Suffering: A Test of Theological Method

by Arthur C. McGill

Overview

How can an omnipotent God allow suffering and violence to pervade the world? Arthur McGill approaches this disturbing question by examining the concept of power that is violent, destructive, and dominative, and the power of God that is creative, totally open, self-giving, and expansive. Through consideration of power, McGill provides reflections on the nature of God's inner life in the Trinity and concludes that "service" characterizes God's relationship to the world, not "domination."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780664244484
Publisher:	Westminster John Knox Press
Publication date:	01/01/1982
Pages:	136
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1200L (what's this?)

About the Author

Arthur C. McGill was the Bussey Professor of Theology at Harvard Divinity School. A distinguished philosopher and theologian, he also taught at Amherst College, Wesleyan University, and Princeton Univeristy.

Table of Contents

Foreword   Paul Ramsey   William F. May     7
Violence and Theology     19
The Terms of Our Inquiry     22
From Darkness Toward Light     26
Theology and Scripture     29
Theology and the Unbeliever     31
In Summary     32
Demonism-The Spiritual Reality of Our Day     34
The Violence We Imagine     35
The New Shape of the Demonic     47
The Demonic as the Decisive Form of Evil     51
Service as the Power of God     53
A Shockingly Impractical Creed     55
The Power That Is Weakness     61
Self-giving as the Inner Life of God     64
Is the Trinity an Outmoded Doctrine?     66
The Unfinished Work of Nicaea     67
Does God Need a Son?     70
A Relationship of Total Self-giving     74
Needy, yet Still God!     76
Service, Not Domination     79
Athanasius and Arius: A Study in Contrasts     80
The Victory of Christ     83
No Two-faced God!     84
What Is the Source of Ungodly Power?     86
The Power of Evil Is the Power to Kill     88
We Are as thePower That Rules Us     90
The Power of God in the Suffering of Christ     93
No Longer Slaves, but Sons     98
Resting in Our Need     99
The Lovelessness of Decent People     100
The Excessive Love of the Samaritan     103
Who Is My Neighbor?     105
Who Is the Good Samaritan?     108
Love and Suffering     112
Loving in Our Need     113
The World Reacts     114
The Christian and Sorrow     115
In God Alone We Trust     118
A Postscript on Theological Method     120
The Conditions of Our Quest     122
The Unending Nature of Our Quest     128