The Suffering

and Victorious

Christ

Toward a More Compassionate Christology

RICHARD J. MOUW

and DOUGLAS A. SWEENEY

a division of Baker Publishing Group

Grand Rapids, Michigan

© 2013 by Richard J. Mouw and Douglas A. Sweeney

Published by Baker Academic

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakeracademic.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mouw, Richard J.

The suffering and victorious Christ: toward a more compassionate Christology / Richard J. Mouw and Douglas A. Sweeney

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8010-4844-9 (pbk.)

1. Jesus Christ—Servanthood. 2. Jesus Christ—Person and offices. I. Title.

BT257.M68 2013

232—dc23

2013004888

To

Walter Hansen,

cherished colleague, dear friend, and

great supporter of global theological fellowship

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. John Williamson Nevin and the Incarnation of God

2. Franz Pieper and the Suffering of God

3. A Brief Interlude on Incarnational Presence

4. Reformed Theology and the Suffering of Christ

5. Christus Dolor among the Slaves and Their Descendants

6. The Challenge of Application: Christus Dolor in the American South

Conclusion

“Christus Victor and Christus Dolor: An Afterword” by Willie James Jennings

Resources for Christological Reflection from Our Japanese and African American Interlocutors

Index

Acknowledgments

This book would not exist without the encouragement and help we have received from many others. First and foremost, we offer thanks to the organizers, hosts, and fellow participants at the conference “Suffering and Hope in Jesus Christ: Christological Polarity and Religious Pluralism,” cosponsored by Trinity’s Henry Center and Tokyo Christian University. Spearheaded by Harold Netland, administered ably by Owen Strachan and the marvelous staff at Tokyo Christian, hosted marvelously by President Masanori Kurasawa and Dean Takanori Kobayashi, this was a wonderful environment in which to conceive a book. Our fellow speakers at the conference—Hisakazu Inagaki, Shohei Yamato, Akio Ito, Anri Morimoto, Heon-Wook Park, Graham Cole, Nelson Jennings, Richard Bauckham, and Tite Tiénou—were fantastic interlocutors.

After the conference was over, we received additional help from an expert team of editorial colleagues. Bob Hosack kindly agreed to shepherd our project at Baker Academic. Brandon O’Brien and David Barshinger helped us turn two conference papers into a small but substantive book. Harold Netland, David Kirkpatrick, Hans Madueme, David Luy, Jimmy Byrd, and Alan Watt gave the manuscript attention, offering valuable commentary and encouragement. Earlier versions of some of our chapters ...