But I don't see how any intervention or agency is compatible with foreknowledge.
Without divine intervention in a free world, God will have end results that could either be favorable or unfavorable to Him. That's a dilemma. This can be expressed as:
1. {Favorable Results, Unfavorable Results} = Free WillThe introduction of divine intervention provides a means of fulfilling favorable predictions and eliminating unfavorable outcomes in a free-will-induced environment. Hence, we have:
2. Favorable Results = Free Will + Divine InterventionNow, if a sensible theologian assumes that God has foreknowledge of future events, he/she is forced to assume that God is anticipating a favorable end result in creating man, and never an unfavorable one. Applying this to the previous equation, we have:
3. Anticipated (Favorable Results) = Anticipated (Free Will + Divine Intervention)Or
4. Anticipated Favorable Results = Anticipated Free Will + Anticipated Divine InterventionTherefore, it is clear that both free will and divine agency must be anticipated in order for absolute foreknowledge to work. In other words, in mathematical terms, all variables in equation #2 must become constants in absolute foreknowledge.
Given the final equation, the conditions for absolute foreknowledge are:
i. Free will is predictable because it is always anticipated.
ii. Divine intervention is always planned; ad hoc intervention is impossible.
iii. A loving and all-knowing God only expects a favorable result in the end of history, not an unfavorable one.For example, if God knows (eternally and absolutely) that Jim kills Jones with an axe July 3rd, 2005 in New York City, can God intervene to stop Jim from killing Jones?
Your example is like a director changing the script in the middle of a stage play. Since a script is a constant, God will definitely not intervene because it will contradict His foreknowledge that Jones will be killed on July 3, 2005. For God to intervene, the result, free will and divine intervention should all be anticipated (see equation #4). So like a good director-actor, God knows when to come in and play His part according to the script.
Where, in the story of Jonah, does it say that God has absolute foreknowledge? I don't see anything that implies this at all.
In the long term, God eventually used Nineveh (Assyria) to punish Israel as if saving Nineveh had been planned all along. (And Jonah saw the short-term danger, that's why his participation leading to Nineveh's repentance was half-hearted.)
DUALITY But if you read the story, God doesn't play according to a constant, foreordained "script". The text clearly tells us that God "changed his mind" with regard to his earlier plan, (3:10).
That is true if you assume that Jonah was talking to God the Father. That is contrary to my belief that the person of God whom Jonah was talking to was God the Son. In my theology, God the Father does not change His mind, and neither does He communicate with His creatures directly and actively. Jesus Christ, on the otherhand, participates ACTIVELY in the affairs of the created universe. The following sums up my stand on this matter:
DUAL NATURE OF GOD:
God the Father = Constant = Infinite = Absolute Foreknowledge = Passive InterventionGod the Son = Variable = Finite = Limited Foreknowledge = Active Intervention"As if" is correct. While it may seem that God had planned it that way all along, the Bible tells us that it was actually the case that God had a change of plans
The Father planned it all along. The Son was pleasantly surprised.
If everyone's going to heaven, then why, exactly, was Calvary necessary?
Death is due to sin brought about by free will.
Death = Sin {due to Free Will}If Calvary was not planned and executed, it is very likely that the great majority of human beings will die in hell because of sin in a not-so-perfect world.
Anticipated Death = Anticipated SinBut a loving God would not create man and anticipate death. He wants man to live eternally, so He must be anticipating it. Therefore, a constant must be added into the equation so that death becomes life.
Anticipated Eternal Life = Anticipated Sin + CONSTANTThat constant is Calvary. Calvary (which leads to the millennium) was introduced to save mankind. It was an anticipated divine intervention. Its purpose was to counteract death UNCONDITIONALLY.
Anticipated Eternal Life = Anticipated Sin + Anticipated CalvaryThis is consistent with the original equation:
Anticipated Favorable Results = Anticipated Free Will + Anticipated Divine InterventionIs everything either contained within, or tangential to, finite human logic?
I think finite logic is as good as infinite logic. It should not be confused with knowledge or wisdom, because unlike the two, in order for logic to work, it must be given totally--never partially.