Can a Molinist be a Presuppositionalist?

How often, I just got a question today. I'm like, I'm a Molinist. Can I be a presuppositionalist? I'm thinking, well, Molinist holds a libertarian freedom. I wonder if there's a relation there. So I'm happy you're unpacking this.

This is super helpful.

Molinism and Presuppositionalism

I'll just put it this way. The tender answer to that is no.

No, let's talk.

Let's keep talking. You can be a Molinist and you can go with Craig and the Sosinians and the Opentheists and the Covenantal Mutualist Biblicist types. But there is a qualitatively different Augustinian Calvinist reformed alternative.

And it's really key. So I'm so glad you asked me this. And I don't deal with that as directly in the book, but in that volume or shorter essay that I told you about, I think it's called, how about this?

I don't remember my own essay title, but it's something like, Bovink and Van Til on anthropomorphism. They just offer a robust affirmation of, here's the deal. I'll put it this one last way, brother,.

Divine Attributes and the Reformed Doctrine of God

And then we'll move on.

The reformed affirm an unqualified doctrine of omnipotence, omniscience, simplicity, immutability and impassibility in God's relation to creation, as well as apart from God's relation to creation. So it's unqualified.

God, whether he's apart from creation or in relation to creation is unqualifiedly living, immutable, impassible, omniscient and simple. All other forms of whether it's Bardianism, whether it's Schleiermacher, whether it is open theism, dipolar theism, covenantal apologetics, or process theism, all those other views are gonna have a dialectical conception where God is immutable apart from creation, mutable in relation.

Simple apart from creation, composite in relation to creation. Eternal apart from creation, temporal in relation to creation. Omniscient apart from creation, ignorant in relation to creation. Omnipotent apart from creation, but impotent, relatively speaking, in relation to creation.

And probably, I'm not sure this is the, because it's been burned and pulped and hidden, but the best dialectical expression that I've just explained is found in this volume. It's hard to find anymore.

God with us, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, God with us. It's also, you know, in a lot of other books, but that's a real good kind of crisp summary of that dialectical, sick at known, qualified doctrine of immutability, impassibility, and simplicity.

And there are others. I mean, Frame does it, Clark Pennock does it, Cobb and Hartshorne. There are a host of others, but that's the more well-known question mark view.

Closing Appreciation

Sure, sure.

Now, I just wanna let you know, Lane, I wish I can put you in my pocket, and when I wanna talk theology, take you out and start talking. Listen, I love that when you explain something, the love of the topic shines out in how you explain it.

And so, thank you.