Clark Pinnock
Clark H. Pinnock (1937-2010) was a Canadian Baptist theologian who taught for many years at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, and previously at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Regent College. Pinnock is best known for his theological pilgrimage from a strong defense of biblical inerrancy and Reformed theology in the 1960s to a much more open, Arminian-leaning theology in his later career. He became one of the most prominent advocates of "open theism," the view that the future is genuinely open and that God does not exhaustively foreknow free creaturely decisions, and contributed to the controversial 1994 volume The Openness of God. His later work also softened on inclusivism with respect to the unevangelized.
Frequently Asked Questions about Clark Pinnock
Who was Clark Pinnock?
Clark H. Pinnock (1937-2010) was a Canadian Baptist theologian who taught at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, from 1977 until his retirement in 2002, and earlier at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Regent College. He died of a heart attack in August 2010 after announcing an Alzheimer's diagnosis earlier that year.
What is Clark Pinnock known for?
Pinnock is best known as a primary architect of open theism, the view that God does not exhaustively foreknow free future decisions, developed in the 1994 volume The Openness of God and his book Most Moved Mover. He also wrote A Wideness in God's Mercy, which took an inclusivist view of the unevangelized.
Was Clark Pinnock a Calvinist?
Early in his career Pinnock was a Calvinist and staunch defender of biblical inerrancy, but he underwent a well-documented theological pilgrimage toward Arminianism and eventually open theism. His shift made him one of the most controversial evangelical theologians of his generation.
How was Clark Pinnock viewed by mainstream evangelicals?
Pinnock remained a self-identified evangelical, but his open theism was sharply contested; the Evangelical Theological Society debated his membership in the early 2000s, ultimately retaining him. Many Reformed evangelicals regard open theism as outside the bounds of orthodoxy, while others credit Pinnock with raising honest questions about divine providence.