Molinist Philosophical and Theological Ventures - Paperback

by Kirk R. MacGregor (Author)

This volume represents a significant advance of the philosophical and theological conversation surrounding Molinism. It opens by arguing that Molinism constitutes the best explanation of the scriptural data on divine sovereignty, human freedom, predestination, grace, and God's salvific will. The alleged biblical prooftexts for open theism are better explained, according to Kirk MacGregor, by Molinism. Responding to philosophical critics of Molinism, MacGregor offers a novel solution to the well-known grounding objection and a robust critique of arguments from explanatory priority. He also presents a Molinist interpretation of branching time models as heuristic illustrations of the relationship between possibility and feasibility. Seeking to push Molinism into new territories, MacGregor furnishes a Molinist account of sacred music, according to which music plays a powerful apologetic function. Finally, regarding the nature of hell, MacGregor contends that Molinism is compatible with both eternalism and eventual universalism.

Author Biography

Kirk R. MacGregor is associate professor of philosophy and religion and department chair at McPherson College. He is the author of Luis de Molina: The Life and Theology of the Founder of Middle Knowledge (2015) and A Molinist-Anabaptist Systematic Theology (2007), and he is co-editor of Calvinism and Middle Knowledge: A Conversation (2019).