Does God Suffer?

Thomas Weinandy

Description

The immense suffering caused by sin and evil within the modern world, especially in the light of the Holocaust, has had a profound impact on the contemporary understanding of God and his relationship to human suffering. Since the early part of this century there has been a growing consensus among theologians that God himself, within his divine nature, suffers in solidarity and love with those who suffer. This present theological position contradicts the traditional Christian understanding of almost two thousand years that God is impassible and so does not experience negative emotional states, such as suffering.

Thomas Weinandy, O.F.M., resolutely challenges this contemporary view of God and suffering. Calling upon scripture, and the philosophical and theological tradition of the Fathers and Aquinas, Weinandy creatively and systematically addresses all of the contemporary concerns. He strongly advocates the incarnational truth that the Son of God actually does experience, as man, all that pertains to living an authentic human life, and so does indeed suffer.

This book is both a challenge to much received contemporary philosophical and theological wisdom, and a scholarly, original, and refreshing account of the Christian Gospel. It is one of the most comprehensive Christian presentations of God and human suffering available today.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Theology
• Christian Living
• Inspirational
• Holocaust
• Philosophie et théologie
• Colegio Mayor Universitario Santo Tomás de Aquino
• Jesús de Nazaret
• Thomas Aquinas
• The Holocaust
• Desert Fathers
• Jesus
• General officer
• Christianity
• General
• Christ
• Jésus de Nazareth
• Holocauste

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 15 février 2000
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9780268161668
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Does God Suffer?
To St Edith Stein
Does God Suffer?
Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap.
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME PRESS NOTRE DAME, INDIANA
Copyright T T Clark Ltd, 2000
Published in Great Britain by T T Clark Ltd,
59 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2LQ, Scotland
www.tandtclark.co.uk
This edition published under license from T T Clark Ltd by University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, IN 46556
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of University of Notre Dame Press.
First published 2000
0-268-00890-6 (pb.)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Weinandy, Thomas G. (Thomas Gerard)
Does God suffer? / Thomas Weinandy.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-268-00890-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Suffering of God. 2. Suffering of God-History of doctrines.
I. Title.
BT453. S8W45 1999
231 .4-dc21
99-39506
ISBN 9780268161668
This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party vendor. Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues are encouraged to contact the publisher at [e-mail] .
Contents
Preface
1. The God Who Suffers
2. Theology - Problems and Mysteries
3. Yahweh: The Presence of the Wholly Other
4. Bridges to the Patristic Doctrine of God
5. The Patristic Doctrine of God
6. The Trinity s Loving Act of Creation
7. God s Love and Human Suffering
8. The Incarnation - The Impassible Suffers
9. The Redemptive Suffering of Christ
10. Suffering in the Light of Christ
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index of Names
Index of Subjects
Preface
I did not want to write this book. In August of 1975 I completed my doctoral dissertation on the relationship between God s immutability and the Incarnation - on how an unchanging God can actually become man. 1 In attempting to bring clarity to that issue I became acutely aware that the question of God s impassibility, particularly that God, within his divine nature, does not experience inner negative emotional states such as suffering, was indeed even more problematic. One of my supervisors, H.P. Owen (the other being E.L. Mascall) wrote at the time that the impassibility of God is the most questionable aspect of classical theism. 2
For approximately twenty years I tried to avoid the topic, even though it incessantly arose within lectures, tutorials, seminars, and even within pub conversations. I was aware of what the majority of the contemporary theological community was teaching, and I knew what it had concluded - God is passible and so he suffers. I basically knew why such was proposed - because God, being personal, is loving and compassionate, he surely suffers in solidarity with those he loves. I too, obviously, held that God is loving, but I was not comfortable with the inference that he must therefore suffer. I was not convinced by the arguments, though I did acknowledge that they were intellectually and emotionally persuasive, and that I could not easily dismiss or refute them. While part of me wanted to throw myself into what I considered an exciting and significant philosophical and theological fray, another part of me fearfully refused to become engaged.
What frightened me was not simply the need to confront the biblical evidence where God, especially in the Old Testament, is said to experience differing emotional states, including suffering. I suspected that the truth of such statements needed to be interpreted from within a broader and deeper revelation of who God is. Nor was I particularly bothered by the historical questions. Because of my knowledge of the Fathers and Aquinas, who held God to be impassible, I instinctively knew that they could not possibly be guilty of all, though maybe of some, of the errors of which they were so frequently accused. Moreover, since I considered myself an adequate philosopher, neither was I particularly timid in the face of the philosophical issues, though I knew that these would be the most knotty. I confidently trusted that, given some hard thought, I could satisfactorily address them. Nor was I put off by the doctrinal and theological concerns. I felt that I could ultimately address the trinitarian, incarnational and soteriological questions in quite a creative and insightful manner. While it would have required some effort on my part to address all of these concerns in a comprehensive and scholarly fashion, they did not frighten me.
No, what I feared most was Auschwitz - with all of its contemporary iconic meaning and pathos. With the Holocaust and similar events of horrendous human suffering as the existential backdrop, how could I write a book in which I would argue that God is impassible and so does not suffer? How could such a book, and it was this book that I knew I must write, even be contemplated? Within this contemporary setting, to write such a book would demand that it be not only academically sound, but also, and even more so, emotionally compelling. I feared that my book, should I ever choose to write it, would lack this latter virtue, and so for many years it never was attempted. To use a favorite phrase of one of my esteemed colleagues, Professor R. Swinburne, I refused to grasp the nettle.
On 13 February 1995 Mrs Jane Williams, then of Darton, Longman and Todd, having read my book, Does God Change? , and finding it a breath of fresh air, wrote to me asking if I would be interested in doing a more popular and accessible book in defence of impassibility. I wryly smiled at the words popular and accessible, but I consented to give it a go. I gave such consent aware that, because of the complexity of the topic, and more so because of my own need to work through all of the unpopular academic questions that required attention, I would probably be unable to write such a popular book. My suspicion was correct, and Darton, Longman and Todd, having considered some draft chapters, rightly turned it down. Nonetheless, it was Mrs Williams who compelled me to conquer my fear and to undertake, finally, the topic I had so long avoided. For this I owe her a great deal of gratitude.
In response to those who advocate a passible and so suffering God I endeavor, in this book, to accomplish two ends. First, I strive to refute what I consider to be the often erroneous arguments and assumptions that support the notion of a suffering God, and in so doing diminish the sincere but ultimately, I believe, often misconceived sentiments attached to them. Second, and more important, I offer a positive Christian view of God and of his relationship to humankind, with its history of grief, which, I trust, is more biblically authentic, more historically accurate, more philosophically convincing, more theologically persuasive, and so more emotionally gratifying.
I attempt the above by systematically, in the various chapters, addressing each of the issues concerning God and human suffering. I attempt to safeguard the logical progression of my arguments, both within the individual chapters and in the sequence of the chapters, so as to ensure that all the distinct elements are properly placed and related. In so doing I hope that the reader will be able to give assent at each critical juncture and so, in the end, concur with the whole. I normally limit the dialogue with my opponents to the footnotes so as not to detract from my own positive presentation within the body of the text.
Because the question of God s impassibility touches on so many issues, I desire in this book to be as comprehensive as possible so as to provide as complete as possible a theology of the Christian understanding of God and suffering. In Chapter 1 I present a thorough and, hopefully, accurate account of the arguments (with their various authors) in favor of a passible and suffering God. In Chapter 2 I articulate my own theological method in order to ensure that it is clear what I am and am not attempting to do in this book.
Chapters 3 to 7 examine the various topics that bear directly upon God s impassibility as God and to his relationship to the created order, especially to human beings. These include such topics as: the biblical understanding of God and his ability to act within history, and so relate to humankind; the patristic concept of God; the notion of God as Creator and the type of relationship the act of creation establishes with the created order; and what it means for God to be impassible, and yet be merciful, compassionate and loving.
In Chapter 8 I discuss the Incarnation, specifically the truth that the Son of God actually did suffer as man. Chapter 9 is an exposition of my understanding of New Testament soteriology, that is, what Jesus has accomplished through his suffering and death. Chapter 10 , the final chapter, examines the Christian experience and interpretation of suffering in the light of Jesus and his work of redemption.
There are a few philosophical lacunae. I have not, for example, treated, in the light of his impassibility, God s eternity and omniscience in relationship to time and contingent events. I felt that to undertake these and similar topics, which are in themselves complex, would unnecessarily add to an already lengthy book. Moreover, from what I do say on other issues, one could surmise how I might approach these questions as well.
Many friends and colleagues have helped me in various ways in the writing of this book. First, I want especially to thank Professors David Burrell, Germain Grisez, Paul Helm, Keith Ward, and John Webster; Drs Mark Edwards, William Fey, Peter Hocken and Uwe Lang; and Mr Stephen Clark for reading various draft chapters of this work and offering many useful comments and criticisms. The reader should not assume, however, that all of the above agree completely, if at all, with my arguments and conclusions. I am also