William Lane Craig
Paperback | Pages: 160 pages Rating: 4.26 | 207 Users | 26 Reviews
Be Specific About Containing Books The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge & Human Freedom
| Title | : | The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge & Human Freedom |
| Author | : | William Lane Craig |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 160 pages |
| Published | : | January 13th 2000 by Wipf & Stock Publishers |
| Categories | : | Religion. Theology. Philosophy. Christian. Nonfiction |
Narrative In Favor Of Books The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge & Human Freedom
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 Containing Books The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge & Human Freedom
Ratings: 4.26 From 207 Users | 26 ReviewsDiscuss Containing Books The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge & Human Freedom
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.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: Gods omniscience (including foreknowledge) and human freedom. Craig suggests this can be achieved by accepting Molinism and rejecting both Open Theism (or Process Theology)
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: Gods omniscience (including foreknowledge) and human freedom. Craig suggests this can be achieved by accepting Molinism and rejecting both Open Theism (or Process Theology)
Bill Craig is a prolific writer, the forefront of Christian Evangelical philosophy. In this book, Bill craig talks about Divine Foreknowledge and Freedom. A lot of people (including myself), struggle with God's Sovereignty and freedom. He begins from biblical foundation, And shows how this topic intersects logic, philosophy and real life. Sometimes, you will hear people believing in Fate. The Early church fathers tackled this problem. In Tamil, people call it as "Vidhi", meaning whatever you do
Indeed, assessable for lay-men theists in philosophy who struggle with the problem of fatalism.
This book answers the objection from Open Theists, Divine Determinists, Atheists, and others that human free will and divine foreknowledge are incompatible. Craig first refutes Open Theism by listing the myriad of biblical passages and verses that either directly assert, implicitly assert, or logically entail that God has foreknowledge (i.e He knows what is going to happen in the future). He also unpacks the biblical evidence that God knows counterfactuals (i.e If X, then Y). I haven't read it
I read this book a few years ago in seminary for a research paper that I was writing on the problem of evil. I needed to read it again this summer for a course that I am taking on middle knowledge. Craig offers a cogent argument against theological fatalism and offers a somewhat brief intro into the doctrine of middle knowledge. There is currently a controversy of sorts over middle knowledge in certain theological circles, and I would say that this book is important to read so that one can fully
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