Patience—A Theological Exploration: Part One, from Creation to Christ

What does it mean to exercise patience? What does it mean to endure, to wait, and to persevere—and, on other occasions, to reject patience in favor of resistance, haste, and disruptive action? And what might it mean to describe God as patient? Might patience play a leading role in a Christian account of God’s creative work, God’s relationship to ancient Israel, God’s governance of history, and God’s saving activity? The first instalment of Patience—A Theological Exploration engages these questions in searching, imaginative, and sometimes surprising ways. Following reflections on the biblical witness and the nature of constructive theological inquiry, its interpretative chapters engage landmark works by a number of ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary authors, disclosing both the promise and peril of talk about patience. Patience stands at the center of this innovative account of God’s creative work, God’s relationship with ancient Israel, creaturely sin, scripture, and God’s broader providential and salvific purposes.