Middle Knowledge : Human Freedom in Divine Sovereignty by John Laing


I think the author presented a good case for defending Molinism and middle knowledge. He interacts with opposite views (mostly calvinism and open theism) and seems to fairly represent them. What caught my attention regarding this book is the number of subjects that are affected by Molinism. The author makes the case that Molinism best explains salvation and predestination, the problem of evil, inspiration and inerrancy, and even science.  In the conclusion he also opens a door for Molinism's impact on unfulfilled prophecy, prayer, evangelism, discipleship, ethics, eschatology and end-of-life decisions (subjects that could be developed in some other books or researches).

Overall, it was a challenging read. It was my first book on the subject of Molinism and it was not an easy task. The reader might need some knowledge in philosophical theology to fully appreciate the book. For a beginner on the subject, Kenneth Keathley's book "Salvation and Sovereignty" seems to be a good place to start. Still, the perseverant layman reader could be able to go through most of the book (chapters 2-3-4 are the toughest ones).

I can't claim that the book convicted me of the truth of Molinism but i think he presented a good defense and that it could be true. The number of details presented were sometimes overwhelming and it was hard at the end of a chapter to know if the author's answers were satisfying. It seems to me that the author sometimes spent more time arguing against other views rather than clearly defending Molinism. It could be a lack of understand on my part. I'll go back to this book in the future to try to better comprehend the system. I think this book could become a go-to text on the subject of Molinism and be a good tool for researchers.

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