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Rating: 
Summary: Informative and Interesting, But a Few Flaws
Review: This was actually a very informative and interesting text. For those who are wanting to get a broad sweep of the issues regarding divine foreknowledge and human freedom, this is the text for you. Tiessen takes 10 views or models and discusses what each believes and teaches regarding Divine foreknowledge, future contingents, human freedom, etc. The 10 models discussed include, 1) the Semi-deist, 2) Process, 3) Openness (neo-theism), 3) Church Dominion, 4) Redemptive Intervention, 5)Molinist, 6) Thomist, 7) Barthian, 8) Calvinist, 9) Fatalist, 10) Calvinist-Middle Knowledge(Tiessen's own view). Tiessen presents a situation of several missionaries being taken hostage and a group of Christians gathering to pray for this crisis. Thus, at the end of each chapter, Tiessen includes a prayer that would be spoken (for the hostages) by a person who held to each of these views. This allows the reader to not only be able to read about what each group adheres to, but it also puts "application" to the views via the prayer scenario. All of the above made this book a very informative text on the issues at hand.There were, however, several aspects/elements on which I thought Tiessen missed the mark. First, the prayer that was given at the end of the chapter on process theology did not fit the view at hand. Second, the chapter on Molinism was Molinism according to William Lane Craig, not Luis de Molina. Albeit, Tiessen explains, at the beginning of this chapter, that he would not be focusing on Molina's teaching of 'Molinism,' since Tiessen believed there were plenty of modern day Molinists who have written on the subject. Regardless, it would have been more scholarly for Tiessen to have focused on Molina since he was the originator of the doctrines and then added the modern Molinist for extra dimension. Third, Tiessen wrongly characterized Aquinas' view in several places. For example, on page 322, he declares that Aquinas was mistaken in his (Aquinas') belief and teaching that God was timeless (i.e. not in time at all, as Tiessen characterized it). Aquinas never taught that God was timeless in the sense that He is not in time at all. Aquinas espoused that God was timeless in the sense that He was not bound by time but that He could act in and through time (See the Summa for an exposition of this matter). Fourth, Tiessen's synthesis of the Calvinist-Middle knowledge model was confusing and did not fit together well at all. I think this was due in part to the fact that he was to broad in his explanation of the model and he did not pull together his ideas too well. So I was left trying to figure out what he was actually trying to communicate about the model. In other words, This synthesis just didn't seem to work well. At the back of the text there is a chart that compares all the views in light of certain theological or philosophical doctrines (i.e. whether God is timeless or temporal, omniscience, etc). There is also a very small glossary that helps the reader understand certain terms. This, I thought, was nice and helpful, especially for those who are new to the issues. Plus, there is a nice size bibliography and three indexes of names, subjects, and Scriptures. Overall, I recommend the book, especially to those who are researching these issues, since this is one volume that contains 10 views; which stands alone compared to other texts.
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