Book Review: Their God Is Too Small

One of my occasional tasks is to review and evaluate books for possible publication in Portuguese. This post allows you to peek over my shoulder at a recent review I wrote for the Vida Nova publishers in Sao Paulo. It gives an idea of what kinds of things are important in our decision making process.

BOOK REVIEW AND EVALUATION FOR PUBLICATION:

Bruce A. Ware. Their God Is Too Small: Open Theism and the Undermining of Confidence in God. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2003. (142 pages)

Bruce A. Ware. God’s Lesser Glory: The Diminished God of Open Theism. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2000. (240 pages)

Bruce A Ware. God’s Greater Glory: The Exalted God of Scripture and the Christian Faith. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2004. (254 pages)

Bruce Ware’s three books on open theism (most commonly known in Brazil as teologia relacional or teísmo aberto) are a response to the increasing influence of some evangelicals in the U.S. who advocate a limited view of God. Ware has a systematic style characterized by irenic, yet firm, Bible-based reasoning. He does not resort to name-calling, but rather allows the logical force of his argumentation to carry the reader to an irresistible conclusion, i.e., that the God of open theists is severely truncated in comparison to the exalted God of the Scriptures.

As I considered these books for possible publication in Brazil, my first question was: Is open theism an issue for Brazilian evangelicals? At least three indicators seem to point to an affirmative answer. First, Luiz Sayão says that he has been asked repeatedly to speak on this subject. He told me that he considers open theism to be a current topic of concern among pastors and Christian leaders in Brazil. AG Pastor Ricardo Gondim has been one of the most vocal proponents of teologia relacional.

Second, Franklin Ferreira and Alan Myatt devote a considerable amount of ink to the issue in their Teologia Sistemática (see page 308-348). They comment: “O teísmo aberto tem chegado a alguns círculos teológicos no Brasil, notadamente entre os pentecostais...” (p. 310).

Third, according to the bibliography in Teologia Sistemática, there are already a number of books on the Brazilian market which directly address the subject of open theism:

• John Frame, Não há outro Deus: uma resposta ao teísmo aberto (Cultura Cristã, 2006).
• John Piper et al, Teísmo aberto: uma teologia além dos limites bíblicos (Vida, 2006).
• Douglas Wilson (org.), Eu (não) sei (mais) em quem tenho crido: a falácia do teísmo relacional (Cultura Cristã, 2006).
• R. K. McGregor Wright, A soberania banida: redenção para a cultura pós-moderna. (Cultura Cristã, 1998).

Therefore, there seems to be a Brazilian context for the publication of good material in this area. It would make sense for EVN to have at least one title on open theism, not just to hop on the bandwagon, but to provide one more conservative theological perspective on the issue.

Of the three books reviewed, I would first recommend publication of Their God Is Too Small. At 142 pages, it is 40 percent smaller than the other two books (maybe less, considering the wider line spacing), yet still provides a good introduction to the issues surrounding the debate. It is written at a popular level, and is therefore accessible to the high school educated Brazilian reader. The table of contents is as follows:

• Open Theism and Christian Faith
• Open Theism and God’s Foreknowledge
• Open Theism and Suffering
• Open Theism and Prayer
• Open Theism and Hope

If we incorporated the word “Introduction” in the title of the Portuguese edition, we could leave the door open for later publication of the expanded version, God’s Lesser Glory, which is definitely a seminary-level discussion of the debate.

The third book, God’s Greater Glory, is not so much a direct refutation of open theism but an exposition of the doctrine of divine providence. Nevertheless, its underlying (stated) purpose is to provide a sharp contrast to the limited God of open theism. This could be a companion volume to God’s Lesser Glory or, alternatively, could be published in place of it, after the introductory book.

Curt Kregness

São Paulo, 24 August 2008