Waarom de lijdende God mens moest worden

Abstract

On the classical Christian view, without Incarnation and Cross of Jesus humanity would still wait for redemption. This view presupposes that Godself is impassible, and can suffer only in and through the Incarnation. Contemporary theology denies this impassibility, and interprets Jesus' Cross as a revelation of God's passibility. On this view, the Cross is no longer necessary for our salvation. In this article I inquire whether it is possible to combine belief in the passibility of God with belief in the necessity of Incarnation and Cross. My answer is, that if redemption is no longer limited to forgiveness, but is instead seen as a radical healing of human nature, it becomes comprehensible that and why this requires that God becomes human and suffers.