Description
Book SynopsisThe Concept of Divine Love in the Context of the God-World Relationship addresses the significant and far-reaching theological conflict over the nature of God's love, which is deeply rooted in broader conflicts regarding divine ontology and the nature of the God-world relationship. After engaging the traditional historical theology of love and recent exemplars of competing and influential conceptions of divine love, John C. Peckham seeks an alternative to the impasse by an extensive inductive investigation of the entire biblical canon in accordance with a final-form canonical approach to systematic theology, offering an alternative model of divine love that draws on the richness of the biblical text as canon and holds considerable implications for the God-world relationship.
Trade Review«This research convincingly challenges commonly held views regarding the concept of God’s love. Through penetrating analysis of a wide range of biblical, theological, and philosophical sources, John C. Peckham demonstrates how assumptions imposed on the Bible over many centuries have distorted scholarly understanding of its teaching on this crucial and foundational subject. Peckham’s comprehensive and relentlessly logical approach yields fresh conclusions of far-reaching significance.» (Roy E. Gane, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan)
«John C. Peckham’s hermeneutically sophisticated work on the love of God is clearly committed to the authority of the biblical text, and to letting it guide his conclusions. The result is an important contribution on issues that are absolutely central to both biblical and systematic theology. This book deserves serious attention from scholars all across these disciplines.» (Jerry L. Walls, Scholar in Residence and Professor of Philosophy, Houston Baptist University, Houston, Texas)
«Although all religions claim love as their own, Christians alone identify God with love, and yet, little reflection has been given to the meaning of love as it relates to God in the Christian context. John C. Peckham’s massive scholarly study remedies this unfortunate situation brilliantly and provides the benchmark for all future research. Taking the history of theological reflection as his starting point, Peckham guides the reader step by step from a critical analysis of tradition, through a detailed journey of Scriptures, in search of a new, more comprehensive, and deeper way of understanding the meaning and experiencing the passion of God’s infinite love for the world.» (Fernando Canale, Emeritus Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan)
Table of ContentsContents: Outline of Study – A Brief Survey of Divine Love in Historical Theology – Conflicting Models of Divine Love – A Canonical Survey of Divine Love in the Old Testament – A Canonical Survey of Divine Love in the New Testament – A Canonical and Systematic Model of Divine Love in Relation to the World.
