A Better Atonement

Favorite quotes:
“as an alternative to the version of the atonement you were taught in your youth, consider this: The work of atonement that is accomplished on the cross is one of invitation into the eternal, loving relationship of the Trinity—ultimately, into union with God.”

“The early church did not understand the death of Christ as paying a penalty in some transactional sense that only God's son could pay. The crucifixion is not, in that sense, cosmically necessary to reconcile God and humanity. Instead, Christ's death is God's victory over sin and death. God conquers death by fully entering into it.”

“God demands justice because, Volf claims, God's very nature is moral justice. However, no punishment can match our sin, not even death. God steps in, in the person of Jesus Christ, and forgives us. In Volf's view, Jesus is not an innocent mediator between humanity and a wrathful God. Jesus is the forgiving God: “Christ is not a third party inserted between God and humanity. He is the God who was wronged.”[22] Volf calls this “inclusive substitution,” and it's surely more palatable to many of us than the version proffered by Driscoll and Piper.”

“not all atonement theories are created equal.”

“I don't believe in demons and I don't think I believe in Satan—at least not in the personified form, so theories like Ransom Captive and Christus Victor that free us from Satan are solutions to a problem that I don't have.”

“I am drawn to understandings of the atonement that maintain God's freedom, like the Last Scapegoat theory above and the Solidarity theory below. God's hands are not tied. And neither are ours. God beckons us, calls us, and sets an example for us. Ultimately, God invites us into his trinitarian life. That's what the cross is about.”

“I am particularly interested in understandings of sin and atonement that take seriously and explain the social dimensions of sin. Sinfulness is not merely individual. It also becomes institutionalized in ways that, often, are even more destructive than original sin. Therefore, I think that the atoning work of Jesus on the cross must not only reconcile individual human beings to God, but must confront and redeem our corporate sin. Of the versions of the atonement herein, only the Last Scapegoat and the Solidarity theory adequately deal with social sin, in my estimation.”

“sin has a social nature. We attempt to counteract our experience of godforsakenness by filling our lives with striving, often at the expense of others. This inexorably leads to wars, violence, oppression, and inequality. Jesus' life, and particularly his death, show God's ultimate solidarity with the marginalized and the oppressed—with those who most acutely experience godforsakenness.”