Because... WESAYSO!
A number of years ago, when our five children were small, there was a half-hour animated show on television called "Dinosaurs". It was about the Sinclairs, a dinosaur family that showed us week by week what it was like growing up in the age of dinosaurs. It was, of course, a caricature and spoof of our own modern human culture, and like the "Simpsons" show which still airs today, it used humor and satire to point out the many day to day prejudices, inconsistencies and irrationalities woven into our lives that most of us are too preoccupied to even notice. Brilliant idea, by the way.
One of the main characters on the show was not really a person, but a self-serving, seemingly omnipresent, omnipotent mega-corporation called WESAYSO. WESAYSO controlled not only the world's economy and all major institutions, but through every type of media it molded the personal thoughts, beliefs, and opinions of all earth's inhabitants according to WESAYSO's best interests. Whenever so-called "facts", "teachings", or "theories" were transmitted by the WESAYSO corporation to the public, anyone who dared question them was greeted with the authoritative response, "Because we say so!" That would be the end of the inquiry... that is, if they knew what was good for them. The hallowed "traditions" of the elders and forefathers would also often be invoked, and of course the very idea of questioning them was forbidden. 99% of the population simply accepted whatever they were told as being the absolute truth, and they just went along with their lives as best as they could.
When we watch this kind of behavior displayed by animated characters on television, we immediately recognize the blatant propaganda and manipulation taking place and we laugh at it. In our own actual world, however, when it is happening to real people and being perpetrated by real people in authority, we often don't recognize it, or just can't bring ourselves to believe that it is really happening. From our early childhood we've all been conditioned to blindly trust our elders, teachers, clergy, police, politicians, and so on. These people are supposed to be our public servants, seeking only our good. However, most of us eventually learn over time that our world and it's institutions are actually run by flawed people, and sometimes very evil people.
The WESAYSO Corporation kind of reminds me of the way many church organizations have promoted their traditions and teachings throughout history. Every denomination or "non-denominational" group has their own unique way of interpreting the Scriptures and describing who their "God" is, which is admittedly somewhat understandable, but then they often go overboard by holding their flocks captive by fear and intimidation, and slander other churches or individuals who hold differing views. This can make life very difficult for the average churchgoer who is honestly just seeking simple, spiritual truth. There seems to be a great lack of "academic freedom", so to speak, throughout the world of Christendom. Free inquiry is strongly discouraged and suppressed. Even when a particular church teaching clearly can't pass a simple biblical test, or even common sense, the sheep are nevertheless expected to wholehearted embrace it as absolute truth. Then, of course, the leaders always throw in "God's ways are not our ways" for the clincher, as if that magically makes everything "they say" acceptable.
We who have either embraced or are leaning toward Open Theism have done so not because we are rebels, but mainly because the classical forms of theism that have dominated Christianity over the last few centuries have failed to present a satisfying, coherent theology that makes sense spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, and one that can be lived out in full practicality. Things are beginning to change, however. With the high literacy rate in the world today, and with the advent of the internet, Christians have been able to read the Bible in many various translations, and also now have free access to thousands of commentaries and historical reference works that up until recently have only been available in theological seminary libraries. Millions of lay people now have the tools to check for themselves if what their pastors are teaching them is true, or just tradition, hearsay, opinion, or an outright falsehood. While this may be viewed negatively by church leaders, this is very good news for the church as a whole if we can take advantage of this opportunity.
Up until now, the image we've projected to the world as the body of Christ has sadly been fragmented and confusing. The church has literally become thousands of disagreeing splinter groups. Jesus prayed to the Father that we would be One as He and the Father are One. This unfortunately has not been our experience, even from the church's very inception 2000 years ago. The world has noticed this and loves to point this out to us. The apostle Paul also noticed it in his own day and often tried to get the church to be of one mind. Here in the following passage he states some of the obvious reasons why:
Ephesians 4:4-6
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Scripture, logic and intuition all tell us that there can only be one truth, one theology, if you will. Therefore, it seems we should be able to come up with one body of truth that should clearly explain, without endless contradictions and paradoxes, what it is we all really need to know about God, the church, and our relationship to each other and the world. I realize that this will be very difficult to accomplish. Others in the past have attempted it and obviously have failed. The devil has and always will continue to oppose this effort with all of his resources. But despite these obstacles, I believe it's very important that all Christians everywhere see their need to experience that worldwide oneness that Jesus earnestly prayed for, and that we should use every means available to get there. Open Theism at present doesn't pretend to have all the answers, but it's clearly a manifestation of a growing yearning for truth and real oneness within the body of Christ. Hopefully over time, more and more godly, gifted scholars and individuals from many backgrounds will begin to work together on this project. If they humbly share their biblical and Holy Spirit knowledge and understanding with each other, we will all grow ever closer to manifesting God's kingdom to the world. Let's all put our personal pride aside, and prayerfully be willing to move toward this worthy goal.
-nOFuTuRe
In 1977 I first read Howard Elseth's "Did God Know?". Although the book did much to turn my focus on that which we call "Open Theism".
the book, in its original printing, contains some serious errors regarding Greek usage.
My former pastor, a friend of Winkie Pratney,
supposedly traveled to visit Elseth and help
iron out any problems with his presentation which might make it easy prey for detractors.
I have been a Greek scholar now for about 30
years; and I am just getting around to preparing a critique of a significant portion of
"Did God Know?". I am searching for a forum of like-minded believers who might offer their
valuable suggestions for this presentation.
Those more familiar with Elseth's book might
be in a better position to understand what I've laid out; for at the moment my presentation
assumes a knowledge of Elseth's argument
about the phrase "foundation of the world".
I'm not yet fully knowledgeable about blogs, so any assistance will be appreciated.
E.A.
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Hello E.A.,
Nice to hear from you, and I'm pleased to see a Greek scholar looking into Open Theism. I only had one year of Greek in college which is unfortunately of little use to me, and have since regretted not taking it much further. I am not familiar with Howard Elseth's writings and I'm by no means an expert on all aspects of open theism either. Thanks for mentioning him though, as I like to read everything I can find on the subject.
Greg Boyd, however, has written much on the topic and used to have a link to an awesome internet forum/discussion site on his webpage. I don't see it there now, however, and due to computer crashes I've lost many bookmarks to good sites I've come across over the years. I think if you start with Google searches including Greg Boyd, you should be able to come across some very good discussion sites, including the one I previously mentioned. If I come across anything that I think might be helpful to you, I'll send it to you.
Have a blessed day!
nOFuTuRe
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Cool
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