$19.99
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Saturday, May 11 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Thursday, May 9. Order within 9 hrs 32 mins
In Stock
$$19.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$19.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Confessing the Impassible God: The Biblical, Classical, & Confessional Doctrine of Divine Impassibility Paperback – October 16, 2015

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 18 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$19.99","priceAmount":19.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"19","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"LBrML%2FIy51FR2oX6WCSofrTsO8YEaf17%2BBEO%2Bglq9dUcvRBn1bEefS10fwlNbdO1dl0IeAdRXzhXANpGtsCoWTL%2FxEeFkBE0lZZFaoQMlWuDvEKbnE6OSoggPC%2BGUXV0VaDo2bujE7NJzHcOVe9A6g%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

The book is structured as follows. The Introduction presses home the importance of the doctrine of divine impassibility. Readers will be challenged to recognize that tinkering with divine impassibility as classically understood has implications that always end up compromising other fundamental articles of the Christian faith.The main argument is contained in seven parts. Part I addresses vital issues of prolegomena. Prior to providing a positive explication of the doctrine, we outline our theological method. Chapter 1 discusses the theological grammar of the doctrine of divine impassibility. Important concepts such as biblical metaphysics, act and potency, and the analogy of being are discussed. These are basic and crucial concepts to understand at the outset. Chapter 2 offers an introduction to the hermeneutical method employed throughout. These two chapters together reflect our commitment to the traditional language of classical theism and the hermeneutics of the Reformed tradition as articulated in the English Reformed Confessions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As readers will become aware in reading the subsequent sections, the issue of method is crucial and foundational in this discussion.Part II (chapters 3-7) covers the Old and New Testaments. Though all potential passages of Scripture are not discussed, the most important texts on the subject of divine impassibility are addressed. The order of these chapters reflects our hermeneutical method: we consider texts on the nature of God first, texts which speak of immutability and impassibility next, concluding with those texts that appear to indicate some sort of passibility in God. Each testamental section ends with a brief conclusion.Part III (chapters 8-9) surveys the history of the doctrine of divine impassibility. We seek to demonstrate that what was once a catholic doctrine has become muddied as scholars of various theological traditions have reformulated, modified, and in some instances rejected classical theism’s commitment to divine impassibility.Part IV (chapters 10-12) offers a systematic-theological approach to the subject. It assumes Parts I-III and builds upon them. Careful discussion is provided on such issues as the relationship of divine impassibility to the essence and attributes of God, the divine affections, and the incarnation of the Son of God. Our goal is for readers to realize the significance of divine impassibility in relation to many other essential doctrines of the Christian faith. It is part of the system of doctrine contained in our Confession; tinkering with impassibility has far-reaching ramifications.Part V (chapter 13) offers an overview of the doctrine of divine impassibility as contained in the Second London Confession of Faith (1677/89). This confessional document asserts the same doctrine as the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) and the Savoy Declaration (1658) on the issue of divine impassibility. The place of the doctrine in the Confession as well as its relationship to other confessed truths is presented.Part VI (chapter 14) seeks to explicate the practical theology of divine impassibility. It draws out implications of the doctrine under the topics the saving knowledge of God, the Christian life, worship, and pastoral ministry.Part VII (chapter 15) offers closing comments and a list of affirmations and denials in light of the entire study.Additionally, we have included two appendices, containing book reviews of contemporary attempts to modify the classical doctrine of divine impassibility.Foreword by Paul Helm. Endorsements by James Dolezal, J. V. Fesko, Ryan McGraw, and Fred Sanders.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    466 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    October 16, 2015
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 1.05 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0991659929
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0991659920
  7. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

Confessing the Impassible God: The Biblical, Classical, & Confessional Doctrine of Divine Impassibility
$19.99
Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
God without Passions: A Primer
$11.99
Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
All That Is in God: Evangelical Theology and the Challenge of Classical Christian Theism
$12.06
Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ RBAP (October 16, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 466 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0991659929
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0991659920
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.36 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.05 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 18 ratings

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
18 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Miffed
5.0 out of 5 stars Don’t pass this one up
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2024
The reviews are uniformly excellent so I will be brief. This is a very comprehensive evaluation of the doctrine of impassability from a classical theism viewpoint. Each chapter can stand on its own. There is some repetition because the verses that are contested are relatively few in number. I believe all the authors come from a Reformed Baptist perspective. Chapters are directed from an exegetical and theological perspective so you don’t need a strong philosophical background to understand. Any educated Christian should find this interesting and edifying. If you support impassability this will help you fill out your knowledge and sharpen your own arguments. If you don’t support impassability challenge yourself by taking on some of the best arguments available.
Helpful
 Report
Pascal Denault
5.0 out of 5 stars This work was determinative for my understanding of God - A must read for the classical view of divine impassibility
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2016
When I first heard about the impassibility controversy, I thought this was about splitting hairs by entering the highly speculative enterprise of talking about God’s emotions. Not so much so now that I have delved into this book and familiarized myself more with the doctrine of God in general and his impassibility more specifically.

It is no secret that this book is controversial because of the ecclesiastical matter from which it emerged. I am personally an outsider looking at this crisis among Reformed Baptist brothers that I love and respect. I understand the heartache that brothers went through (are going through) and I feel compassionate about it. However, I didn’t come at this book in order to judge hearts and intentions in this matter, but in order to understand what it means to confess the impassible God. I now put down this volume, extremely thankful for the authors who wrote it. I not only learned what it means to confess the impassible God, but also what it doesn’t mean.

One can be in disagreement with the classical doctrine of divine impassibility (and its corollaries), but one cannot disagree that there is a historic meaning tied to the affirmation that God is “without body, parts, or passions.” An honest reader will have to admit that this work attains its aim of presenting the classical Christian doctrine of God and distinguishes it from old and modern deviations.

Not only have I discovered the depth of classical theism, I have been convinced of the necessity to maintain it strongly as the robust foundation of all our theology and practice. Don’t we confess that the doctrine of God and the “doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on him” (2.3)? More than once, while I was reading this work, did I burst into praises to the Most High. I feel that I have added a stronger foundation to my Calvinism and also that I have widened and refined my catholicity.

Confessing the Impassible God might be too technical for some readers and the Reformed Scholastic can be intimidating at time. But for the reader who is looking for a nuanced and very well-articulated presentation of the God Who Is, as the Christian church confessed him, this book will feed your mind and soul. No angle has been neglected to assess the doctrine at stake: metaphysical and philosophical theology, biblical and exegetical theology, historical and pastoral theology.

I am not a specialist of theology proper, just an ordinary pastor and worshipper; but this book has proven to be highly useful to my ministry and me personally. I would go so far as to place it among the top ten books that most shaped my mind and theology. I pray that it won’t be a tool that divides but unites brothers; at the very least by clarifying distinct doctrinal understandings and, hopefully, by bringing more believers to the conviction that it attempts to defend.
21 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Cheryl Cali
5.0 out of 5 stars a good jumping off point for further independent study
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2015
As I read Confessing the Impassible God something struck me. It wasn’t just the importance, weight, or substance of the topic or the far reaching implications of the doctrine of Impassability. What initially drew me in was the structure of the book itself. The content of each chapter, as well as each part, has the strength and coherency to stand alone and be read and understood independently. However when you take these collection of essays together you end up with a robust picture of this doctrine. This picture in turn guides and directs pathways to possible further and in more detail study. CIG capitalizes on each individual author’s expertise, their personal and professional study, and their ability to articulate their research in a digestible manner for the average layman. The synthesis of these component essays shows a seamless and logical move from one chapter to the next; from one part to the next, each building on the summation of the previous with the cumulative effect of seeing the up close detailed beauty of this doctrine without losing sight of the grand macro view painted concerning this aspect of theology proper. The editors, in the preface, outline the structure, content and movement of the book. From the preface alone the books development becomes apparent.

Why is a proper view of the doctrine of Impassibility so important?
What is the theological methodology and hermeneutic employed?
What is a proper exegesis of the most relevant texts?
What is the history of the church’s definition of classical theism?
How does Impassibility fit in systematic theology?
What are the implications and effects on an understanding of other truths outlined in the confession?
What are some of the practical out workings of this doctrine in our daily Christian lives and worship?
What can confidently be affirmed and denied about Impassibility?
How are objections to the definition of classical theism dealt with polemically?

From the multifaceted approach what is clear is the unanimity of the editors, with each other and as they show, with the bulk of historical Christianity. Sprinkled throughout the book are common objections to each point whether dealing with concept, methodology, hermeneutic, exegesis, application or conclusion. The polemical approach to refuting and dismantling oppositional claims then presenting a biblical defense is not only effectively persuasive, but balanced. The basis of the positive claims are rooted in and find their authority from the text of scripture. The case they lay out is logical, clear, user friendly and drawn from a combination of both descriptive and prescriptive passages. The footnotes add much to the explanation as well as citing his reference material, a good jumping off point for further independent study. This is such an important topic that will affect all aspects of theology and this book does a great job redirecting us back to a biblical view of theology proper.
11 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

RJ Lawrence
5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough, Devotional and Academically Rigorous
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2020
Verified Purchase
This excellent book seeks to help recover the somewhat neglected and misunderstood doctrine of Divine Impassibility. In so doing it inspires the reader to marvel at the majesty of God.

I would reccomend it to any serious student of theology - though with a proviso that this is not a light read.

This book:
1. Demonstrates Impassibility from numerous passages of the Bible in both OT and NT
2. Analyses the role Impassibility has in systematic theology as a whole including what it means for the gospel and the work of Christ specifically.
3. Shows the historical pedigree of Impassibility - it dates to the early church and was upheld through the middle ages and the reformation
4. Considers the implications Impassibility has for the daily christian life.
5. Interacts with and critiques the writings of various opponents of Impassibility.

All of this is done rigorously and thoroughly, yet at the same time pastorally. The authors are all pastor-theologians, and that really shows. This book is an academic work intended in part to refute arguments made by other theologians and yet as they are doing that the authors don't lose sight of the purpose of studying God, that is, to inspire our worship of him.
One person found this helpful
 Report
yannlariviere
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on February 21, 2018
Verified Purchase
parfait
Report
Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book! They highlight many important aspects of the ...
Reviewed in Canada on September 6, 2016
Verified Purchase
Great book! They highlight many important aspects of the discussion.The emphasis on a proper hermeneutic is key and they thoroughly demonstrate the tradition stance. I would have appreciated more engagement with modern sources of passibilism.
Report