Redemptive suffering He made Himself human in Jesus in order to redeem mankind: It is believed that Jesus freed mankind from the bondage of sin: Thus one may consider that God paid for mankind's freedom from sin in His human incarnation: The belief is that the price that God, in Jesus, paid for the redemption of mankind, is the Passion, that is, his suffering and agony that led directly to his Crucifixion. Christians believe that, as members of the Church, they are members of the body of Jesus Christ: Hence, orthodox Catholic theology presents the belief that our suffering can be united
The Suffering of God chapters Fretheim describes God as suffering because of His creation (chapter 7), for His creation (chapter 8), and with His creation (chapter 9) . These chapters flow logically out of the groundwork established in the first one hundred pages of the text. Each chapter is neatly summarized in numbered points making it easy to review and synthesize. The final chapter of Fretheim's book deals with the special relationship between the suffering God and His suffering servants, the prophets. In men like Jeremiah, the divine word is incarnated to the point that the prophet shares in the divine suffering and God