Moral Government Theology

Moral: having to do with "right and wrong." Government: the rule, control, restraint, or guidance of the actions and behavior of man and matter. Moral Government Theology (MGT) is the study of God and how he governs his creation, whether animate or inanimate. This includes the nature of sin (the will is the first cause), God's knowledge of the future (open theism--God knowing only that which can possibly be known--that the future free-will acts of mankind don't exist until they exist and are therefore not objects of knowledge, nor can they be) and many other related subjects, including the Atonement.

The phrase, "The Moral Government of God" was very common in the 19th century and was taught by such notables as N.W. Taylor, Charles G. Finney and Asa Mahan, among others. In the 20th C., Gordon Olson, Harry Conn, Winkey Pratney and others further refined and popularized Moral Government ideas.

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