What exactly does God control in our lives? How much does God know about the future and my choices? If God does know the future, has He always known it, or was there a point when He learned it?

These are the questions that Greg and RD dive into during their discussion of Open Theism.

Right at the start of the conversation, Greg tells listeners that it's important to know that one big reason Open Theism came to be was because people wanted to be able to say that God didn't know that Adam and Eve were going to sin, and that the Fall and sin were a surprise to Him. By saying this about God, Greg explains that it gives people a way to cope with God being a good God yet allowing things like suffering without having to trust in God's sovereignty. However, Greg goes on to explain that this way of thinking completely contradicts Biblical passages like Ephesians 1 and Romans 9.

So what do we do with these questions? Where do we take them? RD and Greg both implore listeners to take them to God; He can handle it. We are never going to understand why God does some of the things He does or allows certain things to happen, Greg admits, because of our finiteness and the way our brains work compared to God. But that doesn't mean that God is not sovereign and good, it just means that God is asking us to trust Him. RD adds to this by telling listeners to submit all thoughts and emotions to God; we have to trust God even when things don't make sense to us, but that doesn't mean that we can't tell God how we feel or bring our questions to lay down at His feet.

In this vein, RD and Greg also consider why we are told in the Bible to pray for people, if God already knows what will happen to them. Ultimately, Greg says that we have to pray for each other because God has told us to, period. We have to trust that God is telling us to for a reason, and just be obedient and trust him, just like with everything in our lives.

This leads RD to examine how we should trust and love God despite not being given the answers to every question we have. Just because we don't understand every facet of God doesn't mean we can't love him, RD says. Greg affirms this by sharing his belief that we will never completely understand or know God. Instead, we will spend all of eternity in Heaven with Him, learning about Him and being in His presence.

Greg and RD wrap up this episode by clarifying that while God is and always will be mysterious to us, that it not something we should be afraid of or cause us to run from Him. Don't despise the mystery, Greg implores, instead embrace it because it's who God is. RD concludes the podcast by referencing the book Hope Heals by Katherine and Jay Wolf, and how the Wolfs had to come to the conclusion themselves that while they may never understand why things happened to Katherine, they can still say God is good.