Biblical Images of Atonement
Why Did Jesus Die? What is the meaning of the Cross?
I am participating in a faculty forum this week at Asbury on the Meaning of the Atonement. There has been growing controversy in some evangelical circles regarding certain models of the Atonement.
1) I am interested in hearing and discussing different ways in which you have heard the meaning of the Cross described. In what ways does the biblical witness undergird such description?
2) Have any of the explanations been troubling to you? I hear the critique of Divine Child abuse more frequently these days. I view this as a reaction to a caricature, but it does have validity in response to poor explanations of Christ's death?
3) What illustrations/explanations have you found to be the most compelling? To use Malcolm Gladwell's (Tipping Point) language: What makes atonement theology "sticky" in the 21st century?
Thanks for the conversation.
posted by Brian Russell @ 9:08 AM
3 Comments:
The two "stickiest" perspectives on the atonement of the cross I see playing out are as follows:
The Imitation of Christ
-I believe "following Christ's example" is the point that seems stickiest for all history. As the "second Adam" who we follow... whose DNA we carry. I believe "follower language" is the tip of this ice-berg. Following someone is a palatable idea for everyone -- agnostics can't argue with it, emergents don't cringe at the language, and fundamentalists find it in the Bible, so it's "FundaKosher." Take up your cross daily. Lay down your life for your friends. I am crucified with Christ. These are the the bloody sticky points.
The Hinge of Reconciliation
-The other model I think that is gaining traction is the model of reconciliation. That Christ's work in total is the hinge of a greater "master plan of reconciliation" with a heavy emphasis on the Kingdom coming to Earth and the restoration of the planet and people. My brother John asked some questions RE: Reconciliation that I think were great... and we had a conversation about it you can track here:
http://www.drurywriting.com/family/salvation.reconciliation.htm
Sorry. The link was cut short.
It's www.drurywriting.com/family
with /salvation.reconciliation.htm
after it
or
http://www.drurywriting.com/family/salvation.reconciliation.htm
I'm with you big time, David, especially on reconciliation as a sticky model. I like to think of the imitation (moral influence) approach as the "wooing approach" too, which helps me connect the two you mention.
I personally think Joel Green has done a little hocus pocus to diminish wrath/satisfaction imagery in the NT, but I think his move helps (rightly or wrongly) Christianity preach better.
And theologically, I would like (whether I'm allowed is another question) to see the whole "sacrifice-phase" of atonement history as an accommodation/incarnation of reconciliation within the worldviews of the ancients. When they were ready to stop killing animals, God stopped requiring them. Here I reference the long-standing prophetic balance to the cultic tradition in the OT.
What I like and what is true are of course different...
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