What’s In a Name? Divine Impassibility and Open Theism | Michael Horton

[@MikeRittWesternAuthor]

The doctrine of God's Transcendence teaches us that God is not subject to the limitations of time or space. As the creator of time and space, he precedes them and is not dependent upon them. The doctrine of God's Imminence teaches us that God chooses to act within the confines of time and space. This allows him to participate in our lives in real time without giving up his Transcendence. Because of his Imminence, we can say that God is here - now. He is with us throughout our day, involved in our daily lives. He is a personal God. In his eternal Transcendence, God is faithful to his Immutability and his Aseity. He sovereignly knows all things because he ordains all things, and nothing that he ordains ever surprises him, shocks him, angers him, or causes him pain and suffering. One of the things that he ordained was a creation in which he could be Imminent, one in which he could participate personally with his creation in real-time (Gen 1-2). Because of his real-time Imminence, God can respond to events in our lives with emotions. Sin can anger him and make him sad. Our obedience can bring him joy. Our suffering can cause him pain. God has chosen to create a world that would often grieve him. I believe that both doctrines - Impassibility and Passibility - are true. In God's Transcendence, he is Impassible, and in his Imminence, he is Passible. I think that having this understanding of these attributes of God is the answer to Open Theism.

[@EricBroch]

The statements, "God who cannot lie," "It is impossible for God to lie," and "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever," among many others in the Bible are not analogical statements. We may not fully comprehend them because we lack a degree of faith, as many saint have, but that doesn't make them analogical. The text that was consider considering God's immortality, eternality, and wisdom in Timothy are not analogical in nature either. When in Mike's discussion a comparison is drawn between Yahweh and earthly "sovereigns," like pharaoh, tyranny is considered as characteristic of the earthly as opposed our heavenly Sovereign. We can conclude from this that God is not a tyrant, or that God is good. These are not analogical conclusion. Anyway, much more could be said.

[@ji8044]

God lied to Adam in Genesis. Of course God can lie.

[@ji8044]

God is quite clearly indifferent to human suffering, but that is not a Greek quality. The Greek gods are very passionate about their human toys.

[@facepalmingreformer8723]

100% wrong.

[@jasonbucklin]

Wow! You sure got that wrong.

[@ji8044]

@@jasonbucklin Try actually reading the Bible sometime, cover to cover. Very few Christians ever do for a reason.

[@andreakhaleel5409]

God sacrificed His Son and He is Holy and Not Indifferent or capricious like the Greek gods, which are the idols of men's hands

[@Plut0rion]

​@@ji8044Respectfullu, it's clear you, yourself, haven't read the Bible from cover to cover. Unless you ignored God saving the Israelites from suffering slavery under Egypt, or their cries for help throughout their journey even when they sinner against God. Missed his works to prevent them from suffering under sin, missed him rescuing them from their enemies, missed his sparing the Ninevites even when Jonah didn't get want to. And especially missed his concern for our suffering so much so, that Jesus himself would come down as a man into our very own suffering, to even suffer himself on our behalf, to even be crucified by his own creations to bear our sins and punishment. All that in order to save us from our own sins and from death and from the devil. Perhaps you struggle with how God could allow suffering in the world, but maybe it would help to struggle with how God could be so loving he would save such wicked people as ourselves. Struggle with how he could love us so much despite all our evils.