In recent months and years, an old controversy about
the nature of God’s knowledge has been re-ignited in certain Christian
circles. The doctrine at the center of this controversy is called
“middle knowledge” (also known as Molinism). In an effort to help our
readers better understand the issues at stake, we have invited Dr. Paul
Helm to write an introduction to this important subject.
God’s Knowledge
In thinking about God’s knowledge theologically it was customary for
many years, until and including the Reformation, to distinguish between
God’s necessary knowledge and His free knowledge. The
distinction is obvious and natural. God’s necessary knowledge includes
several kinds of truths. It is the knowledge of matters such as the
truths of mathematics (for example, 2+2=4). It is also the knowledge of
truths such as the whole is greater than the part and no circle
can be a square. God’s necessary knowledge also includes His knowledge
of all possibilities, such as possible people, the possible lives they
could lead, and the whole range of possible worlds. These are known to
God immediately and intuitively.
God’s free knowledge, on the other hand, is His knowledge of His
decree (of that which, in His wisdom, God freely and unchangeably
ordained to come to pass). That which God decrees is obviously a subset
of all the possibilities that are known to Him. His decree also has its
source solely in His mind and will. Continue at Paul Helm
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