Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-314) and indexes.

Doctrine of divine impassibility in historical context -- Contextualizing patristic thought on divine impassibility: the Hellenization hypothesis -- Patristic models of divine impassibility -- Medieval and reformational reflections on divine impassibility -- Assessing the widespread rejection of divine impassibility in modern theology -- Contemporary impassibilist thought and evangelical reflection on divine impassibility -- Contemporary case for understanding God as both impassible and impassioned -- Impassible and impassioned: toward a viable theological hermeneutic -- Impassible and impassioned: interpretive prospects -- Impassible and impassioned: a theological model -- Impassibility and incarnation: a concluding christological reflection.

Modern theologians have focused on the doctrine of divine impassibility, exploring the significance of God's emotional experience and most especially the question of divine suffering. Professor Rob Lister speaks into the issue, outlining the history of the doctrine in the views of influential figures such as Augustine, Aquinas, and Luther, while carefully examining modernity's growing rejection of impassibility and the subsequent evangelical response. --from publisher description.