{"id":4175,"date":"2017-08-28T18:45:46","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T01:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/blog\/archives\/"},"modified":"2017-08-28T18:48:48","modified_gmt":"2017-08-29T01:48:48","slug":"god-relational-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/blog\/archives\/god-relational-mean","title":{"rendered":"What Does “God is Relational” Mean?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you read many theology books, you\u2019ve likely come across many theologians who say God is relational. But it\u2019s not always clear what being \u201crelational\u201d means. I believe God is relational, and here’s what I mean…<\/p>\n

In the past, theologians used various words as or near synonyms with \u201crelational.\u201d The most common was \u201cpassible.\u201d And many ancient theologians rejected the idea that God is passible or relational.<\/p>\n

Creatures Exert Influence on God\"\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

The fundamental claim of God being relational is causal: creatures influence God. To put it another way, creation makes an impact upon God\u2019s experience. Consequently, a relational God is affected by what creatures do. That’s the basic idea of relational theology<\/a>.<\/p>\n

God sometimes feels emotions when influenced, at least according to some accounts. God feels compassion in response to suffering, for instance. God feels compassion, because creatures cause God to experience pity, sympathy, or empathy.<\/p>\n

Sometimes God is said to be pleased, which implies divine emotion. Believers sometimes even describe God as jealous. References to God\u2019s \u201cwrath\u201d are usually coupled with statements about divine anger, which is another of God\u2019s emotions. In sum, most references to divine emotions assume God engages in giving-and-receiving relationships with creation.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll address in later blogs the obstacles to thinking God has emotions.\u00a0 At present, I want to stress that questions about God\u2019s relationality are primarily <\/em>causal questions and secondarily about emotions. Relational theology says creation make an actual difference to God.<\/p>\n

The Bible Supports a Relational God<\/a><\/h3>\n

Why do so many Christians like me think its obvious creation influences God? I suspect most do because they believe the Bible tells them something true about who God is. In fact, like me, many have been reading and hearing the Bible since childhood. Scripture is a primary source of revelation, and biblical writers describe God as relational.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Listing every biblical passage depicting God as engaged in give-and-receive relations or expressing emotions would require a book \u2013 as big as a Bible! But let me offer a small sample of such verses:<\/p>\n