Voted one of Christianity Today's 1995 Books of the Year! The Openness of God presents a careful and full-orbed argument that the God known through Christ desires "responsive relationship" with his creatures. While it rejects process theology, the book asserts that such classical doctrines as God's immutability, impassibility and foreknowledge demand reconsideration. The authors insist that our understanding of God will be more consistently biblical and more true to the actual devotional lives of Christians if we profess that "God, in grace, grants humans significant freedom" and enters into relationship with a genuine "give-and-take dynamic." The Openness of God is remarkable in its comprehensiveness, drawing from the disciplines of biblical, historical, systematic and philosophical theology. Evangelical and other orthodox Christian philosophers have promoted the "relational" or "personalist" perspective on God in recent decades. Now here is the first major attempt to bring the discussion into the evangelical theological arena.

In 1994, Clark Pinnock along with four other scholars published The Openness of God, which set out a new evangelical vision of God—one centered on his open, relational, and responsive love for creation. Since then, the nature of God has been widely discussed throughout the evangelical community. Now, Pinnock returns with Most Moved Mover to once again counter the classical, deterministic view of God and defend the relationality and openness of God. This engaging defense of openness theology begins with an analysis of the current debate, followed by an explanation of the misconceptions about openness theology, and a delineation of areas of agreement between classical and openness theologians. Most Moved Mover is for all evangelicals, regardless of their viewpoint, as it lays out the groundwork for future discussions of the open view of God.

Evangelical theology has grappled with open theism and its alternative doctrine of God for decades. Richard Rice recounts the history of open theism from its antecedents and early developments to its more recent expressions, considering how it might continue to develop in relation to several primary doctrines of the Christian faith.

This book is a timely exploration of the philosophical implications of the rapidly growing theological movement known as open theism, or the 'openness of God'. William Hasker, one of the philosophers prominently associated with the movement,

"Everyone who believes in God at all believes that He knows what you and I are going to do tomorrow." –C. S. Lewis This understanding of God's foreknowledge has united the church for twenty centuries. But advocates of "open theism" are presenting a different vision of God and a different view of the future. The rise of open theism within evangelicalism has raised a host of questions. Was classical theism decisively tainted by Greek philosophy? How should we understand passages that tell us that God repents? Are essentials of biblical Christianity–like the inerrancy of Scripture, the trustworthiness of God, and the Gospel of Christ–at stake in this debate? Where, when, and why should we draw new boundaries–and is open theism beyond them? Beyond the Bounds brings together a respected team of scholars to examine the latest literature, address these questions, and give guidance to the church in this time of controversy. Contributors include: John Piper Wayne Grudem Michael S. Horton Bruce A. Ware Mark R. Talbot A. B. Caneday Stephen J. Wellum Justin Taylor Paul Kjoss Helseth Chad Brand William C. Davis Russell Fuller "We have prepared this book to address the issue of boundaries and, we pray, bring some remedy to the present and impending pain of embracing open theism as a legitimate Christian vision of God. . . . As a pastor, who longs to be biblical and God-centered and Christ-exalting and eternally helpful to my people, I see open theism as theologically ruinous, dishonoring to God, belittling to Christ, and pastorally hurtful. My prayer is that Christian leaders will come to see it this way, and thus love the church by counting open theism beyond the bounds of orthodox Christian teaching." –From the Foreword by John Piper

"Argues that a dynamic concept of God as articulated in open theism better serves the evangelistic mission of the church than does conventional theology."--Back

Since its inception, the discussion surrounding Open Theism has been dominated by polemics. On crucial philosophical issues, Openness proponents have largely been devoted to explicating the underlying framework and logical arguments supporting their perspective against competing theological and philosophical perspectives. As a result, very little constructive work has been done on the interconnections between Open Theism and the natural sciences. Given the central place of sciences in today's world, any perspective that hopes to have a broad impact must necessarily address such disciplines in a sustained and constructive manner. To date such engagements from the Openness perspective have been rare. God in an Open Universe addresses this deficiency. This book demonstrates that Open Theism makes a distinctive and highly fruitful contribution to the conversation and constructive work occurring between philosophy, theology, and the sciences. The various essays explore subjects ranging from physics to prayer, from special relativity to divine providence, from metaphysics to evolution, and from space-time to God. All who work at the intersection of theology and the sciences will benefit greatly from these essays that break new ground in this important conversation.

Christians throughout history have been strengthened by their confidence that God knows everything about the future. But consider this: What if it simply is not true? What if God can only rely on His best guess about tomorrow—just as you and I do? Would it not affect your trust in Him, your confidence in facing the future, your worship, and your motivation to leave everything in His hands? And yet this is the consequence that has to be faced if you trust what a number of leading voices in evangelicalism are proposing under the doctrine of open theism. In its redefinition of the nature of divine providence, open theism adjusts the entire picture of God's sovereignty and involvement in our lives. Bruce Ware carefully summarizes and critiques this dangerous doctrine from a thoroughly biblical perspective, providing an excellent treatment of both the classical and openness views. He explores their implications and faithfully pinpoints the subtle ways that open theism undermines our trust in God and lessens His glory in our lives.

Open theism paints the picture of a flexible God who engages in a dynamic history with his free creatures, a history in which the future is not yet definitely known to God but rather unfolds as a range of open possibilities. As one might expect, this position has proven fractious. Though much of the noise surrounding the issue of God's predestination and humanity's freedom has quieted in recent years, the conversation is ongoing and a continual source of contention in evangelical circles. God In Motion is the first in-depth analysis of the biblical-hermeneutical questions driving the heated open theism debate. Unlike previous books on the open view of God, Manuel Schmid's work does not take sides. Rather, God in Motion offers a qualified and critical look at the standard arguments of both the proponents and critics of open theism and suggests new perspectives. Schmid proposes an alternate path to understanding what is at stake in this debate, bringing open theism into conversation with weighty representatives of German-language theology such as Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, Wolfhard Pannenberg, and Jürgen Moltmann. God in Motion shows ways out of the theological dead ends that have characterized the debate, especially regarding the biblical grounding of open theism, by giving careful consideration to lessons learned from the controversies of current theological discourse. In all of this analysis, Schmid conveys a passion for serious pursuit of a biblically, theologically, and philosophically coherent Christian doctrine of God for the twenty-first century. Those wrestling with questions about biblical theology and eager to gain a more nuanced conception of God out of the richness of biblical texts and traditions will greatly benefit from God in Motion, as they follow Schmid past the polemics of theological controversy to fresh and challenging insights.

Wrestling the Angel is the first in a two part study of the foundations of Mormon thought and practice. The book traces the essential contours of Mormon thought as it developed from Joseph Smith to the present. Terryl L. Givens, one of the nation's foremost scholars of Mormonism, offers a sweeping account of the history of Mormon belief, revealing that Mormonism is a tradition still very much in the process of formation.