Single Idea 22739

[catalogued under 28. God / A. Divine Nature / 2. Divine Nature]

Full Idea

God cannot have a notion of suffering if he has not experience it.

Gist of Idea

God must suffer to understand suffering

Source

Sextus Empiricus (Against the Physicists (two books) [c.180], I.163)

Book Reference

Sextus Empiricus: 'Against the Physicists/Against the Ethicists', ed/tr. Bury,R.G. [Harvard Loeb 1997], p.85


A Reaction

Christians like to portray God as suffering because of his son's horrible death. We can imagine experiences we have never had, and presumably God is better at that than we are.