Journal: Reformation and Revival
Volume: RAR 12:2 (Spring 2003)
Article: An Early Response to Open Theism: Edward Taylor’s Gods Determinations, and the Puritan View of History
Author: Stephen J. Nichols

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An Early Response to Open Theism: Edward Taylor’s Gods Determinations, and the Puritan View of History

Stephen J. Nichols

Much of the appeal of openness theology as perceived by its proponents concerns the comfort and encouragement that it brings by recasting God’s work in the world as responsive relationship. Critics demonstrate, however, the despair and eschatological uncertainty that openness theology actually engenders, which very well mitigate that comfort and encouragement. Various critics have challenged openness concerning its misreading of texts, most especially the Old Testament “repentance” passages, or its affinities with process theology, or its assault on the attributes of God, or its overzealousness in promoting human freedom, or its inconsistent or perhaps simply untenable eschatology. This study explores a further weakness of openness by contrasting its philosophy of history with the epic poem of colonial Puritan minister Edward Taylor, Gods Determinations (1680s). Taylor’s poem, guided by the dominance of God’s absolute sovereignty, vividly portrays the comfort and hope that derives from God’s sovereign direction of history, while at the same time it highlights the meaningful interaction between God and his people.

We begin with constructing an openness philosophy of history. By drawing on openness literature, a picture of the how and why of events in history, both on a macro and micro scale, will be clear, as well as that of the aim or goal of history.

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An adequate philosophy of history must give an account of these issues. It should further help one on an existential level make sense of what’s happening in his or her life and also offer direction for life in relation to the grand scheme. We will examine openness through this grid.

This grid will also help us analyze Taylor’s poem. Taylor may not be a household name among contemporary evangelicals—he may not even be known at all. Nevertheless, this often overlooked colonial poet and minister has a probing mind and an accompanying adept literary expression unlike nearly all of his peers. Theological dexterity and pastoral sympathies, coupled with a profound sense of God’s all-permeating presence in this world, fill the lines of Taylor s poem with meaning and relevance. His poem is not, however, an isolated piece of literature, but represents many Puritan attempts at communicating a comprehensive vision of God’s grand scheme of redemption and recreation, a “closed” story from creation to consummation. Gods Determinations, as well as these other Puritan works, challenges the openness view on the very existential level that its adherents propose to be its strength. To state the connec...