Thomas Richard "Rick" Rice (born 1944) is an American,

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and author. A leading proponent of " open theism", Rice is professor emeritus of theology and philosophy of religion at

Loma Linda University Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California. , the university comprises eight schools and a Faculty of Graduate Studies. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist educatio ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Biography

Rice received an M.Div. degree from

Andrews University Andrews University (Andrews) is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flag ...

in 1969, and an MA and Ph.D. in Christian theology from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1972 and 1974, respectively. He taught at

La Sierra University La Sierra University (La Sierra or LSU) is a Private university, private, Seventh-day Adventist university in Riverside, California. Founded in 1922 as La Sierra Academy, it later became La Sierra College, a liberal arts college, and then was ...

, in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

until 1998, moving then to

, where he was (until his retirement July 2020) a Professor of Religion in the areas of Theology and Philosophy of Religion. He has served as a church pastor.''Reign of God'', iv

Open theism

Rice introduced the term "open theism" in his 1980 book ''The Openness of God: The Relationship of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Free Will''. The book was published by Seventh-day Adventist publisher Review and Herald, but proved controversial within the church and was not reprinted. Later, evangelical

Clark Pinnock Clark H. Pinnock (February 3, 1937 – August 15, 2010) was a Canadian theologian, apologist, and author. He was Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at McMaster Divinity College. Education and career Pinnock was born in Toronto, Ontario, ...

contacted Rice to convey his deep appreciation of the book, and gave it a positive review. It was republished by Pinnock's publisher

Bethany House Bethany House Publishers is a publisher that publishes Christian fiction and non-fiction books. Bethany House Publishers was bought in 2003 by Baker Publishing Group. Bethany House publishes both historical and contemporary fiction. Historical ...

under the title ''God's Foreknowledge & Man's Free Will''. In 1994, Rice and other theologians contributed to the book ''The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God'', which was edited by Pinnock. David Larson has claimed, "although it may seem new to some, in less detailed forms the basics of “Open Theism” have been taught at Loma Linda University for about fifty years s of 2007 beginning at least as early as long-time professor Jack W. Provonsha."David Larson,
Richard Rice Discusses Open Theism
. ''

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

'' Blog, 11 November 2007

Publications

Rice has authored numerous books, and has published articles in the '' Journal of Religion'', ''

Religious Studies Review ''Religious Studies Review'' (''RSR'') is the journal of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion (CSSR), which is based at Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private univ ...

'', ''

Andrews University Seminary Studies ''Andrews University Seminary Studies'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. It was established in 1963 and publishes research articles and brief notes on ...

'', '' Ministry'', ''

Insight Insight is the understanding of a specific causality, cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of se ...

'' and ''

''. His books include: * * * * * * * *

References

Seventh-day Adventist theologians Seventh-day Adventist religious workers Living people American Seventh-day Adventists Andrews University alumni University of Chicago Divinity School alumni 1944 births {{SeventhdayAdventist-stub

Biography

Open theism

Publications

See also

References