Friday, December 29, 2017

D&C 40, God's Contingent Foreknowledge, and Divine Temporality

In D&C 40:1-3, we read the following:

Behold, verily I say unto you, that the heart of my servant James Covill was right before me, for he covenanted with me that he would obey my word. And he received the word with gladness, but straightway Satan tempted him; and the fear of persecution and the cares of the world caused him to reject the word. Wherefore he broke my covenant, and it remaineth with me to do with him as seemeth me good. Amen.

What is rather interesting about this revelation is that it supports (1) contingent foreknowledge of God and (2) that God is not atemporal (exists in an “eternal now”) but instead exists in what is called "Divine Temporality."

That God reveals Himself as having contingent foreknowledge can be clearly seen in the fact that, while James Covill was faithful, God deemed him to be “right before [God],” and yet, due to his free-will actions, God changed his opinion of Covill. That this shows that God is not “atemporal” is proven by the fact that there is a genuine “before” and “after” in the thoughts and actions of God.

A good biblical example paralleling this pertains to the sons of Eli and God, as a result of their sinful behaviour, abrogating the “eternal promise” he made to them:

Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever (Heb: עוֹלָם LXX:αἰών): but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. (1 Sam 2:30)

Such also parallels other texts showing the contingent nature of God's foreknowledge in the Doctrine and Covenants (e.g., see D&C 103:31-34 and God's Contingent Foreknowledge). See also the section “The Bible is both God-centered and Man-centered” in my paper An Examination and Critique of the Theological Presuppositions Underlying Reformed Theology


For more on the timelessness of God and the problems thereof, see R.T. Mullins, The End of the Timeless God (Oxford University Press, 2016).








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