Chapter 14
Good Monday Morning to this week 14 of 2021
It\u2019s the combination of \u201cat one,\u201d as in, \u201cto be in harmony with\u201d. You are at \u201cat one\u201d with God, you atone. The atonement then is \u201cman\u2019s reconciliation with God through the sacrificial death of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How and why is this achieved? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andrew Springer lays out 5 views in an article he published shortly before Easter. It would be great to also hear some views of Asia or the Africa. (I still regret leaving my book in a Rwandan Air flight “Theology Brewed in an African Pot”.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 \u2014 The Ancient View: Christ as Ransom<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For the first thousand years of Christianity, most Christians believed that Christ was a ransom that was paid to Satan in exchange for releasing humans from the bondage of sin. Jesus himself said \u201cJust as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many\u201d That dualism is what concerns most critics of the ransom theory. One writer called that dualism dangerous because \u201camong other things, [it] threatens the very sovereignty of God.\u201d Basically, in some respects, it makes Satan equal to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 \u2014 The Medieval View: Christ as Substitute<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In this theory, it is God\u2019s honor that is offended by our sin. And that offense cannot go unanswered, God\u2019s honor must be restored. But man, being so much less than God, can never restore that honor on his own. \u201cThe debt is total, the obligation to pay it, total, the power to pay it, zero.\u201d The answer then is found in the sacrifice of Christ: fully human, he can atone for man, fully God, he can restore God\u2019s honor. This is Substitutionary Atonement<\/strong>.At about the same time Anselm was crystalizing his theory that God demands satisfaction, the feudal system was emerging in Europe in the late middle ages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3 \u2014 The Reformed View: Christ Receives Your Punishment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Father, because of his love for human beings, sent his Son (who offered himself willingly and and gladly) to satisfy God\u2019s justice, so that Christ took the place of sinners. The punishment and penalty we deserved was laid on Jesus Christ instead of us, so that in the cross both God\u2019s holiness and love are manifested.\u201dThis is called the Penal Substitutionary<\/strong> theory of atonement. \u201cIn Christ as Ransom theory, punishment is averted<\/em>. In penal substitution, punishment is absorbed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 \u2014 The Ethical View: Christ as an Example<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The work of Christ chiefly consists of demonstrating to the world the amazing depth of God\u2019s love of sinful humanity\u2026 There is nothing inherent in God that must be appeased before he is willing to forgive humanity. The problem lies in the sinful, hardened human heart, with its fear and ignorance of God\u2026 Through the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ, the love of God shines like a beacon, beckoning humanity to come and fellowship. Critics of moral influence atonement argue that at its best it doesn\u2019t sound like atonement at all, and at its worst, dangerously veers into the ancient heresy , those who <\/a>argued that Christians could be saved by their good works without divine help. But more generally, critics say moral influence theology doesn\u2019t answer the question, \u201cwhat do we need saved from<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christus victor<\/em> means \u201cChrist as conquerer\u201d or \u201cChrist as victor,\u201d. In a large way, Aul\u00e9n reinterpreted our first theory of atonement, the ransom theory. The dualism demonstrated in that theory returns. The earth and heaven are locked in a cosmic struggle between good (God) and evil (Satan). Christ was sent to battle with and triumph over the elements of darkness in his kingdom. All of us are standing in the middle of a cosmic war zone. This view of atonement lies in sharp contrast to other views by its emphasis on the cosmic significance of Christ over the significance of personal salvation. \u201cWe are reconciled because the cosmos (all of creation) has been reconciled. Because the rebel powers have been put in their place, we can be presented \u2018holy and blameless\u2019 before God.\u201d supporters point to many motifs found in various passages throughout the New Testament, like the power of Satan and his demonic hosts and our slavery to sin. Not to mention literally the entire book of Revelation, which casts the end times as the ultimate and final battle between good and evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To be fair, most, if not all, of these theories tend to crumble when pressed too hard. No theory of atonement seems complete or absolutely correct, at least to human understanding. I wish you a blessed Monday Morning as you contemplate these thoughts! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Philemon <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chapter 14 Good Monday Morning to this week 14 of 2021 It\u2019s the combination of \u201cat one,\u201d as in, \u201cto be in harmony with\u201d. You are at \u201cat one\u201d with God, you atone. The atonement then is \u201cman\u2019s reconciliation with God through the sacrificial death of Christ.\u201d How and why is this achieved? Andrew Springer … <\/p>\n5 \u2014 The Battlefield View: Christ as Victor<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
As we ponder these five views and theories of atonement, there are many more, this Easter of 2021 we are in awe of the power of the cross and the atoning work of Christ. Because despite of, or in fact because of, its mystery, this debate, and these endless questions, people still find the answer as they have for two thousand years\u2014in Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n