Openness and Bada' according to the Open Theistic View and the Shi'a Theology; A Comparative Study

Mirsadri, Sayyeda Saida; Nasiri, Mansour

Openness and Bada' according to the Open Theistic View and the Shi'a Theology; A Comparative Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Sayyeda Saida Mirsadri ¹

Mansour Nasiri ²

¹ PhD student, Farabi Campus, University of Tehran

² Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Tehran, Farabi Campus

Abstract

Open theism is a theological movement rising out of the evangelical tradition at the end of the century. Seeking to resolve the incompatibility existing between the divine infallible foreknowledge and the human free-will, they sought to devise a theology that could be able to uphold human freedom and free will while keeping God at the centre of its system. According to their focal idea both God and the future are open, that is nothing is predetermined and set beforehand about future and since it has not yet taken place, God has no knowledge of it. The critique raised against them is that in their attempt to defend human free will and to resolve the challenge of incompatibility, they reduce the divine knowledge, hence distorting the image of the traditional God. In this contribution we seek to present a Shi’a theological model that while seeking to resolve the problem, remains loyal to the traditional image of God, hence being immune of the critiques raised against open theism.

Keywords

"Open theism"

"foreknowledge"

"free will"

"freedom"

"openness"

"bada'"

قرآن کریم.

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