Q.
Is there a scriptural basis for God changing God’s mind?
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God complains to Moses that the people he (Moses) took from Egypt all ought
to die. Moses argues why that is a bad idea. God relents, but when Moses
goes down the mountain, he assumes the stance toward the people that God
had expressed. God “changed God’s mind” in order for Moses to assume
responsibility.
When we read the prophets—especially Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah,
and Hosea—we see an “if–then” construction that contains a version of God
changing God’s mind. The classical prophets in Israel were, as the saying goes,
“forth-tellers,” not foretellers. They did not predict the future. But they were
called by God to speak to the powers of the day regarding idolatry and injus-
tice (a foundational biblical concept). The prophets forth-told the doom that
would come if the people continued in their present path; and the good life if
they turned from their evil ways.
The important idea here is the prophets believed human actions matter
to God. What human beings do affects what God does. God has decided to be
vulnerable to human agency. God’s mind and actions may change, depending
on what we do.Scriptural References
Genesis 18:16–33; Exodus 32:1–14; Numbers 23:19; Isaiah 1; Jeremiah 31:27–30;
Jonah 3; Mark 7:24–30Suggested Additional Sources for Reading
- Karen Armstrong, A History of God (Ballantine, 1994).
- Gregory Boyd, God of the Possible: A Biblical Introduction to the Open View of
God (Baker Books, 2000). - John B. Cobb Jr. and David Ray Griffi n, Process Theology: An Introductory
Exposition (Westminster/John Knox Press, 1976). - C. Robert Mesle, Process Theology: A Basic Introduction (Chalice Press,
1993). - Jack Miles, God: A Biography (Vintage, 1996).
- Clark Pinnock et al., The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the
Traditional Understanding of God (IVP Academic, 1994). - Jerome M. Segal, Joseph’s Bones: Understanding the Struggle between God and
Mankind in the Bible (Riverhead, 2007), especially chap. 4, “The Struggle in
the Desert.” - Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki, God–Christ–Church: A Practical Guide to Process
Theology (Crossroad, 1992).