Wollysaurus writes:
His reasoning seemed sound to me, actually. He said that, if we really want to believe that God knows not only all that is but all that will be, he would have known from the start that man would fall, that Lucifer would rebel and that he would have to take terrible actions against Humanity at various points in history. For him (the pastor) this did not jive with the idea of a loving God, and had repercussions in terms of free will as well. Not for man, but for God; see, if God knows everything that will ever happen, God essentially makes no choices, instead just follows a script.
I found it a very interesting sermon. His conclusion was that God was not all knowing, because only a God which did not know the future with precise detail could desire to create and experience the joys of, for lack of a better word, parenthood. If he had known from the start what would happen, he would have already, for lack of a better way of saying it, experienced his own creation in his own mind. So God is creative and loving in this model, as curious and anxious to see what his creation will become as any parent.
John Polkinghorne who was one of the world's leading particle physicists prior to branching out in theology would agree with your pastor. He calls it a world of becoming and believes that He relates to us in time as we experience it.
Here is the first of the 3 parts of a lectures he gave on the topic. The 2 subsequent parts are on you tube as well.
John Polkinhorne
He was at the university near here a couple of years ago and I was fortunate enough to go to all 5 lectures he gave.
I also agree with your pastor in that it is how we experience things and that it is consistent with the scriptures.
Good post.
Everybody is entitled to my opinion.