20 Oct 2003

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Several hundred evangelical scholars will meet in Atlanta Nov. 19-21 to decide whether to expel two members of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) as heretics for their embrace of a theological view called "open theism."

According to Baptist Press, Clark Pinnock of McMaster Divinity College in Ontario, Canada and John Sanders of Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala., face charges of heresy stemming from separate books the men wrote on open theism.

Open theists claim God does not know what future decisions humans will make because those choices have not yet been made.

Two years ago, the 54-year-old society passed a non-binding resolution by a vote of 253-66 opposing open theism. ETS membership requires members accept a two-sentence doctrinal statement, which simply affirms inerrancy and the doctrine of the Trinity.

To expel Pinnock and Sanders, critics must prove open theism is incompatible with inerrancy. A two-thirds majority vote of all members present is required for expulsion.

Both sides claim the society’s future is at stake and that a split could result.

"Many do not want to deal with this issue, believing that it is unnecessarily divisive," L. Russ Bush, past president of ETS and current academic dean at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., wrote on the ETS Web site. "My response is simply that open theism is the source of this division, not those who are seeking to preserve the integrity of the membership boundary set by the commonly accepted doctrinal basis."

Roger Nicole, one of the founding members of ETS, brought the initial charges last year and has since posted papers on the Web site explaining his position, the news service reported. Pinnock and Sanders posted responses.

Nicole’s charges focus on two books — Pinnock’s "Most Moved Mover" and Sanders’ "The God Who Risks" — that detail the two authors’ beliefs.