Does God Have Emotions? (Do you?)

There’s a major theme in a lot of Protestant theology that God does not have emotions. It seems to stem from a Greek mindset that valued the life of the mind more than the life of the heart and which sought to build helpful systems of theology that were tight and complete. You see some of this reflected in this short quote from one of the most renowned theologians of the middle centuries of church history:

Thou canst not suffer with others…
Thou dost not feel emotion…
Thou art not affected by any share in our wretchedness.  
-       Anselm of Canterbury, 11th century 

While not trying to denigrate that perspective, it seems helpful to broaden out out understanding of God. So yesterday we looked at this passage from Isaiah that showed that God is deeply affected by what happens to God’s people:

In all their distress he too was distressed, 
   and the angel of his presence saved them. 
In his love and mercy he redeemed them; 
   he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. - Isaiah 63:9

Take some time to think through and pray through some of these questions as a way to prepare for our week of devotions thinking through what it means that we have a God who weeps.

  • How much has an anti-emotional understanding of God been a part of your spiritual journey?

  • How mell did your parents or other parent figures and mentors help you walk into the mysterious and tricky and wonderful world of emotions?

  • Is repressing your emotions something that you struggle with?

  • What might need to shift in your view of God to embrace a God who is deeply emotional?