The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom

by William Lane Craig

Publisher:

Wipf and Stock

, 2000

Does God know our actions before we do them? And if so, do human beings truly have free will? William Lane Craig contends that God’s foreknowledge and human free will are compatible. He demonstrates that the Bible teaches divine foreknowledge of human free acts, and reveals two ways of “reconciling divine omniscience with human freedom.”

Key Features

• Important discussion for understanding human free-will
• Contains topics of interest for Calvinists and Arminians alike
• Connects theology to philosophy in a helpful way

Contents

• Preface
• Introduction
• Part 1: The Doctrine of Divine Foreknowledge
  • God’s Knowledge of the Present, Past, and Future
  • Two Denials of Biblical Doctrine
• Part 2: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom
  • The Argument for Theological Fatalism
  • Three Unsuccessful Attempts to Escape Fatalism
  • Theological Fatalism Rejected
  • The Necessity of the Past
  • Rejection of Fatalism in Other Fields (1): Backward Causation
  • Rejection of Fatalism in Other Fields (2): Time Travel
  • Rejection of Fatalism in Other Fields (3): Precognition
  • Rejection of Fatalism in Other Fields (4): Newcomb’s Paradox
• Part 3: The Basis of Divine Foreknowledge
  • Innate Knowledge
  • Middle Knowledge

Top Highlights

“For the Christian, then, the issue of fatalism—more particularly, theological fatalism—cannot remain a matter of indifference. If the fatalist is correct, then the Christian must deny either divine foreknowledge or human freedom.” (Page 15)

“For too many Christians, easy appeal to mystery has become a substitute for the labor of hard thinking.” (Page 15)

“In part 3 we shall address the question of how God foreknows future events which are not causally determined.” (Pages 16–17)

“But from these passages we cannot be sure that foreknowledge is based on foreordination rather than the reverse. Could not God’s foreordination be based on his knowledge of what Herod, Pilate, and the others would do should Christ be sent? Technically, this is not foreknowledge, but so-called middle knowledge, which we shall discuss in chapter 12; that is to say, it is prognōsis in the sense that God knew in advance what would happen were he to send his Son. For the moment, however, the essential point is that foreknowledge and foreordination do not mean the same thing, and the latter could be based on the former rather than the other way around.” (Pages 33–34)

“Hence two sorts of denial of this doctrine have been issued: (1) denial that God has foreknowledge of such events, and (2) denial that there are any truly free acts.” (Page 39)

Product Details

• Title: The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom
• Author: William Lane Craig
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Print Publication Date: 2000
• Logos Release Date: 2015
• Pages: 157
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: God (Christianity) › Omniscience; Free will and determinism; Liberty › Religious aspects--Christianity
• ISBNs: 9781579103163, 1579103162
• Resource ID: LLS:ONLYWISEGOD
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-01-16T19:22:15Z

About William Lane Craig

William Lane Craig (PhD, University of Birmingham, England) is Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University and lives in Marietta, GA.