The Suffering of God in the Eternal Decree

“This is an excellent study of Karl Barth’s ‘theology of the cross’ in his doctrine of election and his Christology. The author digs deeply in Barth’s early period of the Calvin-Lectures and his Göttinger dogmatics through to Barth’s mature christological insights in the doctrine of reconciliation (IV/1 and IV/2). I fear the author is right with his conclusion: ‘Barth’s God is impassible yet at the same time passible.’ This abstract contradiction is due to the fact that Barth used the freedom of choice for God’s freedom, not the concept of communicative freedom. God’s ‘suffering in the eternal Decree of election’ is revealed in God’s suffering between repentance and faithfulness in Gen 6:6. Therefore I maintain the vulnerable and suffering God who is faithful to Godself and us humans.”


—Jürgen Moltmann, Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology, University of Tübingen