The Creative Suffering of God (Clarendon Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Paul S. Fiddes (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198263473 | ISBN-13: 978-0198263470 | Publication Date: October 22, 1992

The theme that God suffers with his world has become a familiar one in recent years, overturning centuries of belief in an impassible deity. This book both surveys recent thought about the suffering of God and proposes future directions for this important area of Christian theology. Fiddes discusses four trends of current thought--the "theology of the cross" in modern German theology as represented in the works of Barth, Moltmann, and J�ngel; American process theology; "the death of God" theology; and the rejection of the idea of divine passibility by modern followers of classical theism--while reflecting on the main theme of his study. The book affirms that God freely chooses to limit himself, to suffer change, to journey through time, and even to experience death while remaining the living God.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A remarkable, dazzling study, that will bend the mind a little, even of a classical theist."--Theological Studies

"Represents the best effort to conceptualize the notion of a suffering God within the last one hundred years....His positions possess an admirable sophistication...It has taken the place of preeminence among theological reflections on the notion of divine suffering."--The Journal of Religion

"Because the issues with which Fiddes deals are so important and because he treats them so carefully and so engagingly, this is a book that should be read and pondered."--Review and Expositor

"Remarkable for its breadth of resources and its depth of argument....An exciting achievement in drawing together major strands within our current pluralistic theological situation."--Interpretation

"Fiddes presents the reader with an impressive and compelling study of the possibility of suffering of God....Fiddes has written a very rich, appealing study of a fascinating development in contemporary theology."--Journal of the American Academy of Religion

About the Author

Paul S. Fiddes is at Regent's Park College, Oxford.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 22, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198263473
• ISBN-13: 978-0198263470
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,184,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Analyzing Divine Love, March 25, 2005

By 

Thomas J. Oord (Nampa, ID United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Creative Suffering of God (Clarendon Paperbacks) (Paperback)

The author surveys recent thought about the suffering of God and, along the way, develops his own ideas of divine suffering. Fiddes notes at the outset that theological statements throughout the history of the church have tended to support a view of God as unmoving, unchanging and unsuffering.

Today, however, at least academic theologians emphasize their strong conviction that God does suffer. The author attempts to offer a coherent notion of a God who both suffers and yet can fulfill divine purposes. The view he offers understands God as freely choosing to be self-limited, to suffer change, to be affected by time, and experience death, while remaining the living God. The author is especially influenced by process theological conceptions, but, in the end, the position he takes is his own; it is not in line with "orthodox" process thought.

Four major contributions have been made to the present debate about whether God suffers. The first, represented by Jurgen Moltmann, understands the suffering of God as being derived from the theology of the cross. The nature of God is revealed in the cross of Jesus as God participates in human history. A second major contribution comes from American process philosophy. In this vision, every participant, including God, is bound in a network of mutual influences with others. This means that divine suffering becomes central to divine action.

The third dominant contribution to the present debate on the suffering of God comes from the mid-20th century "Death of God" theological movement. Finally, those whose sympathies remain with classical theism continue to exert some influence in the debate. "A theology of a suffering God needs to weave all four of these strands into a pattern, or to use another image, it must stand where four ways cross" (15). The chapters in the book explore the four major contributors to the current debate upon divine suffering.

In a chapter Fiddes titles, Why Believe in a Suffering God, he proposes four reasons why this theme is especially important in contemporary theology. First, it is difficult to understand what it means to say that God is a loving God if God does not suffer. Second, if the cross of Jesus Christ is central to Christian theology, this implies a notion of a God who is affected by the world and its experiences. Third, the problem of human suffering, itself, calls for a Creator who suffers along with creatures in pain. Finally, the scientific and natural view of existence supports the idea of an interactive deity.

I recommend this book.

Thomas Jay Oord