of King Saul. God had intended to bless Saul and
his descendants (1 Sam 13:13), but Saul’s behavior as king altered God’s
intentions. After his appointed king chose a rebellious course of action, the
Lord told Samuel, “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from
following me (1 Sam 15:11). And again the author writes, “And the Lord was
sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel” (1 Sam 15:35). The Lord could
only be sorry for making Saul king if he had hoped for a different outcome than
what transpired. And this would mean that Saul’s fate was not a foregone
conclusion when God made him king.
God took a risk in making
Saul king. The risk depended on choices Saul made. When Saul thwarted God’s
purposes, God suffered a loss. This created the experience of regret. The open
view of the future teaches that God hopes each individual will turn to him and
walk in his ways. But if love is the aim, then freedom is the means and risk is
the price. Things may not, and did not, turn out as God would have hoped.
However, God is never at a
loss concerning his response to rebellious agents. God knows all future
possibilities, all future certainties, and is in control of the overall flow of
history. He is never unprepared, and in his infinite wisdom he is able to
redeem good out of evil in ways we could never anticipate.
Because the Lord possesses
unlimited intelligence, he can attend to and anticipate numerous possibilities
as thoroughly as if each one were the only future that could come about.
Whichever possible course of action gets actualized, it is from God’s
perspective as thought this were the only course he had to concern himself
with.
The open view sacrifices
none of God’s ability to respond to the future. Finite creatures have their
intelligence stretched thin the more possibilities they have to entertain, but
not God. When a person like Saul fails, God already has a person like David
waiting in the wings. Scripture reveals a God who is utterly confident of his
ability to achieve his overall purposes despite the sinful rebellion of his
creation. So confident is he, in fact, that he is willing to risk some loss
with free agents in order to open the possibility of fellowship with them
throughout eternity. He is willing to suffer frustration, disappointment and
grief in order to share the joy of this triune being with others.
—Adapted from Satan and the
Problem of Evil, pages 102-104
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