In December of 2000, Clark Pinnock published an article titled, “God as Most Moved Mover”. He had previously worked on a book titled “The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God” that I believe pushed this theology out into the open. However I don’t think that book used the phrase ‘Most Moved Mover’. He then published a book titled, “Most Moved Mover: A Theology of God’s Openness” in 2001. I guess that Clark Pinnock coined the phrase for Christian audiences. However, it looks like the phrase originally came from Rabbi Fritz Rothschild and was popularized by Rabbi Abraham Heschel who received permission to use the phrase in his name¹.

Why the phrase most moved mover?

The titled was crafted in response to Aristotle reasoning that God had to be the unmoved mover. Aristotle is prepared to call the unmoved mover “God.” Wikipedia has a good description as well. The premise of openness theology is that God’s love drives him to be moved in response to us. In fact, he is the ‘Most Moved Mover’ in the universe.

Traditionally, Latter-Day Saints fight against the philosophically reasoned God. We see the revealed God through living prophets as a stronger witness to His character and attributes. As LDS, we would use the phrase agency to discuss how He allows us to choose Him and His glory. We have a core premise that this earth is built for this purpose.

The relationship between agency and omniscience is a conundrum for most LDS members. We often choose to believe in both without trying to figure out how they work together. In considering both separately without pondering how they interrelate many Latter-Day Saints settle on one-future or fixed-future omniscience. Neal A. Maxwell, who is a strong advocate for one-future omniscience ([see here and here), articulates the need to believe the mystery over how agency and omniscience interrelate.

Our agency is preserved, however, by the fact that as we approach a given moment, we do not know what our response will be. Meanwhile, God has foreseen what we will do and has taken our decision into account (in composite with all others) so that His purposes are not frustrated. It is unfortunate that our concerns do not center more upon the correctness of what we do in a given moment-and less upon whether or not God’s having foreseen what we would do then somehow compromises our agency. It is equally regrettable that our souls should be troubled at all because we cannot figure out `how’ God does it, when it has been made so abundantly clear and on so many occasions that He does do it. Neal A. Maxwell, All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, p. 12.

This path may not be problematic for an individual’s salvation, but it does allow individuals to overemphasize one or the other doctrine.

1. I would argue that the one-future omniscience limits agency and makes God less omnipotent. Having the future before him as a given fact limits our ability to understand agency and limits the power of His faith and wisdom (ability to make sound judgments).
2. As to agency, seeing God’s plan as entirely out of His hands and in the hands of children’s choices is also too broad. He is a collaborator with us. He is actively engaged in coaching and prompting us to choose Him. He very well could be the persistent widow in Luke 18, and we are the judge that relents to His petitions as He brings His plan to pass.

In Romans 11:33, we read, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” I believe that He is the Most Moved Mover and that He sees how to move His plan forward with His omniscience that spans all history, space, hearts, and possible paths. God is the only one that can trace all the probable paths out to their conclusions. He can see the end result He must obtain from the beginning decisions He must make.

In The Openness of God, the introduction summarizes the concept of most moved mover quite well.

God, in grace, grants humans significant freedom to cooperate with or work against God’s will for their lives, and he enters into dynamic, give-and-take relationships with us. The Christian life involves a genuine interaction between God and human beings. We respond to God’s gracious initiatives and God responds to our responses … God takes risks in this give and take relationship, yet he is endlessly resourceful and competent in working toward his ultimate goals. Sometimes God alone decides how to accomplish these goals. On other occasions, God works with human decisions, adapting his own plans to fit the situation. God does not control everything that happens. Rather, he is open to receiving input from his creatures. In loving dialogue, God invites us to participate with him to bring the future into being.

• openness
• attributes