Terminology Tuesday: Middle Knowledge
Middle Knowledge: The philosophical theory that God knows all possible events and all theoretical truths, as well as all actual events and truths. Middle knowledge suggests that God knows not only what humans actually do but also what humans would do under hypothetical circumstances. For example, in the case of persons who die without hearing the gospel message, God knows how they would have responded had they heard it. Some theologians conclude that based on this middle knowledge, God will save those who remained beyond the pale of the gospel in this life but would have accepted Christ had the message come to them.1
1. Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 79.