impassibility

  • Pathos

    So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved [g]in His heart.  Genesis 6:6  NASB Was sorry – There is perhaps no greater theological conundrum than God’s emotional expressions.  Divine emotions are the ultimate stumbling block for Western philosophical theology.  No, it’s not the problem of evil, nor is it why bad…

  • The Real Question (1)

    “Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” Jonah 3:9  NIV Who knows? – The king of Nineveh asked one of humanity’s most important questions.  Does God change His mind?  When the king of Nineveh asked this question, it was possible to imagine an empirical answer.  Yes,…

  • The Feeling God

    “Speak this word to them: ‘Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for the Virgin Daughter, my people, has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow.’” Jeremiah 14:17 NIV Without ceasing – Theology has a deep, intrinsic problem.  The Bible doesn’t have this problem because the Bible isn’t theology.  Theology is the…

  • The Joy of the Lord

    God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth. Psalm 60:6 NASB Will exult – Do you feel it? God does. Yes, that’s right, God rejoices. Don’t for one minute think of the immutable, impassible God of Aquinas or Luther or Calvin. God is…

  • The God Who Feels

    And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from that calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” . .    2 Samuel 24:16  ESV Relented  – Sometimes you have to know the history of a…

  • The Longer Road

    Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”  Exodus 13:17  NASB Change their minds – Does the way that…

  • The Anthropopathic God

    “My heart is turned over within Me, all My compassions are kindled.” Hosea 11:8  NASB Within – How much does God care about His children?  If you struggle to find words big enough, deep enough, significant enough, you’re not alone.  The message of the Bible is that God cares beyond anything that we can imagine. …