THE SUFFERING GOD m THE THEOLOGIES OF CHOAN-SENG SONG ANDJURGEN MOLTMASN: AN ASIAN PERSPECTIVE BY JEA EUN OH A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Ernmanuel College and the Theological Department of the Toronto School of Theology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Theology Awarded by Emmanuel College and the University of Toronto TORONTO National Library Biblioth&que nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue WdlmgtOrr Ottawa ON K 1A ON4 OltawaON K1AW Canada Canada Our IW NOtro raMm The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accord6 une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pennettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, preter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la fome de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts fhm it Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celleti ne doivent Stre imprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. The Purpose of Thesis 2. Stams Quaestionis 3. Limitations 4. Thesis Statement 5. Method of the Thesis I. THE THEOLOGICAL COXTEXT REGARDING THE SUFFERING GOD --------------------------------------------________________________________________-------________________________________________________________________________________------------------ 1 I 1. An Examination of the Traditional Doctrine of Divine Impassibility ------ 1 I 1.1. Divine Apurheia in the Greek Philosophy 1.2. The Static Notion of Divine Autarkeia 1.3. The Distinctions of "Persons" in the Trinity 2. The Paradoxical Approach to a Suffering God ------------------------ 20 3. A Critique of a Traditional Interpretation of Sufienng ........................... 28 4. The Rediscoveq of a Suffering God ---------------------------------------------- 38 5. Christian Idea of the Suffering God in Christ ------------------------- 4 1 I. Theological Influences on Moltmann's Idea of the Suffering God ----------- 49 1.1. Theologia Cmis: Martin Luther 1.2. A Dialectical Hermeneutics: G. W. F. Hegel 1.3. A Kenotic Approach to Christology: Dietrich Bonhoeffer 2. The Crucified God ------------------------------- 64 2.1. Suffering and the Question about God 2.2. The Passion of the Crucified Christ 2.3. Trinitarian Theology of the Cross and Eschatology 3. ~odin Creation -------------------------------------------------- 84 1. Theological Influences on Song's Theology of the Compassionate God --- 93 1.1. Theology of the Pain of God: Kazoh Kitamon 1.2. The Concepts of "Han" and the Suffering God from Minjung Theology 1 -3. The Asian .4wakening: The Asian Face of God 2. The Compassionate God -------------------------------------------- 11 7 2.1. "Compassion" and the Other Concepts that are used to ascribe Pa~sibilit>~ of God 2.2. An Asian Theology of God and Suffering 2.3. Theology of God's Pain-Love: God's Heartache 2.1. God's Suffering in Creation 3. Jesus: Incamation of tfie Compassionate God ------------------------------------------- 136 3.1. Jesus: Incarnation, Enfleshment and Transposition 3 2. The Cross and the Lotus 3.3. Jesus as the Crucified God 3.4. Jesus and the Reign of God 3.5. Jesus in the Power of the Spirit \: COSCLUSIOX: THE CONCEPT OF THE SUFFERIXG GOD AND ITS PRACTICAL IhIPLICATIOS FOR PASTORAL C-AREGI\.'IXG ------------- 18s ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people have guided, challenged, and stimulated my hnking on the theme of suffering. I stand in their debt. I am grateful for the impact of my teachers and fiends, all of whom have helped to mold my thinking about God and human suffering. First of all, I wish to express my warmest thanks to Professor Harold Wells, of Emmanuel College, who supervised this thesis. He provided me with continuing motivation for wrestling with the issues discussed in this book. I particularly thank him not only his academic assistance, but also for his help in personal ways, especially when I was in the most difficult time of my study. A special word of gratitude is due Professor Choan-Seng Song, of Pacific School of Religion, who generously gave me much of his time in conversation on the theme of this thesis, when I visited San Francisco in November 1997. He kindly sent me the manuscript of his most recent book The Befievxng Heart. I have learned much from the three courses taken with Professor Ovey Mohammed, of Regis College, who encouraged me to look seriously at the work of C. S. Song. Professor Wenh-In Ng, of Emmanuel College, also encouraged me to pursue my interest within an Asian perspective. Professor Roger Hutchinson, of EmmanueI College, advised me to continue my doctoral program when I was passing through a very difficult time. I should also mention Professor Douglas Ha11 of McGill University, who helped me, early in my post-graduate studies, to look deeply into suffering and theology of the cross. Ernmanuel College has provided me with a Bloor Lands scholarship for the past two years and a generous finishing scholarship for the period of writing this dissertation. I am thankful to Haward University Divinity School. which provided me with a research fellowhip in 1998- I999. There I was able to make good uss of their excellent library. which is rich in resources in the area of Asian theology. The conclusion of this thesis is largely based on work done at Boston during a period of one and half years, through classes, special lectures. and workshops in the area of Psychology and Pastoral Counseling. I wish also to express appreciation to Professor Bryan Hehir at Hanwd Divinity School and Professor Cmie Doehring at Boston University School of Theolop and Professor John McDargh at Boston CoIlege. Above all, I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Soon-Im Chung and Sung- Suk Oh. who loved me and showed me God's suffering-love; and to my wife, Em-Jeong Let. \i.ho walks with me in my journey of compassion. INTRODUCTION 1. Purpose of tbe Thesis This thesis will explore the concept of the suffering God in the work of two theologians: God poxtrayed as 'the crucified God' in the theology of JPrgen ~oltmam,' and 'the compassionate God' in the theology of Choan-Seng song2 It \rill first examine the historical development of the doctrine of divine impassibility, suwey the paradoxical approach to a sufferins God, explore the global context regarding the suffering God as a backdrop and a framework for a clear understanding of the contemporary rediscovery of a suffering God. By examining and comparing the concepts of the suffering God in the work of Song and Moltmann in terms of the commonalities and divergences in their approaches. this stud will identie their specific contributions to a deepened Christian theology of the suffering God. As an Asian student, I am in pursuit of a contextual theolo~~for Asian people, especially East Asia. Song's theolop is intentionally a "Christian theology with Asian resources." I have incorporated Moltmann's theology into this study not only because his 1 Jiirzen Moltmam, born in 1926, is professor emeritus of systematic theology at the University of Tiibingen in Germany. Among his works relevant to this dissertation are The Crucified God: Tl~eCross of Chris[ us the Fomdafionund Criticism of Chrisriart Theologr (London: SCM, 1974), and God in Creation (Harper & Row Publishers, 1985), and The CVq?of Jesus Chrisl: Chrislology in Messianic Dimensions (San Francisco: Harper Press, 1 989), and Jesus Chrikr for Todo), 's World (London: SCM Press, 1993). Choan-Seng Song (b. l929), a native of Taiwan, is professor of theology at the Pacific School of Religion in California. Amongst his many books, his Third-Eye Theologv: Theofogv in Formation in Asian Settings, (NY: Orbis Books, 1979), and The Cnmpassionate God, (NY: Orbis Books, 1982), and Theologvfiom the Ubmb ofAs~a, Maryknoll (NY: Orbis, 1986), and Jesus. The Cructfied People (NY: Orbis Books, 1990) particulari y focus on the suffering God. ideas on the suffering God are important and profound, but also because his theology serves as a point of comparison and clarification for Song's theolop~.Through an analysis of the theological ideas that influenced their conceptions of the suffering God, some important theological works concerning the divine nature in contemporary theology uill be briefly sumeyed. Among the contempma? theologians who deal with the concept of the suffering God, Song and Moltmann are particularly important in terms of their distinctive works on the suffering God and the question of its relationship to the problem of creaturely suffering. A special concern here is to assess how these theologians manage to approach and interpret the reality of the cross. According to Moltmann and Song, does God the Father participate actively or passively in the suffering of Christ and how does the doctrine of the Trinity relate to this question? According to these two theologians, how does God relate to human suffering? How do Moltrnann and Song apply a concept of the suffering God to the human esistential situation of suffering? These questions will be addressed in the follo\\ing chapters of the stud!.. 2. Status Quaestionis Man). scholars have recognized Moltmann's and Song's special emphasis on the idea of a suffering God in their theologieas. Elizabeth A. Johnson, for example, remarks: "The theological stance that argues for the suffering of God has been given its most eloquent aniculation by Jurgen Moltmam. In his book The Cmrfed God, he depicts a God who literally suffers on the cross, thereby identieing withthe suffering of the whole world."' Likewise, ~iisterE.