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The Living God and the Fullness of Life
Modern humanity has accepted a truncated, impoverished definition of life. Focusing solely on material realities, we have forgotten that joy, purpose, and meaning come from a life that is both immersed in the temporal and alive to the transcendent. We have, in other words, ceased to live in God.
In this book, renowned theologian Jürgen Moltmann shows us what that life of joy and purpose looks like. Describing how we came to live in a world devoid of the ultimate, he charts a way back to an intimate connection with the biblical God. He counsels that we adopt a "theology of life," an orientation that sees God at work in both the mundane and the extraordinary and that pushes us to work for a world that fully reflects the life of its Creator. Moltmann offers a telling critique of the shallow values of consumerist society and provides a compelling rationale for why spiritual sensibilities and encounter with God must lie at the heart of any life that seeks to be authentically human.
In this book, renowned theologian Jürgen Moltmann shows us what that life of joy and purpose looks like. Describing how we came to live in a world devoid of the ultimate, he charts a way back to an intimate connection with the biblical God. He counsels that we adopt a "theology of life," an orientation that sees God at work in both the mundane and the extraordinary and that pushes us to work for a world that fully reflects the life of its Creator. Moltmann offers a telling critique of the shallow values of consumerist society and provides a compelling rationale for why spiritual sensibilities and encounter with God must lie at the heart of any life that seeks to be authentically human.
- GenresTheologyChristian Living
243 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 24, 2014
21 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Jürgen Moltmann
176 books195 followersJürgen Moltmann is a German Reformed theologian. He is the 2000 recipient of the Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Religion.
Moltmann's Theology of Hope is a theological perspective with an eschatological foundation and focuses on the hope that the resurrection brings. Through faith we are bound to Christ, and as such have the hope of the resurrected Christ ("Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3, NIV)), and knowledge of his return. For Moltmann, the hope of the Christian faith is hope in the resurrection of Christ crucified. Hope and faith depend on each other to remain true and substantial; and only with both may one find "not only a consolation in suffering, but also the protest of the divine promise against suffering."
However, because of this hope we hold, we may never exist harmoniously in a society such as ours which is based on sin. When following the Theology of Hope, a Christian should find hope in the future but also experience much discontentment with the way the world is now, corrupt and full of sin. Sin bases itself in hopelessness, which can take on two forms: presumption and despair. "Presumption is a premature, selfwilled anticipation of the fulfillment of what we hope for from God. Despair is the premature, arbitrary anticipation of the non-fulfillment of what we hope for from God."
In Moltmann's opinion, all should be seen from an eschatological perspective, looking toward the days when Christ will make all things new. "A proper theology would therefore have to be constructed in the light of its future goal. Eschatology should not be its end, but its beginning." This does not, as many fear, 'remove happiness from the present' by focusing all ones attention toward the hope for Christ's return. Moltmann addresses this concern as such: "Does this hope cheat man of the happiness of the present? How could it do so! For it is itself the happiness of the present." The importance of the current times is necessary for the Theology of Hope because it brings the future events to the here and now. This theological perspective of eschatology makes the hope of the future, the hope of today.
Hope strengthens faith and aids a believer into living a life of love, and directing them toward a new creation of all things. It creates in a believer a "passion for the possible" "For our knowledge and comprehension of reality, and our reflections on it, that means at least this: that in the medium of hope our theological concepts become not judgments which nail reality down to what it is, but anticipations which show reality its prospects and its future possibilities." This passion is one that is centered around the hope of the resurrected and the returning Christ, creating a change within a believer and drives the change that a believer seeks make on the world.
For Moltmann, creation and eschatology depend on one another. There exists an ongoing process of creation, continuing creation, alongside creation ex nihilo and the consummation of creation. The consummation of creation will consist of the eschatological transformation of this creation into the new creation. The apocalypse will include the purging of sin from our finite world so that a transformed humanity can participate in the new creation.
Moltmann's Theology of Hope is a theological perspective with an eschatological foundation and focuses on the hope that the resurrection brings. Through faith we are bound to Christ, and as such have the hope of the resurrected Christ ("Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3, NIV)), and knowledge of his return. For Moltmann, the hope of the Christian faith is hope in the resurrection of Christ crucified. Hope and faith depend on each other to remain true and substantial; and only with both may one find "not only a consolation in suffering, but also the protest of the divine promise against suffering."
However, because of this hope we hold, we may never exist harmoniously in a society such as ours which is based on sin. When following the Theology of Hope, a Christian should find hope in the future but also experience much discontentment with the way the world is now, corrupt and full of sin. Sin bases itself in hopelessness, which can take on two forms: presumption and despair. "Presumption is a premature, selfwilled anticipation of the fulfillment of what we hope for from God. Despair is the premature, arbitrary anticipation of the non-fulfillment of what we hope for from God."
In Moltmann's opinion, all should be seen from an eschatological perspective, looking toward the days when Christ will make all things new. "A proper theology would therefore have to be constructed in the light of its future goal. Eschatology should not be its end, but its beginning." This does not, as many fear, 'remove happiness from the present' by focusing all ones attention toward the hope for Christ's return. Moltmann addresses this concern as such: "Does this hope cheat man of the happiness of the present? How could it do so! For it is itself the happiness of the present." The importance of the current times is necessary for the Theology of Hope because it brings the future events to the here and now. This theological perspective of eschatology makes the hope of the future, the hope of today.
Hope strengthens faith and aids a believer into living a life of love, and directing them toward a new creation of all things. It creates in a believer a "passion for the possible" "For our knowledge and comprehension of reality, and our reflections on it, that means at least this: that in the medium of hope our theological concepts become not judgments which nail reality down to what it is, but anticipations which show reality its prospects and its future possibilities." This passion is one that is centered around the hope of the resurrected and the returning Christ, creating a change within a believer and drives the change that a believer seeks make on the world.
For Moltmann, creation and eschatology depend on one another. There exists an ongoing process of creation, continuing creation, alongside creation ex nihilo and the consummation of creation. The consummation of creation will consist of the eschatological transformation of this creation into the new creation. The apocalypse will include the purging of sin from our finite world so that a transformed humanity can participate in the new creation.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 26, 2025
I really didn’t like this book. Moltmann wants to develop a theology of joy— much like John Piper. But unlike John Piper, Moltmann’s attempt to do so, although he calls it Biblical, really starts from the presupposition of Barthian Neo-Orthodoxy, which is really just Old Heresy.
Of particular problem here is how Moltmann thinks about the Trinity: God as a being is separate from ‘Godself,’ which is, basically, the substance of God in all forms of revelation. So, when God reveals Himself in the Incarnation, it is more as if Jesus is participating in a shared God-self with the Father and that the Spirit is kind of Godself dwelling in mankind.
In my mind, this is basically just Modalism, but truncated in time and delineated by space. That is, God reveals Himself differently not based on the temporal age, but based on the physical locus of that revelation. The way he and Barth talk is less ‘three persons in one Godhead’ but ‘One Godself and three distinct revelations of it.’ There’s an almost flippant rejection of classical Trinitarianism on the basis of its alleged Platonic roots. But that is hardly proven, and modern Trinitarian theologians like Scott Swain have aggressively and persuasively argued against that. Given that the Church has held the same position for nearly 2000 years, I find no compelling reasons to accept Moltmann’s idea, which, in my understanding, verges dangerously close to Unitarianism.
The problem is that Moltmann’s entire premise of how we end up living a joyful life is framed by this pseudo-Trinitarianism, which seems to reflect a framework cemented more in German philosophical tradition than the Protestant tradition of ‘sola scriptura.’ In fact, Moltmann employs Biblical texts, not as a means of setting forth a worldview, but as a means of supporting German tradition. That is, he accepts Bloch’s premises or Hegel’s premises or Barth’s premises and the uses the Bible as a supporting document. The better way is to reverse those.
It’s annoying and surprising to me that, in spite of this, Moltmann actually says some valuable things. Seeing the Christian life as a never ending celebration makes sense. But he borrows that from Athanasius and Nietzsche (!) more than Hebrews.
He also has, somehow, a generally Biblical view of prayer, although, towards the end, he critiques Western body expression as being inaccurate because it implies a specific mindset in prayer. I think that’s kind of silly, but the point is sort of taken.
The much bigger problem is how much of the book is nonsense because of the philosophical tradition he centers his discussion in. Here’s a quote:
“Epochal events like these are not just “past” future; they are also future that has already happened.” (p. 190 or so)
This, I think, is meant to evoke the Nietzschean concept of eternal return, where world events repeat over and over throughout history in a kind of mystical, fated way. Just like with Nietzsche, the question is a) how could you prove that? and b) why is that even relevant? Which is to say, if Moltmann means to utilize this idea, on what basis could he claim it as true and why does it even matter?
It is, in effect, nonsense of the worst kind. Unfortunately, that is the case with much of this book. It loses itself in philosophical tradition without consistently dragging it back to the Bible as the one, authoritative source of divine truth. And the philosophy is not presented as something subservient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:4), but as the framework through which we interpret the Bible.
Of particular problem here is how Moltmann thinks about the Trinity: God as a being is separate from ‘Godself,’ which is, basically, the substance of God in all forms of revelation. So, when God reveals Himself in the Incarnation, it is more as if Jesus is participating in a shared God-self with the Father and that the Spirit is kind of Godself dwelling in mankind.
In my mind, this is basically just Modalism, but truncated in time and delineated by space. That is, God reveals Himself differently not based on the temporal age, but based on the physical locus of that revelation. The way he and Barth talk is less ‘three persons in one Godhead’ but ‘One Godself and three distinct revelations of it.’ There’s an almost flippant rejection of classical Trinitarianism on the basis of its alleged Platonic roots. But that is hardly proven, and modern Trinitarian theologians like Scott Swain have aggressively and persuasively argued against that. Given that the Church has held the same position for nearly 2000 years, I find no compelling reasons to accept Moltmann’s idea, which, in my understanding, verges dangerously close to Unitarianism.
The problem is that Moltmann’s entire premise of how we end up living a joyful life is framed by this pseudo-Trinitarianism, which seems to reflect a framework cemented more in German philosophical tradition than the Protestant tradition of ‘sola scriptura.’ In fact, Moltmann employs Biblical texts, not as a means of setting forth a worldview, but as a means of supporting German tradition. That is, he accepts Bloch’s premises or Hegel’s premises or Barth’s premises and the uses the Bible as a supporting document. The better way is to reverse those.
It’s annoying and surprising to me that, in spite of this, Moltmann actually says some valuable things. Seeing the Christian life as a never ending celebration makes sense. But he borrows that from Athanasius and Nietzsche (!) more than Hebrews.
He also has, somehow, a generally Biblical view of prayer, although, towards the end, he critiques Western body expression as being inaccurate because it implies a specific mindset in prayer. I think that’s kind of silly, but the point is sort of taken.
The much bigger problem is how much of the book is nonsense because of the philosophical tradition he centers his discussion in. Here’s a quote:
“Epochal events like these are not just “past” future; they are also future that has already happened.” (p. 190 or so)
This, I think, is meant to evoke the Nietzschean concept of eternal return, where world events repeat over and over throughout history in a kind of mystical, fated way. Just like with Nietzsche, the question is a) how could you prove that? and b) why is that even relevant? Which is to say, if Moltmann means to utilize this idea, on what basis could he claim it as true and why does it even matter?
It is, in effect, nonsense of the worst kind. Unfortunately, that is the case with much of this book. It loses itself in philosophical tradition without consistently dragging it back to the Bible as the one, authoritative source of divine truth. And the philosophy is not presented as something subservient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:4), but as the framework through which we interpret the Bible.
November 7, 2024
Oh Moltmann, my Moltmann. After reading many other contemporary protestant theologians similar to Moltmann or more modern, I can understand why his ideas at times have to be addressed in certain issues. The questions he poses about the structural relationships in the Trinity, how that effectively encounters the world, and what our response to the Triune God must be, is nothing short of the kind of theology I would like to produce, that is, the disposition I would like to have in faith in all of my own theology.
As for his response to a secularized society as he so describes in the book, I think his critiques are worthwhile and at times convincing, at others — unnecessary. I find there to be something of the prophetic in his writing, at least, in his ability to understand a contemporary issue and respond to it with a faithful representation of God in God’s self-revelation. He doesn’t project onto God more than I think is reasonable for any human being, and he makes clear that the Christian way is the way of fullness. I think I may actually believe Christians are to be the most joyful people in the world now.
Of course, he is ridiculous (and ridiculously creative) in the language he uses. Our group had a few catch phrases we extracted from the book: daddy God, mommy earth; interpenetration; cosmic Christ; the earth deserves sabbath rest; moltmann and ______ like this 🤞🏻; zimzum; etc.
As for his response to a secularized society as he so describes in the book, I think his critiques are worthwhile and at times convincing, at others — unnecessary. I find there to be something of the prophetic in his writing, at least, in his ability to understand a contemporary issue and respond to it with a faithful representation of God in God’s self-revelation. He doesn’t project onto God more than I think is reasonable for any human being, and he makes clear that the Christian way is the way of fullness. I think I may actually believe Christians are to be the most joyful people in the world now.
Of course, he is ridiculous (and ridiculously creative) in the language he uses. Our group had a few catch phrases we extracted from the book: daddy God, mommy earth; interpenetration; cosmic Christ; the earth deserves sabbath rest; moltmann and ______ like this 🤞🏻; zimzum; etc.
November 24, 2015
Jürgen Moltmann is perhaps the single most influential theologian in my life who I constantly find myself at odds with. Reading Moltmann is like drinking a glass of fine Scotch. He warms the soul and yet is not without a bit of irritation. I think this is intentional. He really wants the reader to think of God in ways that challenge our preconceived notions about who God is and how we relate to him. The Living God and the Fullness of Life is no exception.
In his introduction, Moltmann is primarily concerned with the depreciation of life that characterizes culture.
"The modern world takes its bearings from humanistic and naturalistic concepts of life, and in so doing, what it experiences is a diminished life. Christians life takes its bearing from "the Living God, "and in so doing, it experiences the fullness of life."
Moltmann goes on to ask, "What is life? What is fulfilled life? What is eternal life". These are the primary questions that we should be asking when attempting to critique modernity. However, there is another distinction that Moltmann makes that ends up being a critical point in understanding where he is going in the book. That is the distinction between laicizing modernity, "free-church" modernity, and secularized modernity.
He then begins to dig deep into the philosophical history of ideas and peels away at the hidden layers of presuppositions which have unwittingly taken residence in our modern minds. This is typical Moltmann and, his conclusions aside, is why I have come to enjoy his writing to the extent that I do.
Moltmann asks a probing question. Are we in the era of Enlightenment? The obvious answer to many would be a resounding "yes" due to the incredible amount of "progress" we have made in the last century. However, using Kant's definition of Enlightenment as departure from self imposed infancy, Moltmann argues that we have seen great periods of self-imposed infancy such as Nazi Germany, Stalin's dictatorship, and the way in which people today have allowed themselves to be cogs in a market driven machine which devalues human life. In this setting of the stage for the rest of the book, Moltmann argues that to not be turned aside "finds a better place in the religion of the exodus and the resurrection than in atheism"
The body of the book then is divided into two sections, The Living God in which Moltmann reexamines the traditional understanding of God's attributes, and The Fullness of Life, in which concepts such as fellowship, joy, freedom, friendship, love, hope and thinking find their fullness in God.
There is much to disagree with in Moltmann's conclusions; but he attempts to draw his conclusions from scripture and apart from the Greek philosophy which has influenced much of Western theology. This commitment to scripture apart from Greek philosophy is commendable, but I can't help but believe that in his attempt to interpret scripture without the negative influence of Plato and Aristotle, he has tossed out the proverbial baby with the bath water.
It is in Part 1 where I find the most disagreement with Moltmann as he re-imagines the attributes of God as he has in his past works. Is God immutable? Traditional reformed theology certainly affirms this. Was the idea of immutability developed most fully by Aristotle? Certainly! But what of it? Does this in itself mean that the doctrine ought to be discarded? Certainly not. For it is just as possible for Aristotle to have articulated biblical truth as any other theologian or philosopher. It is possible, and I believe likely, that Aristotle was unwittingly caught up in the stream of providence which God has used to preserve truth. Does this mean however, that God experiences absolutely no change at all? Absolutely not! As Moltmann points out, the living God is free to move and change. But even Moltmann clarifies by stating that God is not movable like the Greek Gods, but that he can move at his own volition. Does this make God mutable? I suppose in the strictest sense since there is change in him at the point of movement (such as the incarnation). But is this a theological mutability? I would argue no. Similarly, God's impassibility should be seen as anthropomorphic in nature. God is depicted as showing real emotions in scripture (anger, jealousy, grief, passion) but these to not bring about an ontological change in God.
To frame all of this in its proper context, Moltmann builds his conception of God's attributes on the foundation of Issac Luria's zimzum in which God voluntarily restricts himself by a contraction. This is similar to the discussion he had in (I think it was) God in Creation. While I think these abstract theories are possible (God reserves the right to constrict himself) and allow for the time and space of creation, these ideas are not explicitly taught in scripture and this sounds a loud alarm for me. It is this type of theorizing which is typical of Moltmann. Areas in which I am willing to muse about but not proclaim as anything more than speculation. I certainly would keep myself from allowing them to direct and inform doctrine.
This aside, the strength of this book is in Moltmann's exhortation of embrace the fullness of life in God and to mistrust the modern flow of thought which has produced nothing but disaster and horror. It is for this reason that I recommend this book as a fresh outlook on living the fullness of life in the Living God, but not as a theological structure on which to build a robust theology. There is however, as in every book written by Moltmann, enough meat to chew on even if you arrive at a different conclusion.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Westminster John Knox Press in exchange for an online review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
In his introduction, Moltmann is primarily concerned with the depreciation of life that characterizes culture.
"The modern world takes its bearings from humanistic and naturalistic concepts of life, and in so doing, what it experiences is a diminished life. Christians life takes its bearing from "the Living God, "and in so doing, it experiences the fullness of life."
Moltmann goes on to ask, "What is life? What is fulfilled life? What is eternal life". These are the primary questions that we should be asking when attempting to critique modernity. However, there is another distinction that Moltmann makes that ends up being a critical point in understanding where he is going in the book. That is the distinction between laicizing modernity, "free-church" modernity, and secularized modernity.
He then begins to dig deep into the philosophical history of ideas and peels away at the hidden layers of presuppositions which have unwittingly taken residence in our modern minds. This is typical Moltmann and, his conclusions aside, is why I have come to enjoy his writing to the extent that I do.
Moltmann asks a probing question. Are we in the era of Enlightenment? The obvious answer to many would be a resounding "yes" due to the incredible amount of "progress" we have made in the last century. However, using Kant's definition of Enlightenment as departure from self imposed infancy, Moltmann argues that we have seen great periods of self-imposed infancy such as Nazi Germany, Stalin's dictatorship, and the way in which people today have allowed themselves to be cogs in a market driven machine which devalues human life. In this setting of the stage for the rest of the book, Moltmann argues that to not be turned aside "finds a better place in the religion of the exodus and the resurrection than in atheism"
The body of the book then is divided into two sections, The Living God in which Moltmann reexamines the traditional understanding of God's attributes, and The Fullness of Life, in which concepts such as fellowship, joy, freedom, friendship, love, hope and thinking find their fullness in God.
There is much to disagree with in Moltmann's conclusions; but he attempts to draw his conclusions from scripture and apart from the Greek philosophy which has influenced much of Western theology. This commitment to scripture apart from Greek philosophy is commendable, but I can't help but believe that in his attempt to interpret scripture without the negative influence of Plato and Aristotle, he has tossed out the proverbial baby with the bath water.
It is in Part 1 where I find the most disagreement with Moltmann as he re-imagines the attributes of God as he has in his past works. Is God immutable? Traditional reformed theology certainly affirms this. Was the idea of immutability developed most fully by Aristotle? Certainly! But what of it? Does this in itself mean that the doctrine ought to be discarded? Certainly not. For it is just as possible for Aristotle to have articulated biblical truth as any other theologian or philosopher. It is possible, and I believe likely, that Aristotle was unwittingly caught up in the stream of providence which God has used to preserve truth. Does this mean however, that God experiences absolutely no change at all? Absolutely not! As Moltmann points out, the living God is free to move and change. But even Moltmann clarifies by stating that God is not movable like the Greek Gods, but that he can move at his own volition. Does this make God mutable? I suppose in the strictest sense since there is change in him at the point of movement (such as the incarnation). But is this a theological mutability? I would argue no. Similarly, God's impassibility should be seen as anthropomorphic in nature. God is depicted as showing real emotions in scripture (anger, jealousy, grief, passion) but these to not bring about an ontological change in God.
To frame all of this in its proper context, Moltmann builds his conception of God's attributes on the foundation of Issac Luria's zimzum in which God voluntarily restricts himself by a contraction. This is similar to the discussion he had in (I think it was) God in Creation. While I think these abstract theories are possible (God reserves the right to constrict himself) and allow for the time and space of creation, these ideas are not explicitly taught in scripture and this sounds a loud alarm for me. It is this type of theorizing which is typical of Moltmann. Areas in which I am willing to muse about but not proclaim as anything more than speculation. I certainly would keep myself from allowing them to direct and inform doctrine.
This aside, the strength of this book is in Moltmann's exhortation of embrace the fullness of life in God and to mistrust the modern flow of thought which has produced nothing but disaster and horror. It is for this reason that I recommend this book as a fresh outlook on living the fullness of life in the Living God, but not as a theological structure on which to build a robust theology. There is however, as in every book written by Moltmann, enough meat to chew on even if you arrive at a different conclusion.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Westminster John Knox Press in exchange for an online review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
January 18, 2016
Moltmann explores what it means to live a joyful and ‘festive’ life with the living God in this book. At the beginning of this work he immediately sets out to talk about the diversity of origins (French, German, and English) that have created what we call the ‘modern’ world. I found this to be very helpful. He then quickly moves into a dialogue with the work of Feuerbach and juxtaposes Feuerbach’s theories (which Moltmann refers to as the ‘reduction' of life against) against his own thesis of the fullness of life (as the title suggests). Interesting, particularly as the book moves on, is Feuerbach’s writing on the non-suffering of God against Moltmann’s premise that Christianity is a religion of joy with a crucified and resurrected Christ at it’s center (resurrection being a key theme and hermeneutic of the book).
Another theme that takes up much of the first quarter of the book (and is revisited at the end) is the “openness of God” (though Moltmann never refers to it as such). He writes compellingly that “The biblical experience of God would correspond to a ‘self-moved Mover’ rather than to an ‘unmoved Mover.’”
The second half of the book had some incredible writing on topics such as joy (“Joy is the meaning of human life. Human beings were created in order to have joy in God. They are born in order to have joy in life.”), the eros of God in creation, and hopeful eschatology. The chapter on friendship was particularly good.
I do have two critiques of the book. First, at the outset Moltmann writes that he “tried to write comprehensibly for theologians and nontheolgians and had in view both those who enjoy thinking theologically and those who have not yet tried to do so.” Mission not accomplished. The first 30% of the book was very dense (though it eases up, somewhat, after that). I think that most who have not read a fair amount of theology or philosophy might put the book down early on. The material was well worth wading through but the author could have/should have spent more time writing these thoughts in a more accessible way. The second critique I have has to do with certain assumptions that the author has taken. One reviewer humbly stated that he wasn’t a “theological scholar" and hadn’t studied all of Moltmann’s work, and continued his review with these disclaimers. I saw this as a weakness of the book, not the reviewer. There were a few times throughout the book where I felt a bit lost. However, I started realizing (while checking the endnotes) that Moltmann was expounding on his previous work. I felt this particularly on some of his Trinitarian work. In fairness, after finishing the book I reread the introduction where Moltmann stated, “I have taken up ideas that I already expressed earlier and have developed them further. I have gathered together previous experiences and insights about the fullness of life, and am setting them in the new context of this book.” This is fair, however, it is difficult for those who are “nontheologians” to whom the book was, at least partially, directed.
Overall the book was dense but fantastic. The endnotes do help one to know where to further explore Moltmann’s particular thoughts, so in that way it is a good place to start.
*I’m reviewing the book from a digital copy that I received from Netgalley
Another theme that takes up much of the first quarter of the book (and is revisited at the end) is the “openness of God” (though Moltmann never refers to it as such). He writes compellingly that “The biblical experience of God would correspond to a ‘self-moved Mover’ rather than to an ‘unmoved Mover.’”
The second half of the book had some incredible writing on topics such as joy (“Joy is the meaning of human life. Human beings were created in order to have joy in God. They are born in order to have joy in life.”), the eros of God in creation, and hopeful eschatology. The chapter on friendship was particularly good.
I do have two critiques of the book. First, at the outset Moltmann writes that he “tried to write comprehensibly for theologians and nontheolgians and had in view both those who enjoy thinking theologically and those who have not yet tried to do so.” Mission not accomplished. The first 30% of the book was very dense (though it eases up, somewhat, after that). I think that most who have not read a fair amount of theology or philosophy might put the book down early on. The material was well worth wading through but the author could have/should have spent more time writing these thoughts in a more accessible way. The second critique I have has to do with certain assumptions that the author has taken. One reviewer humbly stated that he wasn’t a “theological scholar" and hadn’t studied all of Moltmann’s work, and continued his review with these disclaimers. I saw this as a weakness of the book, not the reviewer. There were a few times throughout the book where I felt a bit lost. However, I started realizing (while checking the endnotes) that Moltmann was expounding on his previous work. I felt this particularly on some of his Trinitarian work. In fairness, after finishing the book I reread the introduction where Moltmann stated, “I have taken up ideas that I already expressed earlier and have developed them further. I have gathered together previous experiences and insights about the fullness of life, and am setting them in the new context of this book.” This is fair, however, it is difficult for those who are “nontheologians” to whom the book was, at least partially, directed.
Overall the book was dense but fantastic. The endnotes do help one to know where to further explore Moltmann’s particular thoughts, so in that way it is a good place to start.
*I’m reviewing the book from a digital copy that I received from Netgalley
March 6, 2023
256 pages, Published in 2015; theological anthropology
Moltmann’s writing is dense, not for the faint of heart. But that doesn't mean it's not worth reading, (You just might need to be a bit of a theology nerd). In this book, he elaborates on earlier works on the doctrine of God and Spirit. But this means he assumes you've already read his earlier work and are familiar with his theology.
Here is the chapter breakdown and outline:
PART ONE: The Living God
Chapter 1. The Living God
- How Can God Be Both Living and Eternal?
- The Eternal God
- The Living God
Chapter 2. God’s Attributes: The Living God and Attributes of Divinity
- Is God Immovable?
- Is God Impassible?
- Is God Almighty?
- Is God Omnipresent?
- The Prohibition of Images: The Living God
Chapter 3. The Living God in the History of Christ
- The One God: What Unity?
- The Living Space of the Triune God
- The History of God in Christ
PART TWO: The Fullness of Life
Chapter 4: This Eternal Life
- In the Fellowship of the Divine Life
- In the Fellowship of the Living and the Dead
- In the Fellowship of the Earth
Chapter 5: Life in the Wide Space of God`s Joy
- God’s Joy
- The Birth of Religion Out of the Festival of Life
- Christianity: Religion of Joy
- The Joy of the God Who Seeks and Finds
- Human Joy: Joy and Fun
- Joy and Human Pain: Schiller and Dostoevsky
- Nietzsche’s “Deep, Deep Eternity”
Chapter 6: Freedom Lived in Solidarity
- Freedom or God? Michael Bakunin and Carl Schmitt
- The God of the Exodus and the Resurrection
- God’s Freedom
- Human Freedom in God
Chapter 7: Freedom Experienced in Open Friendship
- What Is Friendship?
- In the Friendship of Jesus
- God’s Friends
- Open Friendship for a Friendlier World
Chapter 8. The Loved and Loving life
- The Doctrine of Suffering (Buddha) and the Doctrine of Love (Paul)
- God’s Love and Human Love for God
- Love for Life
- Maximus Confessor and the Erotic Universe
Chapter 9: A Spirituality of the Senses
- The Spirituality of the Soul—The Spirituality of the Senses
- The Human Senses
- The Diminution and Attrition of the Senses
- The Waking and Awakening of the Senses
- Praying and Watching
Chapter 10: Hoping and Thinking
- Thinking Means Transcending
- Hoping and Perceiving: Hegel and “Minerva´s Owl” and Aurora’s Lark
- Hoping and Thinking: The Productive Power of the Imagination
Chapter 11. Life: A Never-Ending Festival
- The Risen Christ Makes of Human Life a Never-Ending Festival
- The Festive Life
- Truth as Prayer
Moltmann's focus here seems to be on the Unity or unifying activity of God/God's spirit in bringing creation into union with God.
Moltmann’s writing is dense, not for the faint of heart. But that doesn't mean it's not worth reading, (You just might need to be a bit of a theology nerd). In this book, he elaborates on earlier works on the doctrine of God and Spirit. But this means he assumes you've already read his earlier work and are familiar with his theology.
Here is the chapter breakdown and outline:
PART ONE: The Living God
Chapter 1. The Living God
- How Can God Be Both Living and Eternal?
- The Eternal God
- The Living God
Chapter 2. God’s Attributes: The Living God and Attributes of Divinity
- Is God Immovable?
- Is God Impassible?
- Is God Almighty?
- Is God Omnipresent?
- The Prohibition of Images: The Living God
Chapter 3. The Living God in the History of Christ
- The One God: What Unity?
- The Living Space of the Triune God
- The History of God in Christ
PART TWO: The Fullness of Life
Chapter 4: This Eternal Life
- In the Fellowship of the Divine Life
- In the Fellowship of the Living and the Dead
- In the Fellowship of the Earth
Chapter 5: Life in the Wide Space of God`s Joy
- God’s Joy
- The Birth of Religion Out of the Festival of Life
- Christianity: Religion of Joy
- The Joy of the God Who Seeks and Finds
- Human Joy: Joy and Fun
- Joy and Human Pain: Schiller and Dostoevsky
- Nietzsche’s “Deep, Deep Eternity”
Chapter 6: Freedom Lived in Solidarity
- Freedom or God? Michael Bakunin and Carl Schmitt
- The God of the Exodus and the Resurrection
- God’s Freedom
- Human Freedom in God
Chapter 7: Freedom Experienced in Open Friendship
- What Is Friendship?
- In the Friendship of Jesus
- God’s Friends
- Open Friendship for a Friendlier World
Chapter 8. The Loved and Loving life
- The Doctrine of Suffering (Buddha) and the Doctrine of Love (Paul)
- God’s Love and Human Love for God
- Love for Life
- Maximus Confessor and the Erotic Universe
Chapter 9: A Spirituality of the Senses
- The Spirituality of the Soul—The Spirituality of the Senses
- The Human Senses
- The Diminution and Attrition of the Senses
- The Waking and Awakening of the Senses
- Praying and Watching
Chapter 10: Hoping and Thinking
- Thinking Means Transcending
- Hoping and Perceiving: Hegel and “Minerva´s Owl” and Aurora’s Lark
- Hoping and Thinking: The Productive Power of the Imagination
Chapter 11. Life: A Never-Ending Festival
- The Risen Christ Makes of Human Life a Never-Ending Festival
- The Festive Life
- Truth as Prayer
Moltmann's focus here seems to be on the Unity or unifying activity of God/God's spirit in bringing creation into union with God.
March 9, 2024
This book is a very short summary of Moltmann's systematic theology. It is dense but a brisk read, full of punchy and memorable short sentences.
The first part is "The Living God," a doctrine of God that explores what it means for God to be alive. Moltmann distinguishes the living God from the dead "God of the philosophers," i.e. of classic theism. For Moltmann, "The Living God" is the god of the Old Testament. This is because his theology of the Christian present is eschatological in origin, deriving from the "salvation history" exemplified in the Priestly pentateuchal writing, psalms, etc.
Many readers will be acquainted with theologies proper that consist in enumerating Latin terms that refer to God as all-knowing, almighty, everywhere present, etc. I myself am unshamed to keep Aquinas on my bookshelf and in my web bookmarks. But it is helpful to remember, as even Aquinas lets on, that these categories are not endogeneous to the Bible, but are rather inherited from upper-class Greco-Roman philosophies of the Divine. As such, they are susceptible to questioning in light of other theological sources such as scripture, experience, history.
God is not unchanging, because living things change and move. God is not everywhere, though God may choose be, because God withdraws (tzimtzum) to make a "broad place" for Creation's freedom. etc. God is not impassible, but rather God's suffering is the basis of Christian theodicy.
Whether or not you accept his provocative theological proposals, a broader point about the nature of theology emerges. Is it really necessary to develop a dogmatic concept of God's properties in order to know God? The apophatic theologians would affirm that certainty about God is equivalent to idolatry. Do we need to process the Bible through classical philosophy in order to make God worshippable? If God lets us be human, can we let God be God?
The second part is "The Fullness of Life," which develops the positive theology that Moltmann is primarily known for. If God is a living God, what does that mean for our solidarity, love, hope, joy, friendship etc.?
The first part is "The Living God," a doctrine of God that explores what it means for God to be alive. Moltmann distinguishes the living God from the dead "God of the philosophers," i.e. of classic theism. For Moltmann, "The Living God" is the god of the Old Testament. This is because his theology of the Christian present is eschatological in origin, deriving from the "salvation history" exemplified in the Priestly pentateuchal writing, psalms, etc.
Many readers will be acquainted with theologies proper that consist in enumerating Latin terms that refer to God as all-knowing, almighty, everywhere present, etc. I myself am unshamed to keep Aquinas on my bookshelf and in my web bookmarks. But it is helpful to remember, as even Aquinas lets on, that these categories are not endogeneous to the Bible, but are rather inherited from upper-class Greco-Roman philosophies of the Divine. As such, they are susceptible to questioning in light of other theological sources such as scripture, experience, history.
God is not unchanging, because living things change and move. God is not everywhere, though God may choose be, because God withdraws (tzimtzum) to make a "broad place" for Creation's freedom. etc. God is not impassible, but rather God's suffering is the basis of Christian theodicy.
Whether or not you accept his provocative theological proposals, a broader point about the nature of theology emerges. Is it really necessary to develop a dogmatic concept of God's properties in order to know God? The apophatic theologians would affirm that certainty about God is equivalent to idolatry. Do we need to process the Bible through classical philosophy in order to make God worshippable? If God lets us be human, can we let God be God?
The second part is "The Fullness of Life," which develops the positive theology that Moltmann is primarily known for. If God is a living God, what does that mean for our solidarity, love, hope, joy, friendship etc.?
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