lopez18,
If so, if God was not even aware that He was going to create, why should it be assumed that God actually knew how to create? What knowledge did God have eternally and how did He derive at such knowledge?
In theology, there are classically 2 types of knowledge that God has: Natural knowledge; and free knowledge. (Molinists also believe in 'middle' knowledge).
Natural knowledge is the knowledge God has of Himself.
Free knowledge is knowledge God has of everything apart from Himself, ie. creation.
This is based upon the 2 ultimate categories of Creator and creation. There is nothing which exists, which is not part of thise 2 categories.
(Molinists also include middle-knowledge: Knowledge God has of the possible creations.)
I suppose there are different types of open theists, however I suspect that they believe that God knows He can create the universe, and He knows what He is capable of creating, but He doesn't know what He will create until He actually does. In the case of those who believe that God exists in time, then God does not know that He will create, nor when. In the cae of those who believe God does not exist in time, they believe that there is no time prior to creation in which God can be ignorant of His being a creator.
John Owen for example (not an open theist), believed that God only knows His creation mediately, as opposed to immediately. That is, He knows creation in relation to Himself. For example, God knows what a tree is, because God knows that He is a Creator of a tree and that God has created it with all the properties that it has. Some might say that this means God does not 'really' know His creation, or have 'true' free-knowledge at all, and therefore does not really know the future.
I am not an open-theist, however it seems absurd a position given the Bible's position on God's omniscience and gift of prophecy. What does God mean when He says He will save His people from their sins, if He doesn't know the future? Is God guessing, and if so, why should we believe Him?
kind regards