Most Moved Mover: A Theology of God’s Openness PDF
Preview Most Moved Mover: A Theology of God’s Openness
MOST MOVED MOVER A Theology of God’s Openness Didsbury Lectures, 2000 MOST MOVED MOVER A Theology of God’s Openness Clark H. Pinnock g || Baker Academic A Division of Baker Book House Co Grand Rapids, Michigan 49516 paternoster press Copyright © 2001 Clark Pinnock First published in 2001 by Paternoster Press in the UK and by Baker Book House in the USA 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Paternoster Press is an imprint of Paternoster Publishing, P.O. Box 300, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 0QS, UK http://www.paternoster-publishing.com The right of Clark Pinnock to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying. In the UK such liceitces are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 1-84227-014-1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pinnock, Clark H., 1937- Most moved mover: a theology of God’s openness /Clark H. Pinnock. p. cm. — (The Didsbury lectures) Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 0-8010-2290-8 (paper) 1. God—Love. 2. God—Attributes. I. Title. II. Series. BT140 ,P5 2001 231-dc21 2001025313 Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION BIBLE, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved Typeset by WestKey Ltd, Falmouth, Cornwall, England Printed in the United States of America A Prayer Lord, give me weak eyes for things that are of no account, But clear eyes for all thy truth. Soren Kierkegaard Contents Preface ix Introduction 1 1. The Scriptural Foundations 25 2. Overcoming a Pagan Inheritance 65 3. The Metaphysics of Love 113 4. The Existential Fit 153 Conclusion 179 Bibliography 187 Preface Over the course of my life as a theologian, I have been a pilgrim and have sought to grow as a hearer of God’s word. Theology has been for me a journey of discovery and, though I have respected them, I have not regarded traditional views as beyond reform. Tradition has not stopped me from thinking or suppressed new sources of insight. One’s theology is a work of human construction, even when based in divine revelation, and interpretation requires strenuous effort. Our interpretations are provisional and truth is, to some extent, historically conditioned and ultimately eschatological. To paraphrase St Paul, ‘Now we know in part; then we will know fully’ (1 Cor. 13:12). The truth claims that we make are all open to discussion and we ought to be teachable and ready to learn because none of our work rises to the level of timeless truth. There will always be multiple models and any one of them may be valu able in expressing the richness of the divine mystery. I think there is always a place for asking questions and for challenging assumptions. Our God-talk is always open to re-evaluation because mistakes can be made and need correcting. The prophet Hosea was not alone in alleging that the theologians of Israel had failed in their task of instructing people (Hos. 4:4-10). An orientation to reform, I realize, does not go down well with those who privilege certain traditions as practically beyond discus sion and certainly beyond improving. I have found that one cannot engage in the task of reforming post-fundamentalist thought and escape criticism. Appreciation from some and hostility from others comes with the territory. I did not for a moment imagine in 1994 that our book on ‘the open ness of God’ would create such interest and provoke such controversy, particularly in the evangelical community. I suppose it did so because it was a fresh proposal with a certain appeal and because it created an agenda that others had to reply to. For some years the nature of God and God’s relationship with the world had been an area of reflection and debate in theology. Among evangelicals this was fostered by a felt
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