If you saw my previous posts, "On the Scent of a Tulip and Whether it Bears Thorns," and "Thoughts on Middle Knowledge and Divine Inspiration," you are aware that my position on the conundrum of divine sovereignty and human freedom is one of "Middle Knowledge," which I liken to Terrance Tiessen's position of "Middle Knowledge Calvinism," articulated in his monograph, Providence and Prayer. I had a chance to correspond with Dr. Tiessen following my "Thoughts on MK and DI" post, and he mentioned his forthcoming article in the Westminster Theological Journal. Since I do not subscribe to that journal, Dr. Tiessen was kind enough to send me a copy of the article in email. I have just completed a thorough reading of it, and I can say without a doubt that he has well defended the compatibility of middle knowledge and Calvinism. In fact, he has well answered both the grounding objection, and the other normal objections one often hears from those in the Calvinist camp. In fact, I have now found in his wording the precise label for the position I hold: "A Monergistic Appropriation of Divine Middle Knowledge." I like that much better than Molinism or any kind of hyphenated-Calvinism.
Be on the lookout for Tiessen's article: "Why Calvinists Should Believe in Divine Middle Knowledge, Although They Reject Molinism," in a forthcoming issue of Westminster Theological Journal. I am hopeful that this will be the seedbed for a monograph from Dr. Tiessen on the subject.
No comments:
Post a Comment