현금의 신학의 주된 특징 가운데 하나는 삼위일체 하나님의 자기낮추심의 행동(kenotic action)을 강조한다는 점이다. 전통적으로 이러한 케노시스(kenosis)는 예수 그리스도의 성육신에서 강조되었으며, 19세기 루터교 신학에 두드러지게 나타난 케노시스 기독론에서 절정을이룬다. 그러나 현대 신학자들은 창조의 사건뿐만 아니라 성령의 활동속에서도 하나님의 케노시스를 발견하고 이를 주장하는 경향을 지닌다.
특히 위르겐 몰트만(J. Moltmann)은“신학에 대한 조직적인 기여”(Systematic contributions to Theology)를 위한 기획으로 출간된 여러저서에서 자신의 신학적 착상을 전개하는 바,『삼위일체와 하나님의 나라』,『창조 안에 계신 하나님』,『생명의 영』,『예수 그리스도의 길』,『오시는 하나님』등에서 케노시스 사상을 일관되게 펼치고 있다. 본 논문은 몰트만의 사상 속에 나타난‘하나님의 케노시스’에 대하여 분석하되특히 창조와 관련하여 다루며, 이에 대한 현금 신학자들의 논의를 중심으로 비판적 대화를 수행하고자 한다. 이를 토대로 하여 몰트만의‘하나님의 케노시스‘에 대한 사고의 신학적 의미와 영향 및 한계 등을 성찰해 봄으로써 하나님의 창조 이해에 대한 전망을 제시하려 한다.
This paper deals with the nature and basic characteristics of the understanding of divine kenosis in the theology of J. Moltmann,primarily focused on the doctrine of creation. Through the analysis of the foundation and the meaning of Moltmann’s thought, and also his critical dialogue with contemporary theologians, this paper evaluates the merits and limitations of Moltmann’s theological standpoint for the future of theology.
The discussion of kenotic idea has been one of the most important advances in theological thought since the late twentieth century.
Several contemporary theologians and scientists are involved in this interdisciplinary discussion. Among them, Moltmann significantly develops the kenotic view of creation and the Holy Spirit. He sees creation as God’s loving act of divine self-limitation. According to him, the concept of kenosis stands for God’s voluntary selfrestriction of his divine infinity in order to make room for finite creatures. Through his voluntary, kenotic action, God gives time,space, and freedom to creation. As a result, the world is in God and God dwells in the world.
According to Moltmann, this self-limitation of God is not a matter of metaphysical necessity but rather a matter of the voluntary resolve of God. In Moltmann’s theology, God’s initial kenotic self-w i t hdrawal leads to a whole series of divine self-limitations, includ-ing God’s making room for his creation, Christ’s act of self-humiliation revealed in his becoming flesh and in the cross and resurrection, and the kenotic indwelling of the Spirit in redemption and new creation.
Moltmann’s understanding of divine kenosis puts considerable emphasis on God’s immanent presence. Unlike classical theism, he brings the temporality and the spatiality into God. In this way, he proposes the coherence of the divine temporality and spatiality for contemporary theological discussions. While unlike process panentheism,Moltmann affirms creatio ex nihilo, he strongly accentuates on creatio continua, contrary to classical theism. He speaks of creation as the open system closely related to the scientific knowledge:the chaotic, complex, and evolutionary system of matter and life and non-deterministic communicative system of the universe.
Furthermore, he grasps temporality and eternity of God simultaneously.
Thus, he describes God’s immanent transcendence in the world in terms of God’s temporal eternity.
On the issue of the spatiality of God, Moltmann proposes the perichoretic space of God with the help of the Jewish concepts of zimzum and Shekinah and the Christian concepts of perichoresis.
Though it carries its own limitations, he engages in speaking of God’s immanent presence in the world in spatial categories. This appears to lead Moltmann into dialogue with some scientific theologians. However,for Moltmann, the spatiality in God should be maintained in panentheistic manner. This notion of God’s creative work as divine voluntary kenotic action challenges the view of the attributes of God such as divine almightiness or sovereignty in classical theism. Also, it provides a more satisfying response to the bewildering problem of evil and suffering in the world. In conclusion, it seems to me that for Moltmann, divine kenosis preserves both divine transcendence and immanence.