Exhaustive Definite Foreknowledge and Divine Risk in the Writings of Richard Rice

Seminary Commons

In this poster I study the problem of God’s exhaustive definite foreknowledge of future free choices and divine risk in the writings of Richard Rice. Rice argues that affirming divine exhaustive definite foreknowledge of future free choices denies God the experience of taking genuine risk. According to him, in creating morally free beings with the capacity to love involves risk and this implies that God acknowledged the risk of our disobedience. This was a risk God undertook, because without this our obedience would not have expressed personal love for Him. In spite of the risk God freely dedicated Himself to creating and foreknowing the freedom of morally free agents despite lacking the foreknowledge of our future free choices. Rice argues that the Open View permits us to ascribe risk to God since love involves risk. Based on Rice’s view, I seek to answer two questions: Does God’s absolute definite foreknowledge of free choices in the incarnation mean God did not risk? Does divine risk mean lack of certainty of future free choices?