sastark
Puritan Board Graduate
I am having some trouble grasping the concept of God's middle knowledge. I was hoping some of the PBers could help.
Here's what I understand, so far:
According to Molina (and other modern Molinists, such as W. L. Craig), there are three logical moments in the life of God:
Moment 1: God's natural knowledge of everything that could be
Moment 2: God's middle knowledge of everything that would be
DIVINE DECREE
Moment 3: God's free knowledge of everything that will happen in the actual world.
(these three moments are taken from Middle Knowledge: A Reformed Critique by Travis J. Campbell)
I think the first thing I am having trouble with is a definition of God's "free knowledge". What is meant by "free knowledge"? Is it the same as what is described in WCF 3.1: "nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established"?
Or does the Molinist view equate God's middle knowledge with "contingency of second causes"?
Also, doesn't the Molinist view ultimately make God's knowledge dependent upon the creature (God saw how a certain person would act in a certain situation and so ordered creation so that those specific events leading to that situation would actually occur)? And therefore, God is not self-sufficient?
In my class tonight, we are going to have a guest speaker who is a professor at Biola and also a Molinist. That's why I'm trying to better understand the position. Any help anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Here's what I understand, so far:
According to Molina (and other modern Molinists, such as W. L. Craig), there are three logical moments in the life of God:
Moment 1: God's natural knowledge of everything that could be
Moment 2: God's middle knowledge of everything that would be
DIVINE DECREE
Moment 3: God's free knowledge of everything that will happen in the actual world.
(these three moments are taken from Middle Knowledge: A Reformed Critique by Travis J. Campbell)
I think the first thing I am having trouble with is a definition of God's "free knowledge". What is meant by "free knowledge"? Is it the same as what is described in WCF 3.1: "nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established"?
Or does the Molinist view equate God's middle knowledge with "contingency of second causes"?
Also, doesn't the Molinist view ultimately make God's knowledge dependent upon the creature (God saw how a certain person would act in a certain situation and so ordered creation so that those specific events leading to that situation would actually occur)? And therefore, God is not self-sufficient?
In my class tonight, we are going to have a guest speaker who is a professor at Biola and also a Molinist. That's why I'm trying to better understand the position. Any help anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!