Open theismOpen theism, also known as openness theology and free will theism, is a theological movement that has developed within Christianity as a rejection of the synthesis of Greek philosophy and Christian theology. Open theism arises out of the free will theistic tradition of the church, which goes back to the early church fathers. Open theism is typically advanced as a biblically motivated and logically consistent theology of human and divine freedom (in the libertarian sense), with an emphasis on what this means for the content of God's foreknowledge and exercise of God's power.
Decision theologyDecision theology is the belief of some evangelical denominations of Christianity, such as the Baptist and Methodist churches, that individuals must make a conscious decision to "accept" and follow Christ (be "born again", also known as experiencing the "New Birth"). In denominations of the Methodist tradition, after experiencing the New Birth (the first work of grace), ministers teach that believers should seek entire sanctification (the second work of grace).
BackslidingBacksliding, also known as falling away or described as "committing apostasy", is a term used within Evangelical Christianity to describe a process by which an individual who has converted to Christianity reverts to pre-conversion habits and/or lapses or falls into sin, when a person turns from God to pursue their own desire. To revert to sin or wrongdoing, especially in religious practice, someone lapses into previous undesirable patterns of behavior.
MolinismMolinism, named after 16th-century Spanish Jesuit priest and Roman Catholic theologian Luis de Molina, is the thesis that God has middle knowledge. It seeks to reconcile the apparent tension of divine providence and human free will. Prominent contemporary Molinists include William Lane Craig, Alfred Freddoso, Thomas Flint, Kenneth Keathley, Dave Armstrong, John D. Laing, and Kirk R. MacGregor. According to Kenneth Keathley, author of Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach, Molinists argue that God perfectly accomplishes His will in the lives of genuinely free creatures through the use of His omniscience.
