Redemptive suffering Redemptive suffering Redemptive suffering is the Christian belief that human suffering, when accepted and offered up in union with the Passion of Jesus, can remit the just punishment for one's sins or for the sins of another, or for the other physical or spiritual needs of oneself or another. Like an indulgence, redemptive suffering does not gain the individual "forgiveness" for their sin; forgiveness results from God’s grace, freely given through Christ, which cannot be earned. After one's sins are forgiven, the individual's suffering can reduce the "penalty" due for sin. Christians believe that God loves mankind so much that
The Suffering of God The Suffering of God The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective is a book by Old Testament scholar Terence E. Fretheim. In 1984 it appeared as number 14 in the Overtures to Biblical Theology series published by Fortress Press. Most Christians believe the incarnation of God is an exclusively New Testament idea, but in "The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective", Terence E. Fretheim argues that incarnation has always been God's standard method of interaction with humanity. Through exegesis and a literary and philosophical approach to Scripture, Fretheim draws the elusive God of the Old Testament close. Indeed,