A Pastoral Endorsement of Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism

As a pastor, I have primarily received formal training in the fields of Christian theology, biblical studies, and church history (BA: Christian Theology, SPU; MDiv, Fuller Theological Seminary). Nevertheless, my theological studies have led me firmly to this conclusion: that a robust acquaintance with the tools and foundations of philosophical thinking is essential to doing clear, unconfused theology. As a result, both during and posterior to my graduate studies, I have sought to immerse myself in the literature of top-notch analytic and philosophical theology. I can honestly say, for one who has never studied topics like epistemology and metaphysics at the graduate level, many philosophical texts can seem virtually inscrutable. These texts are not written to be accessible; they are written for and to those who are already familiar with the philosophical tools of the trade. So, what is a pastor to do?

Along my journey, only a handful of masterful texts have successfully built the bridge I needed in a particular subject area. Some texts uniquely help the Christian thinker (even the layperson) access conversations and concepts at an analytic/philosophical level. This is not to say these texts are not difficult at times. Many of them require both intelligence and dedicated study to understand. But they, unlike many more technical books, are not beyond the capabilities of the non-professional philosopher. Moreover, they do not make the conversations and concepts accessible at the cost of dumbing them down or misrepresenting them to a lay audience. Instead, they masterfully help the uninitiated (or minimally initiated) develop the skills and understanding necessary to navigate intermediate, and even advanced, level works in philosophy and analytic theology.

The well-known and magisterial Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview by William Lane Craig and J.P. Moreland is one such text. For me, Tim Stratton’s Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism was another. Apart from Stratton’s work, Philosophical Foundations provided enough footholds for me to understand Molinism on a basic, philosophical level. However, reading Stratton’s book completed the picture in a far more robust way. Stratton was able to give me a much clearer understanding of Molinism, libertarian free will, and related issues than I had previously been able to reach—both in philosophical-conceptual terms and in terms of biblical and historical studies. In fact, his book disabused me of some crucial misunderstandings under which I had formerly been laboring. Since reading Stratton’s book, I have been able to read, understand, and engage with more advanced works such as Divine Providence: The Molinist Account, by Thomas Flint, and, Excusing Sinners and Blaming God, by Guillaume Bignon. Apart from Stratton’s work, I doubt I would have been able to engage these more advanced works with much clarity—if at all. For me, this book was an unparalleled key to deeper study and far greater understanding regarding divine providence and human freedom. I was moved from viewing Molinism as a reasonable option to considering myself a fairly committed (though open-minded) Molinist. I largely have Stratton’s book to thank for this development in my thinking.

Importantly, Stratton’s book engages the relevant philosophical arguments and terms with helpful clarity, but it also crucially surveys and engages biblical and historical sources on the subject with more depth than any other work of which I am aware. This is key because in doing so Stratton offers a necessary bridge to theologians, apologists, and lay Christians into these conversations. He shows that Molinism need not be built on mere philosophical speculation. Instead, the core concepts of “Mere Molinism” find a clear basis in Scriptural revelation, and these core tenets likewise fall well within the bounds of Christian theology as discerned by most of the great theologians of church history. These facts warrant more widespread discussion (and more serious consideration) of its tenets than would mere, recent, speculative interest by professional philosophers.

Stratton further shows the breadth of apologetic problems that Molinism has fruitfulness to address—going perhaps further in this regard than has any other author. For all these reasons, I have Stratton to thank for giving me the tools I needed to dive far deeper into theology and philosophy than I likely could have without him.

Finally, Stratton helpfully shows how bridges of understanding, and even agreement, might be built between, for instance, Calvinists and Arminians. In this way, Stratton is not only an important force for Molinism in the church and academy. Instead, in the tradition of C.S. Lewis’s “Mere Christianity,” he is also a powerful contributor to the potential unity of God’s church in the future across lines that have tended to divide. I have found his way of arguing personally useful in conversations with Christians of all theological persuasions. It is a unifying, ecumenical, and irenic book—full of wisdom for how Christians might fruitfully use exceptionally deep thinking to help achieve exceptionally robust unity in the body of Christ.

For all these reasons, I recommend Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism (and especially his forthcoming 2nd edition) to any Christian with an interest in this topic or a desire to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (and the knowledge of God).