Does God Suffer [Paperback]

The immense suffering in 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.  There has been a growing acceptance that God himself suffers in solidarity and love with those who suffer. Weinandy’s comprehensive presentation resolutely challenges this view of God and suffering, arguing from scripture and from the philosophical and theological tradition of the Fathers and Aquinas. He maintains that a God who is impassible is more loving and compassionate than a suffering God. He also argues that it is the Son of God’s experience of suffering as a man that is truly redemptive and life-giving.

“This is theology as it should be done. Throughout, Weinandy imaginatively engages the Christian tradition in a way that respects the truths of faith as a ‘mystery’ to be explored rather than as ‘problems’ to be solved, thus giving to his entire work the character of intelligently believing humility. For those who are ready for a very thorough intellectual and spiritual workout, this book is warmly recommended.” —First Things
 
 

“Thomas Weinandy walks briskly and intelligently through ... two extremes, showing how a perfect and immutable God can be said to suffer alongside and because of human sin, not out of any deficiency, but out of his fullness. … [T]his represents the best of post-conciliar theology: rooted firmly in the tradition while drawing from the best of contemporary thought, sympathetic to diverse positions without ever forfeiting a critical gaze.” —Homiletic & Pastoral Review

“This theologically erudite and pastorally sensitive study is an essential work for any theologian concerned with the question of divine suffering.”—Theological Studies