Predestination and Free Will

If God is in control, are people really free?

This question has bothered Christians for centuries. And answers have covered a wide spectrum. Today Christians still disagree.

Those who emphasize human freedom view it as a reflection of God's self-limited power. Others look at human freedom in the order of God's overall control.

David and Randall Basinger have put this age-old question to four scholars trained in theology and philosophy. John Feinberg of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Norman Geisler of Dallas Theological Seminary focus on God's specific sovereignty. Bruce Reichenbach of Augsburg College and Clark Pinnock of McMaster Divinity College insist that God must limit his control to ensure our freedom. Each writer argues for his perspective and applies his theory to two practical case studies. Then the other writers respond to each of the major essays, exposing what they see as fallacies and hidden assumptions.

A lively and provocative volume.

David and Randall Basinger present four different answers to the question "If God is in control, are people really free?" Contributors include proponents of foreordination, foreknowledge, self-limited power, and self-limited knowledge.

David Basinger is professor of philosophy and ethics at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, New York. He is the author of Divine Power in Process Theism (SUNY) and joint author of the books Reason and Religious Belief: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (Oxford) and Religious Diversity: A Philosophical Assessment (Ashgate).

Dr. Basinger is currently dean of curriculum at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania. Among his published work is the essay "Faith/Reason Typologies: A Constructive Proposal," in Christian Scholar's Review (1997).

Bruce R. Reichenbach (Ph.D. Northwestern University) is a professor of philosophy at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has also been a visiting professor at Juniata College, Daystar University in Kenya and Morija Theological Seminary in Lesotho. He is the author or coauthor of a number books, including Introduction to Critical Thinking, On Behalf of God: A Christian Ethic for Biology (coauthored with V. Elving Anderson) and Evil and a Good God.

Clark Pinnock was Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. Widely regarded as one of evangelicalism's most stimulating theologians, he produced several widely discussed books, including The Wideness of God's Mercy and (with four other scholars) The Openness of God. He passed away in August, 2010.