The Work of Love: Creation as Kenosis

The development of kenotic ideas was one of the most important advances in theological thinking in the late twentieth century. Now a diverse group of acknowledged experts brought together by the Templeton Foundation presents a stimulating interdisciplinary evaluation of these controversial ideas. The Work of Love explores the nature of the creative love of God. The key concept, kenosis (or "self-emptying"), refers to God's voluntary restriction of his divine infinity in order to allow room for the existence of finite creatures who are truly free to be themselves. This formulation of God's creative work challenges the common conception of God as a divine dictator and provides a more satisfying response to the perplexing problem of evil and suffering present in creation. von Polkinghorne, John C.