William Lane Craig
Paperback | Pages: 160 pages Rating: 4.26 | 207 Users | 26 Reviews
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| Title | : | The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge & Human Freedom |
| Author | : | William Lane Craig |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 160 pages |
| Published | : | January 13th 2000 by Wipf & Stock Publishers |
| Categories | : | Religion. Theology. Philosophy. Christian. Nonfiction |
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5/5. What an excellent book. I should have read this years ago.This book is an accessible introductory study of middle knowledge (A.K.A Molinism) and the apparent theological and philosophical tensions it seeks to resolve. The aim of the book is to persuade the reader to hold fast with confidence to the truths of scripture: God’s omniscience (including foreknowledge) and human freedom. Craig suggests this can be achieved by accepting Molinism and rejecting both Open Theism (or Process Theology) and Theological Fatalism (or some may say simply Calvinism).
The book deals directly with some of the most complex philosophical concepts and debates but remains accessible due to its clear concise writing style and structure and it’s reliance on simple illustrations and summaries.
The book promotes what may be described as a Molinist view of divine omniscience and deals with both philosophical and theological objections robustly throughout.
The greatest strengths of this book are it’s incredible conciseness and accessibility on such a complex and confusing topic.
However, it’s greatest strength is also it’s only weakness. Where other philosophical positions are relied on in its arguments, they are largely identified. However, the following background commitments are not dealt with in detail, which I suppose is for the sake of brevity and accessibility: the nature of human freedom; the nature of time; the nature of reality.
Libertarian free will is assumed from the outset but is never established. The A-theory of time is likewise assumed but not argued at length (thankfully due to its technical complexity!). It may be argued that the arguments also assume an anti-realist position regarding the truth value of counter factual statements. Although this is not dealt with directly, an argument is introduced to suggest that an anti-realist position is not necessary due to what Craig calls the “instantiation of the actual world”.
Both the lay reader and the academic who have an interest in and at least a basic familiarity with philosophy will find much to ponder and enjoy in this book. I pray it will help me to remain confident in what scripture affirms on these topics and develop a systematic theology that is faithful to the whole counsel of God’s word.
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| Original Title: | The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge & Human |
| ISBN: | 1579103162 (ISBN13: 9781579103163) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating About Books The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge & Human Freedom
Ratings: 4.26 From 207 Users | 26 ReviewsJudgment About Books The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge & Human Freedom
Well, I wanted to like this book. I was hoping to find a good argument that could make the classical view of foreknowledge fit in harmony with human freewill and the dynamic, passionate and active God of the bible. I loved Craig's book "Time and Eternity: exploring God's relationship to time" where he masterfully showed the absurdity of assuming God is outside of time. Towards the end of his book he made a little attack on Open Theism which naturally flows from this understanding of God'sCraig marshals a solid defense of middle knowledge (and therefore Molinism) as a sound philosophical concept that seems to reconcile Gods foreknowledge and human free will. He satisfactorily answers the philosophical objections of fatalists, but doesnt really address the theological objections of Calvinists.
Awesome! Would recommend! I am now more interested to know about Middle Knowledge and I think it's a biblical position to endorse. As this view is the most adequate to explain Divine Foreknowledge and Man's freedom without actually comprosmising God's word and his character.
Craig is partly responsible for the re-emergence of molinism and this book is an early presentation of his view. As such, it is worth reading. Craig's adherence to the view is motivated by the central problem the book seeks to solve - the foreknowledge problem. If God knows in advance that S will do A, then S will do A and it cannot be otherwise. Craig's truck is with that last little bit - it can't be otherwise. Craig's insistence that the Bible be used in philosophical theology is refreshing
Indeed, assessable for lay-men theists in philosophy who struggle with the problem of fatalism.
Books like this always remind me of the commandment that we are to love God with all our mind, not just our heart and soul. Craig helps remind us of this too as he mentions that too often we just say topics like this are part of God's mysteriousness. Not necessarily so; there are blessings to delving in and trying to gain knowledge of how God knows what He knows. It is written in normal language without heavy philosophical words. Craig goes about showing that divine foreknowledge and human free
An excellent defense of the notion that divine foreknowledge is compatible with libertarian freedom. The first parts of the book conclude that fatalism is incoherent, the last part offers a theory of how to reconcile God's fore-ordination with libertarian freedom to avoid divine fatalism. This involves the use of Middle Knowledge. Well written and clearly thought out as usual from this author.
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