The Suffering and Victorious Christ

"Richard Mouw and Douglas Sweeney address the 'divine empathy' of the incarnate Christ who, in the mysteries of the Trinity, not only created his fellow humans but also suffers with them. The authors' exploration of neglected themes from Lutheran and Calvinist theologians will satisfy the historically minded, and their engagement with non-European and African American believers will illuminate the universal character of the gospel. Their depiction of Christ's suffering as both absolutely unique to himself and necessary to join him completely to suffering humanity will challenge, humble, and inspire all who stop to consider the 'wond'rous cross on which the Prince of Glory died.'"

"Decades ago, black liberation theologian James Cone invited white theologians to listen closely to the spiritual insights of people of color. The Suffering and Victorious Christ does just that. With sensitivity and skill, Mouw and Sweeney show how much white American Christologies can benefit from Asian and African American histories and theological reflections. As we still strive to create the 'beloved community' Martin Luther King Jr. preached of so powerfully, we need to spend time with more books like this one."

"Mouw and Sweeney seek to deliver popular evangelicalism from overly docetic views of Christ that do not take the humanity of Christ seriously enough. Following Barth and listening to African American and Japanese voices, they help us see that the incarnation and sufferings of Christ, properly understood, are not a forfeiting of God's glory but an expression of it. Only when the sufferings and victory of Christ are viewed together is the proper link made between the incarnation and the ascension, the Mount of Transfiguration and the cross, the passion and the resurrection. This work brings these strands together in helpful and generative ways and in the end produces a Christology that fully resonates with the ecumenical councils but also shows how the person of Christ is fundamentally related to the work of Christ. Mouw and Sweeney have helped deepen our Christological moorings with a Christology that reflects in deeper ways God's redemptive work in the global church throughout space and time."

"This is a remarkable testimony of a theological journey in search of resources for a compassionate Christology through American Christianity. The journey starts rather unconventionally with conversations with Japanese theologians who emphasize the image of a suffering Christ in contrast to Western triumphalism. Readers are guided through the thick woods of Protestant orthodoxy, Reformed dogmatics, nineteenth-century German philosophy, Puritan New England, and the American South. Much like the figures they take up in the book, the authors refuse to endorse any one-sided argument for Christus dolor alone or for its multi-cultural adaptations. They point to the danger of over-contextualization and exploitation, both by the privileged and by the oppressed. At the end of the journey, readers will have a solid grasp of what it means to be faithful to the core of our common Christian tradition today while at the same time staying attentive to the voices of contemporary critiques. This book is for all students and professionals who take the challenge of such a theological inquiry seriously."