<<Planned is not the same as accomplished.>>
Steve Clark asks:
<<Could you amplify on the distinction you wish to make here?>>
I thought I had in the rest of my post, but I'll do it again. It all started
with Howard Van Till's contention that God does not "withhold" formational
gifts to his Creation. I've questioned that assumption elsewhere.
I, and another reflectorite, have offered the example of God's "withholding"
in salvation history.
History is set in time, of course. From man's perspective, it is a linear
unfolding.
Thus, in time, God intervened through Christ. Christ did not appear in time
until 2,000 years ago. His physical presence on Earth was thus "withheld"
until then.
Terry responded to this by saying:
<<The work of Christ is not "interventionist"--it was planned from before the
foundation of the world. >>
But "planned" is not the same as "accomplished" (that is, if words are to have
any meaning at all). The work of Christ, his earthly ministry, death and
resurrection WERE planned by the mind of God, but not accomplished until the
actual time he appeared.
This is so self-evident it seems strange to even be discussing it.
Now, it's quite possible that Terry or others will respond from the divine
perspective, viz., God does not exist in time, but is supra-time, etc., but
that is a false distinction. The original position was in human terms, as
explained by Howard Van Till. He says that God has not withheld any creaturely
capacities, and as the "developmental economy" has unfolded IN TIME, there are
no gaps.
So we are clearly talking about human time and historical interventions, or
lack thereof. The example of Christ is an intervention into history. There's
no way around that. Planned it was, but it's also an event time.
Jim