JÜRGEN MOLMANN’S THEOLOGY OF THE CROSS AND THE UKRAINIAN CONTEXT

Jürgen Moltmann is one of the most influential religion thinkers of the 20th century. He developed his understanding of “the theology of the cross” in his seminal book “The Crucified God”. His approach radically transformed the traditional understanding of the divine nature, as he proposed a view of God who participates in human suffering. God is not an “apathic” (one incapable of suffering) deity, as classical theology and philosophy have often portrayed Him. On the cross, God does not merely watch His Son die – He participates in this suffering. God Himself dies on the cross. Moltmann’s theology is one of the responses to the Russian-Ukrainian war, during which many people ask, “Where is God?” Moltmann’s theology provides the answer: God is with those who fight against injustice and who suffer unjustly. Thus, God is with the Ukrainian soldiers in the trenches, and He is with those civilians who are being tested by Russian drones and missiles.