Divine Impassibility: The Beauty of a God without Emotions

Divine impassibility is the doctrine that states that God cannot be causally affected by another. Throughout the centuries it has been nearly unanimously held by Christians from the patristic period through the medievals, and is still held by many Christians and non-Christians today (Both Judaism and Islam traditionally have embraced the doctrine as well). The Chruch dogmatized this teaching at the fourth Lateran Council in 1215. Far from being an abstract metaphysical concept, it raises important questions with which the Christian must wrestle.

In the Scruptures, God is described numerous times as a passionate and even jealous lover of Israel and of the Church. Saint John tells us that God is Love (1 John 4:8). Prima facia there appears to be a contradiction between the God of the Bible who is described as a lover, and the God of the theologians who is described as being unaffected by his creatures. In recent times, this has led many Protestant theologians to reject impassibility on the grounds that it is not compatible with the Biblical depiction of God (though the first reformers such as Luther and Calvin held to impassibility).

I will argue that divine impassibility is not only compatible with the Biblical depiction, it is necessary to safeguard the Johannine claim that God is Love

So how are we to answer this supposed problem? Firstly, it is important to point out that love is not in the emotions, but in the will. As limited creatures we may have emotions that follow our acts of love, but that love is not located within our emotions. Acts of love become easier for us if positive emotions are associated with those acts. Emotions (assuming they are rightly ordered), can urge us on in virtue. They are a beautiful thing, but we must remember that they are not goods in themselves. One who is primarily concerned with emotions instead of acts of good will is lacking in virtue. We may know people from our own experience, or we ourselves may be people who chase too often after emotions that come and go as quickly as the waves of the ocean do. Such a person is not properly ordered and often experiences great distress when positive emotions cease. All this to say—love is not located in the emotions, but in the will.

Fair enough, you might respond. But why then do the Scriptures describe God as having emotional states? Countless times throughout the Bible God can be seen as being affected by the actions and choices of his creatures. He is seen as wrathful towards the wickedness of his creatures and jealous when his people go astray and turn away from Him. Throughout the centuries, the Church has understood these passages as anthropomorphic. Anthropomorphisms occur when human qualities are given to non-human entities. When a flower is depicted as smiling in the sunshine, we clearly do not take that as if the flower were literally smiling. Rather, it is shown smiling to evoke the sense that sunshine is conducive for the flower's flourishing. Anthropomorphisms usually help us better connect with non-human entities. Similarly, when God is shown as angry, jealous, or sad, these are not literal emotional states that God is experiencing as a result of human actions. They portray what happens to us more than what happens to God. For instance, when God is shown as jealous and sad as the result of Israel leaving Him, it is saying more about the state of Israel than that of God. It is meant to help stir our emotions and return to the God who is Love and desires above all else our salvation and happiness.

If we do take those passages that show God's emotions literally, we run into a big problem. The main concern here is that if God were emotional that would be extremely bad news for us. If our actions can change God's emotional states, then His love cannot be infinite since it would rise or fall depending on our actions. This would turn the Johannine claim into a conditional: God is love—provided that you love Him. Thus, God's love cannot be unconditional either if He can change emotional states.

The only way that God can be love infinitely and unconditionally is if He is impassible. The beauty of an impassible God is that His love is unchanging. We do nothing to deserve it, nor can we do anything to lessen it. God has created us, and since He is immutable (unchanging) and impassible, He cannot choose but to love us. There is absolutely no human choice that can change His Love for us. As I stated in the beginning, this doctrine is of supreme importance for us in our lives. It shows that God is an unfailing and unchanging fortress and shelter in whom our hearts can rest from the worries, troubles, and changes of this passing world. We needn't worry that His Love for us will change if we fall, we need only to abide in Him and His impassible Love for us