Understanding Freedom in Christ

How are we to understand the freedom for which Christ has set us free (Gal 5:1)? Could it be that we have barely glimpsed what this might mean? Most theological accounts of freedom frame the discussion in terms of heteronomy or autonomy.

In the Protestant tradition, Calvinists are known for championing the former and Arminians are credited with advocating the latter. More recently, open theists, in significantly modifying the Arminian paradigm, argue that neither tradition provides a satisfying account of human freedom and propose a more libertarian form of autonomy.

This book joins the debate at this point, not in order to take sides, but to suggest a theology that can get beyond (not between) the heteronomy and autonomy that seem to exhaust the present theological options.

Clark Pinnock serves as the chief protagonist because of his role as a leading figure in the Openness of God movement. Because his own development can be described as a pilgrimage from Calvinism to Arminianism to open theism, the present work is able to offer its sympathetic critique in the form of an invitation: that we continue to journey in the spirit of openness beyond both heteronomy and autonomy towards a view of divine and human freedom that is covenantal, participatory, and unlimited.