A Theology of the Cross: The Death of Jesus in the Pauline Letters (Overtures to Biblical Theology)

In Pauls epistles the crucifixion story reveals a God who is free and in no way bound by human categories or expectations. Yet God in Christ chooses to be engaged in the very depths of the human predicament. The message of the crucifixion is that Gods power is manifested in weakness, not in strength. The author believes that this weakness as strength should be the focal point of the churchs identity. However, a celebration of weakness is in complete opposition to traditional American beliefs in personal strength and a powerful church.Ernst Ksemann ... has written on the theme [of the cross] most poignantly and penetratingly. Because the cross is endlessly relentless in its claim and restless in its critical voice, however, even Ksemanns rendering is not final.Cousars book demonstrates that we can and must move beyond even Ksemann in our own obedient act of understanding and response to the cross. ... Cousars careful adn acute exposition shows effectively that the cross cannot be contained in such a single category, but functions as a norm and singular definitional voice on a broad range of theological, interpretive, and ethical issues.from the Editors Foreword, by Walter Brueggemann