God's Absence and the Charismatic Presence

Inquiries in Openness Theology

Kindelberger

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781532614538
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

The author's theological inquiry is intended to raise questions of interpretation within the camp of openness theology and to direct a discussion on the implications of this movement for the charismatic/Pentecostal community.Open theism or openness theology affirms that the universe is open, the future is not settled, God is essentially relational love, and the risks of love and the threats against it are real. The author digs deep into this area of doctrine in order to question how far openness theology is willing to go.Is it only the future that is open to God, or are there perhaps unknown aspects to the past and present as well? What does God know about sin, and when does he know it? Is it possible for God to be totally absent from a person's life or even from an entire nation? If God can be absent, can he also be exceptionally present in the lives of believers? What would the divine presence and the charismata (spiritual ministries) look like in an open universe?

Part I

God’s Absence

1

An Open Past and Present

“If not, I will know”

One of many positive byproducts of open theism has been to offer the church an interpretation of Scripture that reflects on an immanent, genuinely relational God of vulnerable love and intimate fellowship. This God of everlasting wisdom and infinite resources created a universe where the future is partly open and flexible, making true love and libertarian freedom possible in a world where their impact is real because the future is not set in stone. It is this compassionate, all-wise, infinitely powerful God who leads his church boldly and victoriously into a partly unknown future.

This, however, may only be part of the story. Openness theology already affirms that God is absent from the future; a real, unmitigated absence. God cannot be where he does not know, and the actual future remains unknown. Could it be, then, that an open future may also leave room for a partly open past and present as well? As you can imagine, such a thesis has serious implications for both open theism and the omni’s of God.37

Our first enterprise will be to examine a passage of Scripture that we often gloss over without much critical analysis or giving second thought to one’s presupposed hermeneutic. Our investigation begins in Genesis 18 with an important conversation between Yahweh and his servant-prophet, Abraham.

Yahweh’s Investigation

Although the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is a familiar one, what most of us remember about it is Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt because she looked back at the home-life she left behind (Gen 19:26). Leading up to her demise was the warning of angelic visitors to flee the city because Yahweh was about to destroy it. This story has left many with an impression of God’s unfeeling, wrathful, and destructive nature. With the anger of God on our minds, there are portions of the story that we tend to gloss over. But those rather ignored aspects of the story present an altogether different picture of God. The portrait is not one of a hateful, unfeeling, untouchable god but one who interacts with people, one who considers Abraham’s thoughts and wishes, one who condescends and genuinely considers ideas outside of himself. For this account, we will look to Genesis 18.

Before any judgment befalls Sodom and Gomorrah, rather than a closed-minded and wrath-set Tyrant, readers are introduced to the thoughtful, open heart of God. After a divine Messenger appears to Abram (later Abraham) in Genesis 17 and is then revealed to be God himself, Gen 18:1 marks the move from using the generic title, God, to using the proper name, Yahweh. God has made himself approachable as a person! This becomes clear when Yahweh, in anticipation of executing judgment against Sodom, asks his two fellow visitors a question that exposes his own inner thoughts: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen (yada) him” (Gen 18:17–19). Here we’re given a unique glimpse into God’s very own thoughts.

There are essentially three moments of internal reflection involved here. The first moment is Yahweh’s internal decision to speak up about welcoming Abraham’s input as his covenant partner. The second moment is when Yahweh voices that decision to the other two visitors as if to secure their agreement. Granted, if we interpret Yahweh’s words exclusively as an internal dialogue, these first two moments are collapsed into one. Because these first two aspects of God’s reflection are not directed to Abraham, they are likely not mere rhetoric for Abraham’s benefit but point to a decision-making process within God. Hesitation might be too strong a word here, but there is an inner and then outer dialogue that reveals the value that God places on his new covenant partner; Yahweh wants to move forward with the proper consideration that this new relationship merits. Through his dialogue with the other two visitors, we see that Yahweh enters history in a profoundly personal way.

In the third moment, God approaches Abraham and shares his intentions with him (Gen 18:20–21). Yahweh’s new partner, the one “chosen” and known (yada) to him by covenant, shares a relationship with God unique within the history of the world. The reader now sees how privileged Abraham is to join in on Yahweh’s inner dialogue, the all-wise, all-powerful God. God voices his thoughts to Abraham, expecting a discussion to follow. If God isn’t interested in Abraham’s opinion, there would be no need to bring him up to speed. God doesn’t propel his plans forward with brute force or stubborn vengeance but seeks the input of the man who would become a great and powerful nation, a man who holds power too, God-given, even God-shared power. Abraham now has a voice that impacts the direction of the nations and the world, a privilege no one before him had enjoyed.

Yahweh’s two fellow messengers then start off toward the cities, leaving Abraham “standing before the Lord” (Gen 18:22). Along with many other commentators, Walter Brueggemann observes that “a very early text note (not to be doubted in its authority and authenticity) shows that the text before any translation originally said, ‘Yahweh stood before Abraham.’ The picture is one which agrees with . . . Abraham as Yahweh’s theological instructor. It is as though Abraham were presiding over the meeting.”38 Abraham is indeed Yahweh’s covenant partner and could therefore be presumptuous in his posture before him. Abraham has captured the Lord’s attention, so Yahweh would in turn be attentive to Abraham’s thoughts on the matter. What follows is a long discussion between Yahweh and Abraham. Because this passage should be familiar to the reader, I’m only going to cite a small portion:

Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” . . . Then [Abraham] said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten [righteous] can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” (Gen 18:20–21, 32)

This passage introduces a peculiar scenario for both classical interpreters and open theists. Even a cursory glance of the passage reveals what is easy to gloss over when one approaches the text with a closed view of God. The situation Yahweh shares with Abraham stresses that the all-knowing God himself cannot yet reach a final decision regarding judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah. He first needs to gather more information because, at this point, he simply doesn’t know enough about the situation: “I will go down and see . . . If not, I will [then] know.” Even for Almighty God, uncertainty and questions remain.

After becoming aware of an implied impending judgment against the twin cities, Abraham entreats Yahweh to discuss with him various hypothetical situations in which Yahweh might relent altogether from his wrath. Arguing from the basis of God’s own mercies, Abraham beseeches the Lord not to “sweep away the righteous with the wicked” but to spare everyone if even ten righteous people would be found there (Gen 18:23, 32). Because this is such a significant text with serious implications to freewill theism, we will spend the remainder of this chapter considering the biblical material.

Classical Interpretation: A Closed-Minded God

The classical interpretation approaches the text with the preconceived notion that God is unchanging in every respect, that God is independent and does not need human input, and that the future is closed, a future written from eternity past. Hence, Yahweh’s conversation with Abraham is filled with figurative language that cannot be taken literally. Yahweh’s interactions are merely a bold anthropomorphism, the weight of which may be signaled by Yahweh’s appearing to Abraham particularly in human form. God already knew exactly how much evil was being committed in those cities; thus, his language of “go[ing] down” to investigate is merely rhetorical.

This talk of God moving within the world is language of accommodation, stylistic on the part of the author for the purpose of writing a quality narrative. “Go[ing] down” is basic metaphor that points to finalizing judgment. This language is int...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: God of Wonders and an Open Future
• Part I: God’s Absence
• Part II: The Charismatic Presence
• Appendix: Origins of Pentecostal Tongues
• Bibliography