Abstract
The distinctive claim Moltmann makes in his second major work, The Crucified God, is that the two characteristic features of Christianity, the cross and the Trinity, are inseparable and thus must always be thought together. It is only in the context of the doctrine of the Trinity that the cross can be properly understood, and only in the context of the cross that the doctrine of the Trinity has any ground. The core of Moltmann’s innovations derive from the latter. That is, for Moltmann the cross is of central significance to the doctrine of the Trinity.
This thesis consists of two chapters of exposition followed by three chapters of analysis and discussion, a final comparative chapter, and then a conclusion. The first two chapters trace the development of the significance of the cross for the doctrine of the Trinity through The Crucified God and The Trinity and the Kingdom, respectively. Chapter three begins the discussion by outlining and assessing Moltmann’s methodology. The latter half of the chapter provides a case study of his use of Scripture by looking at the function of Mark 15:34 in his theology. Chapter four discusses Moltmann’s innovations regarding divine passibility. After clarifying the grounds on which he rejects divine impassibility and, for him, the related Chalcedonian distinction between divine and human natures in Christ, it critically assesses his rationale for divine suffering and addresses his claim that there is enmity between Father and Son in the crucifixion. Chapter five discusses Moltmann’s construal of the relationship between immanent and economic Trinity. It begins by addressing the ambiguous relationship between history and eschatology in this area of his theology. Then it provides a critical assessment of Moltmann’s construal of this relationship in light of Karl Barth’s doctrine of the Trinity. Chapter six expounds and discusses a passage from Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theo-Drama which provides a helpful mediating position between Moltmann’s proposals and classical theism. The thesis concludes with a commendation of the value of his theologia crucis for hermeneutics, of his theology of divine passibility for a global, twenty-first century theology, and of his trinitarian panentheism as a potential alternative to classical theism for imagining the God of Jesus Christ.