In 2009 I did this post of God being open and so we should be open. You can read the article here (http://bit.ly/vgaqTq). As you can see, I mainly emphasized that we should be flexible in our dealings in life. In the past two years, I have learned that even God is flexible in his dealings with people. He is flexible as seen through history, our time, bible, cultures, peoples physical ability eg how God deals with a mentally challenged child is different from how he deals with a normal child. I want to lay a simple biblical case to show how God is open.
One of the most common Christian teachings in Kenya that I am sure you have heard is that God has a blueprint for your life. Better I say God has a plan for your life. Therefore, everything that happens to you happens for a reason because God allowed it to happen. It’s not only common in Kenya but present worldwide.
The above teaching has many challenges. The biggest challenge is through the scriptures, we see God changes his plans every other time. In fact, the verse usually quoted from Jeremiah says God knows the PLANS he has for your life. Am sure your own experience and reason tell you some things that happen to you are just not God’s will for your life. There is no way you will expect me to believe, that my friend’s parents who died of HIV, that it is God who allowed/ordained this to happen to leave them as orphans to struggle. This experience is not of God. Other times people claim God’s ways are illogical to man justifying it with (proverbs). I would argue that John1:1 says that God is the word. The Greek word translated here word is logos which the root word for the English word logic. So to say God’s ways are illogical/not of reason then goes against this central idea in Christian teachings. Further in proverbs scriptures tell us to get understanding. To add to the affirmation that the Holy Spirit has been speaking to your life through reason and experience, is the bible verses that I want to share about the same.
To be fair, the teachings you learned first, and you have continually heard as a Christian, will make you very skeptical about a view that is contrary to your God-view. For example, if you have never heard about a guy called Erasmus but you know about Martin Luther you can already see your bias in calling one teaching false when you hear it even though both were present during the reformation period of the church. Or if you know about John Calvin and have never read about Jacobous Arminious or if you know about St Augustine but you don’t know about Pelagious you can easily call the others teachings false. Worse still if you have heard about them from a reviewer who was advancing your favourite theologian’s doctrine, we then become carnal like guys in Paul’s day of I follow Apollos and others say I follow Peter while others I follow Paul.
I think most Kenyan Christians though have a very inclusive nature to a majority of these teachings. Guys will often mix one teaching with another without knowing. Kwanza it becomes so clear that many of our preachers have very little theology of practice. You will find a preacher in the same sermon talk about how God has given you freewill and then he says God has predestined your life or in another sermon you hear him say God is in control of everything, then later he says the devil is in control of this world, then another time God gave man control of the world..
But still it is a good thing. I think this mix has generated a good theology by Kenyans. The view that teachings of God change, I feel like calling it delta-theism. In fact that is what I will call it. Delta-theism is thus the theology that teaches that Christian doctrines are like shock absorbers of a car that needs changing over time.
That is a really a cool word; Delta-theism. I think I will spend a couple of writings to just develop it.
Back to God being open; have you ever asked God, yourself, a friend or your pastor any of the following questions?
Does God change his mind?
Does prayer change God?
Does God regret?
Is God surprised at how things turn out?
Is God 50/50 about the future of some things?
Is it safe to recycle the cliché answers to some of these questions first? I think it is safe, coz at the banner of this blog, is written Alex Shianda, and, I am Alex Shianda
“Prayer does not change God it changes us”
“God is the unmoved mover”
“God is never surprised”
“God is not bound by time.”
I affirm the perfect divine nature of God. The above questions almost seem as if they are attacking the core perfect qualities of God. The three common ones are
Omniscience- God is all knowing
Omnipotent-God has all the ability
Omnipresent-God is at all places at the same time
I would argue that the answers to the questions will show these qualities are affirmed and not discarded. A general principal, in bible reading is; you will find what you are looking for in the bible. If you read with the lens of cynicism, you will find cynical things to take about from the bible. If you read the bible with the lens that God has predetermined everything in life you will see a lot of predestination stuff. In fact you will see the following verses as figurative the same way if you read the bible with lens of free will you will see God’s mind and not God’s will when you read the bible.
I let you see the log in your own eye that you need to remove
1) Does God change his mind?
Ex32:14, Num14:12-20, Deut9:13-14, 18-20,25:1, 1sam2:27-36, 2kings 20:1-7 1chro21:15, jer 26:19, Eze20:5-22, Amos7:1-6, jonah1:2, 3:2, 4:10
2) Does prayer change God?
jer 18:7-11; 26:2-3, Ezek33:13-15, Joel2:13-14, jonah4:2
3) Does God regret?
Ge6:5-6, 1sam15:10,35, ezek22:29-31
4) Is God sometimes surprised at how things turn out?
Isa 5:3-7, jer3:6-7, 19-20
5) Does God test his people to see if they will remain in him?
Gen22:12, Exo16:4, Deut8:2 13:1-3, jud2:20-3:5, 2chr32:31
6) Is God 50/50 about the future of some things?
num14:11, Hos8:5 Ex3:18-4:9, 13:17, jer38:17-18, 20-21, 23 ezek12:1-3 Ex4:1-7, Ex13:17, ezek12:3
Delta-theism therefore teaches that God foreknows every possible future event but it is not all his will as a development to classical theism. It’s a spring/shock absorber for your life’s road. I like that word, Delta-theism.
Application
Q) Was the Post Election Violence in Kenya a part of God’s will?
A) NO. It was in God’s mind (foreknowledge) but not God’s will (predestination). God’s will is absolutely good. His divine perfect nature does not have evil. God is not ambiguous in moral, evil and good at the same time. Some people (free will agents) did not choose to obey God during the PEVs and worked with the devil (a free wil agent).
Q) Does God have a blueprint for your life?
A) NO. God sometimes changes his mind. If he changes his mind as we have seen above, then there is no blueprint. He knows every single possible outcome of the choices you will make. He therefore has given you a free will to submit to him or not. God therefore brings everything that happens to you TO reason and NOT that everything happens FOR or WITH a reason. Sometimes shit happens. God foreknew it all but some is not is not his will as there are other free agents in the picture like the devil and people.
Q) Can an all knowing God change his mind?
A) Yes! God has conditionally (where the word is the condition) bound himself to the free will of man here on earth. Hence there are some future things he has left open and some must happen the way he wills.
Q) Is God in Control of everything that happens in your life?
A) NO. The idea of God being in control developed during the industrialization age where mechanization was taking place. All through the scriptures we see God being relational not mechanistic with people. Hence God wants a relationship with you in everything in your life. Sometimes free agents eg the devil or other people or even you make this relationship not to work.
here is a movie i recommend you watch.”The Adjustment Bureau”. it was one of my favourite movies this year. i think it will help you get some idea of what predestination and free will is all about
