Theology of the Pain of God: The First Original Theology from Japan

Until the twentieth century, the Western world formulated most Christian theology. Fully grounded in this tradition, Kazoh Kitamori demonstrates its limitations and problems from a Japanese point of view and suggests a fresh approach to the biblical message. Dr. Katamori has developed the ?rst original theology from the East. The gospel is the gospel of the cross, he says. God loves the objects of his wrath. What is revealed in the cross is neither the wrath of God alone nor the love of God alone, but the synthesis of the two. The author's purpose is to clarify this synthesis, identi?ed as the pain of God. By the "theology of the pain of God," he means the "theology of love rooted in the pain of God." He brings a new interpretation to this central theme of the Christian faith.

Today, Christian thinkers are calling for an ecumenical theology. By helping to renew the faith even as he seeks to reformulate it in non-Western terms, Dr. Kitamori takes an important step toward expanding the dialogue between Christians of the East and West.