The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective
by Terence E. Fretheim
Overtures to Biblical Theology (14)
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Description
In this comprehensive and thought-provoking study, Terence Fretheim focuses on the theme of divine suffering, an aspect of our understanding of God which both the church and scholarship have neglected. Maintaining that "metaphors matter," Fretheim carefully examines the ruling and anthropomorphic metaphors of the Old Testament and discusses them in the context of current biblical-theological scholarship. His aim is to broaden our understanding of the God of the Old Testament by showing that show more "suffering belongs to the person and purpose of God". show lessTags
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Member Reviews
The Suffering of God is good, hearty biblical theology that can be applied to preaching, academia, or faith formation. Fretheim lays out the pathos of God, the giving in and giving up of God's self for humanity's sake. From the beginning, when God breathes life into the first human being, "the words imply that God's life was in some sense being expended." Fretheim's alternative reading of the Bible in this way creates a space in which believers can rethink the character of God and their relationship to the divine, who may not just be all-powerful but also compassionate enough to give up that barrier of strength and unknowability for our sake.
I am currently reading this book. Fretheim is certainly not your average fundamentalist orthodox Christian in the way he thinks. He says some things in this book that would make your pastor turn red in the face and excommunicate you. I believe he provides great information and Biblical theology is much more useful than systematic theology. This guy is worth reading and is very deep. It is definately a book I will read again.
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28+ Works 2,459 Members
Terence E. Fretheim (ThD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is Elva B. Lovell Professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, where he has taught for over fifty years. He is the author of more than twenty books, including commentaries on Genesis, Exodus, First and Second Kings, and Jeremiah and God and World in the Old Testament, The Suffering of show more God, and The Pentateuch. show less
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective
- Original publication date
- 1984
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 231
- Canonical LCC
- BS1199.S82.F74 1984
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 271
- Popularity
- 119,091
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 2
- ASINs
- 1






















































