"For it is God who works in you to will and to do."-Paul

"It is true that according to the open view things can happen in our lives that God didn't plan or even foreknow with certainty (though he always foreknew they were possible). This means that in the open view things can happen to us that have no overarching divine purpose. In this view, "trusting in God" provides no assurance that everything that happens to us will reflect his divine purposes, for there are other agents who also have power to affect us, just as we have power to affect others. This, it must be admitted, can for some be a scary thought."-Greg Boyd

I do not take to heart Dr. Boyd's teaching at all. He is in very deep error. Why is that? I could not tell you; it baffles me to be honest. Perhaps he is wanting to have God not so sovereign that he rules all the universe; so that even a small insignificant (to us)sparrow can not possibly die unless it is the will of our Almighty Lord God. I am baffled by such a bright man as Greg. But then again, we are all in a dark and cursed devil filled world:-We need to always remember this truth. So, but for the grace of God, perhaps we would all follow in Greg's wandering footsteps. I pray I will be able to read, study, and meditate upon the Holy Scriptures, and understand the truth of God, so that I might be able to love Him, the authentic Lord of the universe.