Molinism is a philosophical-theological system conceived by Luis de Molina. He was a Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, and lived between 1535 and 1600.
As a Catholic priest, Luis de Molina opposed the Reformation movement that began in 1517. His doctrine of 'Middle Knowledge' is a response to early reformers—he sought to resolve the tension of free will and God's sovereignty without the need for theological determinism.
The most popular alternatives are Calvinism (single and double predestination) and Arminianism (a simple foreknowledge), but neither of them explicitly oppose the core doctrine of middle knowledge.
What is the doctrine of Middle Knowledge?
Molinists believe that there are three non-chronological moments of God's knowledge. They are not a development or progression of his omniscience, rather they form a coherent and logical explanation of God's knowledge.
Natural Knowledge
The first moment of God's knowledge is a complete and all-knowing understanding of necessary truths and logical coherence.
God is self-aware and acknowledges logical limitations. For example, God can reveal to us that God never lies (Titus 1:2) and that it is impossible for Him to lie (Hebrews 6:18). Similarly, God is omnipotent and yet, God cannot create something that is logically incoherent. Calvinists and Arminians typically agree that God has this type of knowledge.
Middle Knowledge
The second moment of God's knowledge is dubbed his 'middle knowledge' because it sits between his knowledge of nature and his free will purposes. Philosophers refer to the middle knowledge as counterfactuals of creaturely freedom.
A counterfactual statement expresses that which is not true or is not the case, and typically expressed in an 'if... then' structure. For example, Jesus claims that 'if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes' (Matthew 11:21-24), or when David asks if he stayed in Keilah 'will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul' and God said yes they will (1 Samuel 23:12). In both of these situations, God reveals a knowledge of how free will creatures will behave in their circumstance even though it never happens.
Molinists believe that God, aware of his plan to save, knew the behaviour of all free will creatures in all circumstances. In his sovereign will, while there infinite possible cosmos, God exercised his will and chose our world because it accomplishes his foreordained purpose. At this "moment" God speaks his Word and creates all things.
Free Knowledge
The final moment is God's free knowledge, an understanding of all things as they exist.
While natural knowledge and middle knowledge are independent of God's will (he understood them before he acted), free knowledge is an understanding of all things that will happen according to his sovereign choice and we truly experience free will.
By bridging the gap between predestination and free will, Molinists reconcile God's sovereignty and man's moral responsibility.
Is Molinism Biblical?
Yes, the doctrine of middle knowledge is rooted in scripture and therefore can be considered biblical. However, it is a man-made philosophical-theology. Therefore, like other philosophies, consider it carefully and with healthy doses of scepticism.
In my limited knowledge of Molinism I am convinced that God knows how each free- will creature behaves in any given circumstance. The Molinist claims of counterfactual seem to be evident in scripture and fully coherent.
However, Molinism fails to explain the leap from God having middle knowledge to him curating a world of truly free creatures.
Here are my current objections:
Outside of scholarly articles or other philosophically dense literature, there is a lack of rigorous debate or defence of passages in which God forcefully exerts his will after the creation command (2 Thessalonians 2:11, Exodus 4:21, Joshua 11:20, Isaiah 63:17).
Free will defined as a will without coercion fails to satisfy our seriously restricted freedom as a result of bondage to sin; we are dead in our transgressions (Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:13), our every intention and thought is evil (Genesis 6:5), and none of us chooses good (Psalm 14:3, 53:3).
Molinism is biblical, but lacks a wealth of scripture to support its assertions. While Calvinists maintain that the compatibility of predestination and free will are a mystery, they acknowledge each verse as it is stated and eschews human philosophy.
Final Remarks
As a wayward people, prone to wandering from God, it can be tempting to try and understand all mysteries in our universe by our own wisdom and philosophy.
While Molinism doesn't state anything unbiblical, that doesn't make it true. The absence of any arguments against this philosophy are not evidence for them and the mysteries it attempts to solve are pushed upstream where it becomes more academic and difficult to comprehend.
We do well to remember that God puts to shame the wisdom of men (1 Corinthians 3:19).
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