Christianity 2C WRT- Atonement

Atonement

Coined by William Tyndale in the 16th Century when he was helping translate the Bible- “At-one-ment”

Where people are reconciled with God through the death of Jesus on the cross

Three theories of Atonement (not mutually exclusive)

Christus Victor (Ransom, Sacrifice, Christus Victor)

Substitution (Sacrifice, Penal substitution)

Moral Example

Expiation

removing sin by paying a penalty, Jesus paid the penalty for human sin on the cross

Propitiation

Turning away wrath by making an offering, this is a result of what Christ did on the cross- he averted God’s wrath

Sacrificial model (part of Christus Victor)

In OT sacrifice was common, was meant to restore relationship between people and God

Idea is that Jesus was a sacrifice to restore the relationship between God and humans

Early Christian Theologians said humans had nothing enough to sacrifice to God, so God gave them something, Jesus

Sacrificial model Bible Leviticus

Describes how a priest symbolically put the sins of a community onto a goat and set it out into the woods

Sacrificial model bible Exodus

Jews had to slaughter and eat a lamb on the first night of Passover to remember their deliverance from Egypt

Sacrificial model Bible Epistle to the Hebrews

Through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, sin was taken away “once for all”

Sacrificial Model- Augustine

The City of God- “(Jesus) offered sacrifice for our sins”

Problems with Sacrificial Model

No loving God would offer his only son

Makes God seem like an angry tyrant

Ransom model (part of Christus Victor)

Gospels imply that Jesus saw his death like a ransom payment to redeem men and women from sin.

God wouldn’t hold us ransom so the price had had to be paid to Satan who had made humans slaves since Adam and Eve’s sin. Satan didn’t know Jesus was God, He exceeded his authority when He had humans kill Him and had to give control of death over to Jesus- Jesus trapped the devil

Ransom model Bible Matthew

“the son of God came… to give his ransom for many”

Ransom model Bible Timothy

Paul talks about “Jesus… who gave himself as a ransom for all”

Ransom model Origen

Jesus’ death was a ransom payment to Satan to free humans. Satan didn’t know Jesus was God and was defeated when Jesus was resurrected

However, this is heavily criticsed because it gives too much power to Satan and makes Christ a deciever

Christus Victor (part of Christus Victor)

Book by Gustaf Aulen 1931

God conquered the powers of death and the devil and humans were liberated from the slavery of sin

Jesus entered human misery and redeemed/ saved them from it

Problems with Christus Victor

A loving God wouldn’t sacrifice his own son to satisfy his own sense of justice

Gives Satan too much power

Too triumphalist and plays down human role in sin and guilt

Satisfaction model (part of substitution model)

Means reparation or propitiation

Rejected the idea that God needed to trick the devil

Anselm “why did God become man?”

“Christ… offered to God something greater than what might be exacted in compensation for the whole offense of humanity” The human debt to God was too great for humans to pay because humans are imperfect so God paid the debt himself through incarnation

Problems with sacrificial model

Based on the feudal system that was common in Anslem’s day

Anselm saw God in the terms of a Feudal overlord, making it unbiblical

Penal substitution (part of substitution model)

16th Century Protestant Reformers objected to the satisfaction model as it concentrated on God’s honour and not God’s justice

Jesus took punishment, satisfied the Justice of God

Isaiah “the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all”

Issues of penal substitution

based more on criminal justice system rather than biblical revelation

It justifies punishing the innocent over the guilty

Just replaces Anselm’s idea of God’s offended Honour with God’s offended justice

Incompatible with proper Christian understanding of the nature of God

Moral Example

Reconciliation and purification are achieved by an inward and loving acceptance of the sacrifice Christ made on the cross, Jesus functions as a moral example to follow

Moral example Peter Abelard

12th Century Christian monk-

accepted traditional ideas about atonement but stressed subjective impact of the cross as a sign of God’s love

Moral example Enlightenment Scholars and Modern Liberal Theologians

Rejected inherited guilt, the devil and a vengeful God

See Jesus as a superior moral example, Jesus died on the cross as a sign of God’s love for humanity. There is no supernatural effect from the death of Jesus today (Abelard wouldn’t have agreed with this)

Problems with moral example

Doesn’t explain the crucifixion, Jesus didn’t need to die to be a moral example

Teaches humans can achieve salvation through their own efforts

Belittles God’s anger against sin