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Constructing a Mediating Theology
Affirming the Impassibility and the Passibility of the Triune God
Studies in the Doctrine of God
by J. D. Kim
Foreword by Paul T. Nimmo
Imprint: Cascade Books
How does an almighty and all-loving God respond to his beloved human creatures, who are made in his image and yet implicated in sin and suffering? What is the origin of human suffering? Is it sin or the limitations of human beings? Is God moved by our suffering? If he sympathizes and co-suffers with us, can he deliver us out of our miseries? Thousands and perhaps millions of people have asked these questions and are searching desperately for their answers.
Two major views have been advanced in the history of Christian theology to describe God's response to the suffering of the world: divine impassibility and divine passibility. More recently, a third, mediating position between impassibilism and passibilism has arisen which affirms both the impassibility and the passibility of God.
This position can be identified as modified classical theism, an approach that grasps the perfect and relational nature of God. Following this mediating position, this book sets out its own constructive understanding of a mediating position with the help of a new way of understanding the way in which the eternal actions (and corresponding passions) of the divine persons condition one another--the dynamic reciprocity model.
After a snowboarding accident in 2004, J. D. Kim suffered a fracture on his fifth cervical vertebrae and became a quadriplegic. He is an ordained teaching elder from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and has a PhD in systematic theology from the University of Aberdeen. He is adjunct professor of theology and assistant director of the doctor of ministry KSP at Denver Seminary and serves as president of J.D. Kim Ministries, a Christian nonprofit organization located in Colorado.
“Today polarization between the camp of divine impassibility and that of divine passibility is profound and prevalent among Christians, including professional theologians, ministers, and ordinary believers. In this book, Kim has made an excellent proposal for a compelling and creative alternative which provides a mediating way between the two contradictory positions. This is a must-read for anyone interested in sharing God’s holy love for those who suffer and are in pain.”
—Sung Wook Chung, Denver Seminary
“Divine passibility and impassibility has been the subject of much recent discussion. In a wide-ranging exposition, Kim’s approach holds these characteristics together by upholding the self-sufficiency of the immanent Trinity while explaining that God can and does suffer for our benefit in the economy. His discussion of the Trinity and of divine and human freedom is bound to generate much additional thought and conversation about this important subject.”
—Paul D. Molnar, St. John’s University
“In Constructing a Mediating Theology, J. D. Kim sets out a clearly articulated and creative vision for the passibility of God. The insights, reflections, and brave decisions within this important book are sure to provoke thought and discussion even amongst those of us who do not endorse the ultimate conclusions.”
—Tom Greggs, University of Aberdeen
“Constructing a Mediating Theology offers a compelling case that the immanent Trinity is impassible, and the economic Trinity is passible. J. D. Kim’s clear, accessible writing style addresses key arguments surrounding God’s association with suffering, and his innovative ‘dynamic reciprocity’ model offers a substantial contribution to the field.”
—Lynn H. Cohick, Northern Seminary
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