The original purpose for this website was for me to make a place where I could process and explore different theological ideas in a way that might (!) be helpful for others to observe.  Finally I can fill out the site and begin to fulfil its original purpose!  I don’t intend to formalise any of these as a statement of faith or a position for some time even though I have been processing some of the issues (foreknowledge, sovereignty, warfare view) for nearly a decade.

My approach on all these issues is primarily evangelical even though they may seem heavily influenced by philosophy.  Even though I will spend much time looking at Open Theism I won’t be looking at ideas like Process Theology – Open Theism at least claims to be adoptable by evangelicals.  Process Theology on the other hand, whilst similar in many areas, requires philosophy to trump scripture  in several areas and so it is not an option available for evangelicals (like me!).

Below you’ll see the different ideas posed as questions to start off processing – most will remain questions for the time being and as I add material they will become pages in their own right.

  • Open Theism: How much does God foreknow? Classic Theists believe in a God with Exhaustive Definite Foreknowledge (EDF) either because they believe God is “outside of time” or because they believe God  meticulously pre-ordained every event that will ever take place.  Open Theism suggests that future is not held on record anywhere and that God has not settled all events ahead of time but that the future is partly open.  Open Theism is thought to be heretical by most evangelicals.
  • Hell: Eternal? Concious? Punishment? What is the nature of Hell?  What are the different flavours of classic hell and this new fangled idea called Annihilationism?
  • Original Sin: Are children innocent until they sin? Most denominations believe in not just a darkened intellect & a weakened will to make right moral decisions but go further to say that the penalty for sins committed is also passed down from parents to children.  Modern Aminianism believes that children are innocent until they first commit a sin.  The implications are that most flavours of Christianity believe that the children of the unsaved will be considered unsaved should they die young, whereas Modern Aminianism (including Open Theists) would state that all children are saved until they commit their first sin.
  • Conversion: Event or Process? Is conversion a single event triggered by the sinner’s prayer, or is it a longer process?  At what point is someone saved?  What are the essential elements of conversion?  How did people become Christians in the Bible.