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Regarding the Bible’s descriptions of God being “provoked to wrath” or “provoked to jealousy,” I asked a Calvinist how this is possible if, in their view, “God cannot change” in any way whatsoever.
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He said:
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“be careful not to take the anthropomorphism which is in scripture and paint a false idea of God.”
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This is the usual Calvinist cop-out, especially when dealing with Open Theism.
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What the Calvinist fails to understand is that anthropomorphisms always have a literal meaning.
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Let me say that again: Anthropomorphisms always have a literal meaning.Yes there are figurative or anthropomophic descriptions of God in the Bible, like “the shadow of His wings” (Ps. 36:7), but the literal meaning of this passage is about God’s provision and protection. Wings are just a symbol of His literal provision and protection.
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You can’t dismiss characteristics of God described in scripture, that don’t mesh with your preconceived notions of Him, as mere anthropomorphic and then act like those scriptures are meaningless or without any literal point.
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Again, yes the Bible does use anthropomorphic language. For example, in Psalms 7:11 it says God is angry with the wicked every day. The Hebrew word there means “foaming at the mouth.” Hebrew words often use “word-pictures.” So “God is foaming at the mouth every day” is the picture Psalms 7:11 paints.
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Now, I don’t believe God is literally foaming at the mouth. That is anthropomorphic. But the literal meaning of this passage is that God is angry. Foaming at the mouth is the anthropomorphic language but His anger is the literal meaning.
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To say “God doesn’t ever get angry because that would be a change of emotions. All descriptions of God being angry are just anthropomorphic” completely dismisses these passages as meaningless.
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The while point of anthropomorphisms isn’t so that you can outright dismiss passages, but so that you can understand their literal meaning. It is a communication technique that is supposed to help you understand some literal truth about God.
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Anytime a Calvinist uses the word “anthropomorphic” to completely dismiss and reject a description of God outright, they are abusing this literary technique and are completely missing the whole point.
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If God being grieved, provoked to wrath, provoked to jealousy, or repenting are all just anthropomorphic (technically anthropapathic), then what is the literal meaning these passages are trying to communicate?
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Calvinists claim that “anthropomorphic” is part of their hermeneutic, but in fact they use it to avoid proper hermeneutics and exegesis on certain passages all together.
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It is just a big cop out for them, which they think gives them an out from dealing with a text that troubles their preconceived theology.
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