Thomas Jay Oord
Thomas Jay Oord is an American theologian and director of the doctoral program at Northwind Theological Seminary, working from a Wesleyan-Holiness background. He is one of the most prolific contemporary advocates for open and relational theology, arguing in The Uncontrolling Love of God and God Can't that divine love is essentially uncontrolling and incompatible with classical determinism. His work is regularly engaged — and contested — in evangelical debates over providence, evil, and divine power.
Frequently Asked Questions about Thomas Jay Oord
What is Thomas Jay Oord's theology?
Oord is the leading contemporary advocate of open and relational theology, which holds that the future is genuinely open, that God experiences time with creatures, and that God's love is essentially uncontrolling. He coined the term 'amipotence' to describe divine power as the power of love rather than coercive omnipotence.
What denomination is Thomas Jay Oord?
Oord spent his career in the Church of the Nazarene, teaching sixteen years at Northwest Nazarene University. In July 2024 the denomination removed his ordination credentials after church proceedings related to his advocacy for LGBTQ+ inclusion, an outcome he has publicly discussed.
Is Thomas Jay Oord an evangelical?
Oord comes from the Wesleyan-Holiness wing of evangelicalism, but his signature positions — open theism, a God who 'can't' unilaterally stop evil, and LGBTQ+ affirmation — place him well outside the evangelical mainstream. Most evangelical theologians engage his work critically, and debates over open theism led to challenges to open theists' membership in the Evangelical Theological Society in the early 2000s.
What is Thomas Jay Oord known for writing?
His most influential books are The Uncontrolling Love of God (2015), God Can't (2019), and Open and Relational Theology (2021). He has authored or edited dozens of volumes and leads doctoral students at Northwind Theological Seminary, an online seminary.