undermining god

continuing our discussion of open theism, i turn to pastor tom ascol who points out at least five areas of the christian faith undermined by belief in open theism...

* undermines confidence in scripture
* undermines confidence in god
* undermines faith in christ
* undermines prayer
* undermines confident living

here is his conclusion...

The devotional house in which one lives will be largely determined
by the doctrinal foundation on which he builds. The vibrant, joyful
life of faith which marked the New Testament church was rooted
in a steadfast commitment to the "apostles' doctrine" (Acts 2:42).

The Apostle Paul regularly structured his arguments in his letters
to the early churches so that his imperatives rested upon his indicatives.
First, he laid a doctrinal foundation (for example in Romans 1-11 and
Ephesians 1-3); then he exhorted his readers to live up to what they
believed (as in Romans 12-16 and Ephesians 4-6).
Right believing leads to right living.

It is hard to understand, then, the almost nonchalant attitude of Boyd
when he writes, "Next to the central doctrines of the Christian faith,
the issue of whether the future is exhaustively settled or partially open
is relatively unimportant. It is certainly not a doctrine Christians should
ever divide over."[48]

Contrary to the way Boyd makes it sound, Open Theism is not
simply a philosopher's debate. Redefine reality and the God of
reality changes with it. What is at stake is the very doctrine of God,
and with that, every aspect of the Christian life.

As A. W. Tozer noted in the middle of the last century,

"The gravest question before the Church is always God
Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is
not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he
in his deep heart conceives God to be like."

He goes on to observe,

"Were we able to extract from any man a
complete answer to the question, 'What comes into your
mind when you think about God?' we might predict with
certainty the spiritual future of that man."[49]

Open Theism's redefinition of God bodes ill for those who embrace it.
If our vision of God is diminished, vital godliness is sure to shrink with
it.

read the whole article here. it is well written and well documented with footnotes for further research.