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By Arthur C. McGill Suffering: A Test of Theological Method (Reprint) [Paperback]
Excellent Book
Paperback
First published November 1, 1982
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About the author
Arthur C. McGill
7 books2 followersThe author and editor of 25 books and/or articles in 48 publications in two languages, Arthur Chute McGill was the Bussey Professor of Theology at Harvard Divinity School, taught at Amherst College, Wesleyan University, and Princeton University, held a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Louvain, Belgium (1958), and was Cadbury Lecturer at the University of Birmingham, England (1969).
Respected as a theologian and professor during his lifetime, interest in his publications waned after his death. Over the last few years, however, his work has enjoyed a resurgence, especially his books on suffering and death.
Respected as a theologian and professor during his lifetime, interest in his publications waned after his death. Over the last few years, however, his work has enjoyed a resurgence, especially his books on suffering and death.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 18, 2025
A good insight into doctrinal aspects of “the demonic”, and the core of divinity being love through self-expenditure and service. Clarifying, however, I don’t think he adequately addresses how to understand suffering beyond the redemptive quality of the cross. For a book titled suffering it felt only the last chapter even began to touch on it.
May 23, 2018
Beautiful. I wish every person would read this book.
May 7, 2025
Jesus is the Good Samaritan. Aurlyn text me when you see this.
October 6, 2008
McGill explains how modern Western theology went astray in its conceptualization of God, who comes as a suffering servant, not a bloodless autocrat bent on dominion. We suffer because we have been crafted to need. We spend our lives trying to eliminate need, either through soulless theologies and ideologies, or through the accumulation of material wealth. But not to know need is not to know love, for we love by giving, and one who needs nothing can be given nothing.
February 1, 2018
This book is possibly one of the best books I have ever read. Academic yet accessible. I feel like the western church doesn't really have a frame work for dealing with hardships and disappointments and people's faith is rocked to the core when tragedy and devastation happen. This book has been helpful for me to begin to form a theological framework for suffering.
January 30, 2021
Awesome book. The postscript chapter really changed my understanding of theology itself.
April 20, 2012
Book Closing: After having read and loved Arthur C. McGill's other book, "Death and Life: An American Theology," it is tempting for me to simply compare these two books. I enjoyed "Death and Life" better and yet often felt I would have enjoyed it more had I understood the basic building blocks that McGill puts forth in this book.
"Suffering" lays out the basic framework of McGill's take on theology and the nature of God and His followers - a nature that is foreign to much of American theology because rather than focusing on the "otherworldliness", "absoluteness", and "magnificence" of God's nature, McGill instead focuses on the suffering, relational giving, and full expenditure of God in Christ. This leads to focusing not on the self-glorification of the Christian through good works and the like (in fact, it's even at times shocking how that is absolutely derided), but focusing on the neediness of Christians, the sinful tendency of trying to possess God and neighbor by religious acts, and the suffering nature of the Church.
Much like reading a more modern translation of Bonhoeffer's "Cost of Discipleship", McGill is unyielding in holding our feet to the fire of what true discipleship in this world must look like. Simply stated, McGill shows us that true discipleship is absolutely frightening to consider without the power of Christ - something that we cannot say about the "12 step discipleship" that we see in many popular Christian books and sermons.
McGill lays forth how the frightening nature of "suffering" is the crucible in which we can put any theology to test its mettle - both in terms of a theology of God's inner self (the economy and nature of the Trinity, especially as seen through the argument between Athanasius and Arius), and in terms of the theology of what God does for man (especially seen in the parable of the Good Samaritan).
Another excellent book from McGill that should probably be read before "Death and Life" in order to add further enjoyment to that book.
Book Opening: I couldn't have enough good things to say about McGill's other book, "Death and Life: An American Theology", and now I get to read his other (and earlier) book "Suffering". From the forward, it appears that he will be visiting some of the same topics: the giving of life as God's power, the suffering of God as inextricable from the mercy of God, and the life of a Christian as one of self-giving in suffering (rather than self-giving and not suffering, which is arguably less of a "giving").
Looking forward to it.
"Suffering" lays out the basic framework of McGill's take on theology and the nature of God and His followers - a nature that is foreign to much of American theology because rather than focusing on the "otherworldliness", "absoluteness", and "magnificence" of God's nature, McGill instead focuses on the suffering, relational giving, and full expenditure of God in Christ. This leads to focusing not on the self-glorification of the Christian through good works and the like (in fact, it's even at times shocking how that is absolutely derided), but focusing on the neediness of Christians, the sinful tendency of trying to possess God and neighbor by religious acts, and the suffering nature of the Church.
Much like reading a more modern translation of Bonhoeffer's "Cost of Discipleship", McGill is unyielding in holding our feet to the fire of what true discipleship in this world must look like. Simply stated, McGill shows us that true discipleship is absolutely frightening to consider without the power of Christ - something that we cannot say about the "12 step discipleship" that we see in many popular Christian books and sermons.
McGill lays forth how the frightening nature of "suffering" is the crucible in which we can put any theology to test its mettle - both in terms of a theology of God's inner self (the economy and nature of the Trinity, especially as seen through the argument between Athanasius and Arius), and in terms of the theology of what God does for man (especially seen in the parable of the Good Samaritan).
Another excellent book from McGill that should probably be read before "Death and Life" in order to add further enjoyment to that book.
Book Opening: I couldn't have enough good things to say about McGill's other book, "Death and Life: An American Theology", and now I get to read his other (and earlier) book "Suffering". From the forward, it appears that he will be visiting some of the same topics: the giving of life as God's power, the suffering of God as inextricable from the mercy of God, and the life of a Christian as one of self-giving in suffering (rather than self-giving and not suffering, which is arguably less of a "giving").
Looking forward to it.
February 17, 2020
Since discovering him through Richard Beck, I've really enjoyed reading McGill's theology. His discussions of power in this book were particularly insightful - our imaginations have been shaped by viewing ultimate power as dominative power, power over another, power that is by its nature violent (perhaps most clearly displayed in our pictures of God...). What if we were to imagine a world that was not run by this kind of power?
"Jesus is the revelation that God's Lordship and sovereignty do not consist in his domination over men, but in his giving his own life to them. Most of human existence, at least in its out appearance, is thus exposed as belonging to the demonic order. It is necessarily involved in perpetrating violence, not because people are abnormally cruel, but because of the kind of power on which they base their existence."
"Jesus is the revelation that God's Lordship and sovereignty do not consist in his domination over men, but in his giving his own life to them. Most of human existence, at least in its out appearance, is thus exposed as belonging to the demonic order. It is necessarily involved in perpetrating violence, not because people are abnormally cruel, but because of the kind of power on which they base their existence."
May 31, 2011
Well done exploration of how Christianity can help answer believers understand the question of suffering.
Starts out inquiring into the current idea of suffering based on violence. Develops dependent relationship of Father and Son God aspects of the Trinity. Used parable of the Good Samaritan to explain how Christians might live in God's reflection.
Starts out inquiring into the current idea of suffering based on violence. Develops dependent relationship of Father and Son God aspects of the Trinity. Used parable of the Good Samaritan to explain how Christians might live in God's reflection.
May 8, 2007
Must read-3
Accessible-3
Kept my attention-3
Accessible-3
Kept my attention-3
June 9, 2007
One of my favorite books!
September 16, 2012
My take away from this was that it's helpful at times to contemplate the mystery of the Holy Trinity as sort of a bijective function.
Super coherent and intuitive.
Super coherent and intuitive.
March 20, 2013
Yeah. This book went right over my head.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews