Nicholas Holden, Martyr

Asymmetrical assumption: Why Lutheran christology does not lead to kenoticism or divine passibility

“…30 He expresses surprise that Ritschl and von Harnack had nothing to say, given that impassibility 'could be represented as a piece of Greek metaphysics.' 31 Instead, the challenges to the doctrine have come two sources: from what he terms 'metaphysics', by which he seems particularly to mean both, first, a focus on the personality of the deity, similar to Dorner's ethical turn, and a broader personalistic philosophy; and, second, what he terms 'natural science', by which he seems to mean a panentheistic move in which God suffers all that any creature suffers. 32 Nearly a century on, not only many of the names, but also many of the concepts, Mozley found to be important have passed into historical irrelevance; however, his identification of a 'metaphysical' move, and his expressed surprise at Ritschl's silence, continue to resonate in more recent discussion.…”