by jimwalton » Fri Nov 18, 2022 4:11 am
I would say "no." My understanding of panentheism is that God has his fingers in every pie. The opposite position, deism, is that God has His fingers in no pies. I don't see the Bible as supporting either extreme. For instance, We are not robots nor are we left to ourselves. God doesn't leave everything to be determined by free will, but only the decisions of humans not submitted to His sovereign will. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. God can direct His salvific purposes for the world (and He does) without having to direct every human's thought (which He doesn't). There is no logical or theological necessity that it must be all or nothing.
I would say "no." My understanding of panentheism is that God has his fingers in every pie. The opposite position, deism, is that God has His fingers in no pies. I don't see the Bible as supporting either extreme. For instance, We are not robots nor are we left to ourselves. God doesn't leave everything to be determined by free will, but only the decisions of humans not submitted to His sovereign will. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. God can direct His salvific purposes for the world (and He does) without having to direct every human's thought (which He doesn't). There is no logical or theological necessity that it must be all or nothing.