Impassibility

Does God have Emotions?

March 17, 2023 by wagraham 7 Comments

Christians claim God is impassible—without passions. For example, the Westminster Confession of Faith affirms, God is “without body, parts, or passions” (2.1). For most people, this seems to affirm God has no emotions under the reasonable assumption that passions are emotions.

But such a teaching, although everywhere present in the history of Christianity, seems at variance with biblical teaching. The Bible often says God is angry, for example. Does this mean God is a passionate and emotional God?

To answer that question, I want to reargue key reasons why Christians hold God to be impassible. Afterwards, I will answer the question, Does God have emotions? [Read more…] about Does God have Emotions?

RM Hurd v. the Reformed Baptists on Divine Impassibility

December 10, 2022 by wagraham Leave a Comment

I learned yesterday that RM Hurd’s recent article on divine impassibility among the scholastics started a conflict with some reformed baptists. I say “learned yesterday” since I have yet to see the specific disagreement. Apparently, some reformed baptists did not like the argument that Hurd made.

I shared a meme created by Hurd yesterday, which I found funny partly because it came from the mind of one of the most studious persons I know. Some did not find it funny. Someone accused the meme of asserting falsehood!

Now, memes are meant to be comedic. But if one is the object of the meme’s joke, I can see why it would not be funny. Had I known the debate was in fact heated, I would not have shared the meme because it’s not my goal to frustrate allies in the Gospel.

So what is the debate about? I still do not fully know. But let me lay out Hurd’s view in simple terms and how I have heard others talk about divine impassibility. Even if I have missed the heart of the controversy in doing so, I suspect laying out these views will help those who have not heard of divine impassibility before (or know only a little about it).

At the end, I will define my view of divine impassibility, since I affirm this important doctrine. [Read more…] about RM Hurd v. the Reformed Baptists on Divine Impassibility

Impassibility Is Good News for the Soul

March 16, 2021 by wagraham 1 Comment

Impassibility means that God has no nerves, blood, or flesh. So he doesn’t get hangry, mad due to lack of sleep, or dopey. He is Spirit (John 4:24). So he doesn’t have emotions that fluctuate on the basis of hunger or lack of sleep.

He is not like the Greek and Roman gods whose vices are ever so human. They commit adultery, become enraged, and so on.

Nine statements on divine impassibility and the cross

April 4, 2020 by wagraham 2 Comments

Recently, I wrote an article on divine impassibility. In the article, I tried to show how only the suffering God can help us during times of crises. It was not an article “proving” the doctrine since divine impassibility is both creedal and confessional, although at some point I would like to write a scriptural-theological argument for the doctrine.

One possible confusion with divine impassibility involves the cross since Christ suffers on the cross. I should note that the same problem exists for divine simplicity, immutability, and so on. The answers to these possible problems generally involve reflecting deeper on the doctrine of God and the Trinity as well as Christology.

Does God Have Emotions like Us? (Review: Divine Impassibility: Four Views of God’s Emotions and Suffering)

December 6, 2019 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Robert Matz and A. Chadwick Thornhill have edited a volume on the doctrine of impassibility. In the book, four authors argue for God’s impassibility or its opposite: God’s passibility. Each of the four authors situates the doctrine of (im)passibility along biblical lines, which has the benefit of clarifying the relationship between doctrine and Scripture. At the same time, the editorial restrictions for this volume prevent it from being a smashing success. [Read more…] about Does God Have Emotions like Us? (Review: Divine Impassibility: Four Views of God’s Emotions and Suffering)

Does God Have Emotions?

November 21, 2019 by wagraham 8 Comments

Since the first century, Christians have confessed that God is impassible—not subject to passions like we are. Yet, in the minds of many today, impassibility means that God has no emotions. And if God has no emotions, how can he be said to love or to have mercy? How can he suffer with us in our suffering? How can he understand emotional creatures like us?

These questions follow from a partially incorrect assumption about impassibility. At its heart, impassibility means God has no human body; he is Spirit (John 4:24). As a consequence, God has no bodily impulses, bodily affections, or bodily emotions. Impassibility is another way of saying, “God is not a human being but a supreme spiritual Being.” And the doctrine—rather than nullifying God’s love—ensures that God can lavish upon us stable, eternal, and unselfish love.

To deepen our understanding of impassibility and so God’s never-changing love for us, we need to consider how early Christians spoke about the doctrine, how Scripture does, how the human body works, and how Scripture speaks about God and Christ. [Read more…] about Does God Have Emotions?