Book review: Jesus' Emotions in the Fourth Gospel: Human or Divine? Voorwinde, Stephen London: T&T Clark, 2005 pp. xiii + 344. $140.00

Abstract

This slightly revised doctoral thesis, completed in 2003 for the Australian College of Theology under Rikki Watts and Johan Ferreira, sets out to make a contribution to the discussion of Johannine Christology by examining the references to Jesus’ emotions in the Fourth Gospel. The thesis opens with a brie f description of “the current debate.” The author identifies three major positions: Jesus as “merely human,” attributed to Rudolf Bultmann (6–9); Jesus as “only divine,” attributed to Ernst Käsemann (9–11); and Jesus as “both human and divine,” represented by Rudolf Schnackenburg (11–13). The titles are unfortunately simplistic, but the actual discussion more differentiating. It is sufficient to establish the relevance of embarking on a study of the “emotions” of Jesus, but not for a more detailed engagement of the issues that the work promises..