Scripture, reason, and all that god has ordered the spread of molinism book 1, kindle edition, 2014, kindle locations 3992. Matthew mcmahon historical theology articles today, many christians are turning back to the puritans to, walk in the old paths, of gods word, and to continue to proclaim old truth that glorifies jesus christ. Beyond this, they differ among themselves regarding the ground for middle knowledge and the doctrines of efficacious grace and predestination. The suggestion that sauls besieging keilah follows by logical necessity from davids staying there is. In the first instance, john and andrew have agreed to be clear about the nature of the molinist account of middle knowledge. Many theologians have said that god knows the world by knowing himself. In short, middle knowledge is gods omniscient awareness of what would happen if certain. Gods natural knowledge is his knowledge of all the possible worlds he could create and all of the different creatures he could create and all of their actions.
Addressing some issues regarding the position that god has knowledge of the counterfactuals of creaturely freedom molinism. Here i dont think theres any violation of divine aseity which says that god is a selfexistent being because the molinist can be an antirealist about possible worlds, counterfactual propositions. More and more calvinist thinkers are attempting to incorporate middle knowledge into their systems of. There are a few popular positions today that are engaged in a.
Middle knowledge thus stands midway between natural knowledge a, in. Molinism, as opposed to simple foreknowledge, provides a model of divine providence. In other words, man is completely free, but god is also completely sovereignhe is absolutely in control of all that happens, and yet humanitys choices are not coerced. For example, god knew prior to his decision to create this world whether i would freely choose a boston kreme if i were to go to dunkin. But, molinism says that gods middle knowledge is contingent upon god eternally knowing foreseen, human, libertarian free will choices. Taken at face value, molinism seems to be the perfect solution. That god has middle knowledge of such counterfactuals of creaturely freedom or, for brevity, ccfsis the assumption upon which the entire molinist. Dr william lane craig explains gods middle knowledge molinism duration.
William lane craig vs paul helm molinism vs calvinism. The popularity of ideas, as that of other things, ebbs and flows. The doctrine of middle knowledge has seen a revival of interest in the last twenty years, primarily among philosophers of religion. Three basic objections to molinism have been proffered. The view affirms a strong notion of gods control of events in the world, alongside an equally firm view of human. It seeks to accomodate the portions of scripture which weigh heavily against arminianism by creating a purely philosophical explanation and then forcing all of the difficult passages into that paradigm. Molinism is an influential system within catholic theology for reconciling human free choice with gods grace, providence, foreknowledge and predestination. The confession affirms gods preordination of everything that comes to pass as well as the liberty and contingency of the creaturely will, so that god is not the author of sin. Molinism vs calvinist view on the foreknowledge of god. His doctrine of gods middle knowledge, in particular, has been.
Using middle knowledge, molinism attempts to show that all of gods knowledge is selfcontained, but it is ordered so as to allow for the possibility of mans free will. Specifically, it seeks to maintain a strong view of gods sovereignty over creation while at the same time preserving the. Haskers latest paper on the grounding objection marksto use flints wordthe final incarnation of his version of the grounding objection. According to molinism, god is able to providentially direct events by means of his middle knowledge, that is, his knowledge of what any libertarianfree creature would choose in any specific circumstances. This should cause both the calvinist and the open theist to realize the advocates of molinism and gods middle knowledge are indeed somewhere in the middle between calvinism and open theism. Molinism is an attempt to provide a solution to the classic philosophical problems associated with gods providence, foreknowledge and the freedom of humanity. The bible teaches a high view of divine sovereignty.
Middle knowledge being the key that allowed him to do so. Truthmakers and the grounding objection to molinism. So molinism formulates a radical compatibilism,a calvinist view of divine sovereignty and an arminian view of human freedomand for this reason is. In this post ill first discuss another fundamental objection to molinism and then discuss how it is overcome by the open view of the future. Help with middle knowledgemolinism the puritan board. This view is argued for by bruce ware in his book, gods greater glory middle knowledge without libertarian freedom. The view affirms a strong notion of gods control of events in the world, alongside an equally firm view of human freedom. According to molinism, middle knowledge is the knowledge that god has about any free will choice any person might make at any time, in any circumstance. If the inline pdf is not rendering correctly, you can download the pdf file here. Middle knowledge and the problem of evil iii the truth of i and 2 are ruled out by the assumption that the actions of saul and the men of keilah are and would be free in the relevant sense. By rejecting a doctrine of divine providence based on gods middle knowledge, reformed theologians are simply selfconfessedly left with a mystery.
Every page goes through several hundred of perfecting techniques. Scripture, reason, and all that god has ordered the spread of molinism book 1. In this special topics class, dr, william lane craig addresses several interrelated themes. The notion of middle knowledge is the cornerstone of the molinist position. If you believe god knows the answer to this question, you probably believe god has middle knowledge. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. This is true even in philosophy, where the intention is for reason to prevail. For it allows us to see how god can both foreknow and exercise control over all that. Let alone its formulation, the debate on the grounding objection, has brought with it, numerous history. Middle knowledge internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Truthmakers and the grounding objection to molinism tyler crown i. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading an introduction to molinism. The molinist account of divine providence reconciles two claims long thought to be incompatible.
Free knowledge the knowledge that god has about the actual world and everything that will happen in it. Middle knowledge and the problem of evil atheism is just. Top books on arminianismmolinism credo house ministries. Our blog and database provide guidance for the molinist, christian thinker, and curious researcher alike. After all, hardly anyone claims that his or her grounding argument constitutes a refutation of middle knowledge, and even the most ardent proponents of the grounding objection acknowledge that there are responses available to render molinism coherent. Gods natural knowledge is his knowledge of everything that could happen in any given circumstance. The task of a molinist perspective of middle knowledge i. Molinism postulating middle knowledge presents a potential problem. Middle knowledge is a proposed solution to predestination vs. Arguments may be proved to be invalid, or to be based on ideas that are dubious because confused. In the previous post on this topic i briefly outlined molinism and then discussed the grounding objection.
Scripture, reason, and all that god has ordered the spread of molinism book 1 kindle edition by andrews, max. Compatibilist middle knowledge is a theological view that combines the understandings of middle knowledge and a compatibilist understanding of divine providence to form a coherent view of gods sovereignty and human freedom. Specifically, it is agreed that molinism is the thesis that god has middle knowledge of the counterfactuals of creaturely freedom ccfs. A middle knowledge perspective on the exclusivity of salvation through christ. Pdf molinism, questionbegging, and foreknowledge of. Middle knowledge is the philosophical cornerstone supporting the theology of molinism. This means that gods knowledge about people is contingent on human free will choices in a. Reformed molinism makes the humble claim that it is possible for god to possess a libertarian anthropology that he actualized using his middle knowledge. Middle knowledge is a theological concept developed by luis molina and espoused by modern christian philosophers such as william lane craig and alvin plantinga. Its his knowledge of all the free choices any creature could make in any given. Middle knowledge and the calvinistarminian debate craig.
Mere molinism is the basic theology that all molinists hold to. Molinismmiddleknowledgeopen theism are simply philosophical attempts to reconcile arminian philosophy with scriptures that contradict it. Recently i was engaged in a respectful conversation with calvinists regarding divine determinism and why i reject the i irresistible grace of. In philosophy there is intense clarification of concepts and their implications, and deployment of arguments in which these concepts figure. The doctrine of middle knowledge is the molinist solution to the problem of reconciling the exhaustive foreknowledge of god with the libertarian free will of man. Middle knowledge is a technical term which refers primarily to gods infinite knowledge of what free and morally responsible creatures would do in every possible scenario. Introduction one of the most discussed topics on the nature of god, in christian circles today, is the subject of gods knowledge. He states he does not understand how it would work. Since according to the molinist he also knows via his middle. Pdf john martin fischers charge that molinism does not offer a unique.
This concept of middle knowledge is what separates molinism from another. Helms biggest problem with molinism appears to be how god could know future free actions. Craig, by way of response, suggests that the verse from 2 corinthians 10. Process theology or finite godism, open theism, arminianismmiddle. Molina fought desperately to maintain the concept of mans free will. Middle knowledge is the cornerstone of molinas philosophy, the basis upon which everything else rises or falls. Molinism vs calvinism accepting a solution or a mystery. He knows what is possible or impossible in the world by knowing what he can or cannot do. Read middle knowledge and the calvinistarminian debate by craig blomberg on christian blogs.
955 546 757 473 231 307 881 375 452 1266 1043 457 1297 999 1102 389 359 104 1517 1035 1445 281 1545 780 965 663 1354 762 1388 571 378 117 1477 1010 467 397 1249 1318 533 64 478 486 1069 711