1 Jacob Arminius' position was very similar to that of John Wesley and was less extreme than the Arminians that followed him. We burn them at the stake, and when that person is roasted, when that person is removed from the community, we then say, Look, we can have peace. This actually, in studying this theory, I thought, Oh, my goodness, how many times did we see this happen in 2020 online. You direct all of this anger, all this tension towards the group thats considered the bad guy, the scapegoat, and when that person is rejected by the whole community, they have peace. If that sounds familiar, thats no surprise because that is exactly what most churches teach today. Salvation is a gift actually given to all people in their infancy. Louth points out how the arc from fall to redemption is subsumed in a larger arc from creation to deification. Im not going to flesh that one out as much as I am with these other six. Seven Views of the Atonement - Phylicia Masonheimer There was no label for them. So essentially, Jesus participated in being a scapegoat, but to show a better way in that scapegoat theory. Theres a dominion or capturing, and then theres a buying back imagery used in the Bible. Now, before you get wiggly inside, lets follow this out. It was just a repackaged version of Arianism, which is an anti-Trinitarian heresy. In penal substitution, in this theory, the son is freely going to sacrifice. There are aspects of the Wesleyan view that he clarifies so common misunderstandings no longer remain misunderstanding. He says, The word of God, powerful in all things and not defective with regards to his own justice, did righteously turn against apostasy and redeem from it his own property, not by violent means, as the apostasy had obtained dominion over us at the beginning when its insatiably snatched away what was not its own, but by means of persuasion, as it became a God of counsel, who does not use violent means obtain what he desires, so that neither should justice be infringed upon, or the ancient handiwork of God go to destruction., What hes saying here is that humanity was snatched away from God, and had an evil Dominion placed over us, and it was snatched away by persuasion, by deceit. In the Old Testament, the sacrificial system was developed to direct peoples energy away from that revelry, and sin against other people, and to utilize this sacrifice of animals as a reminder of what they wanted to do to other people, what they wanted to do to other humans. Obviously, Abelard came to quite different conclusions about the same passages conservatives would later exegete in support of penal substitution. One of the implications of the imago Dei is that humans . Just seeing the suffering, seeing the pain, that should be enough to deter us from sin. Example Theory: This view sees the atonement of Christ as simply providing an example of faith and obedience to inspire man to be obedient to God. ~z-$7y+t~y?vdVn.ZzZr4*\!tiN I think all of us have been at a womens conference where we were told you are a beautiful daughter of the Most High King, and its true, but its not the whole truth. He is a robber, a rebel, a tyrant, a usurper, unjustly laying hands on that which does not belong to Him. Matthew Leverings presentation of the Catholic position surveys Catholic magisterial teaching, engages Augustine and Aquinas and draws upon biblical texts in dialogue with Francis de Sales. We need to do something about this, and so he developed this atonement theory, this government theory saying, No, God is just, Hes Trinity, Hes whole, He is righteous, and you cant have a just God in a world where sin is not judged. So, while Jesus was not dying specifically for individuals, He was dying corporately to represent Gods just government of the world in His judgment on sin as a whole. Its actually an entire theory on the atonement! Is the atoning work of Christ about the Son, the Father, or us? Its all intertwined. While there are some really neat elements of scapegoat theory that I think are worth considering, as a general rule, this is a theory that is perpetuated within progressive theology, and in doing so, also will undermine other key doctrines regarding the deity of Christ or the Trinity or theology of sin, things like that. 0000001909 00000 n Again, its important to understand the culture in which Anselm was writing. It was into this world, one with a starkly different view of human nature, that arrived our final theory of atonement. All emphasized the goodness of God, the ethical example of Christ, and the human ability to improve oneself. 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. But in John 15, He does say this is an illustration of love. But more generally, critics say moral influence theology doesnt answer the question, what do we need saved from? One theologian described the lack of an answer in moral influence atonement this way. Anselm describes it this way in this dialogue from Cur Deus Homo he has with another monk named Boso: Anselm: So no one except God can make the satisfaction.Boso: That follows.Anselm: But no one except humanity ought to do it otherwise, humanity has not made satisfaction.Boso: Nothing could be more just.Anselm: So if no one except God can make it and no one except man ought to make it, there must be a God-Man to make it.Boso: Blessed be God. Covenant Atonement as a Wesleyan Integrating Motif - George Fox University It was that God, the ultimate judge of the universe, cannot let human sin go unpunished. It was necessary, therefore, to have an atonement that would provide grounds for forgiveness, and simultaneously retain the structure of moral government.. R. Larry Shelton . Thats from P.T. 0000002987 00000 n We should not stop asking questions about or digging for answers to this, the most important question in Christianity. Christ was sent to battle with and triumph over the elements of darkness in his kingdom. If youre tired of hearing the watered-down Christian teaching and youre hungry for a deeper spiritual life, I have something for you. 0000002500 00000 n Fun aside: Boso is Anselms main foil in Cur Deus Homo, constantly getting it wrong and constantly being corrected by Anselm. Leading conquered leaders of hostile forces through the streets and victory parade. Im finally back with this episode, doing an overview of the major atonement theories, answering the question of how did Jesus accomplish atonement on the cross. This tension in the community is resolved by finding a scapegoat. In fact, most theologians who vocally support one theory will readily admit the other theories hold some validity. Why would He be in debt to Satan? What Ren Girard and other scholars believe is that the gospels, and actually the whole Bible, present this tension. Knowing that, we can give a little grace for the fact that these theories were adopted and adapted within a cultural context. So after three days, Jesus left Hell and returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. This view that Hugh Grotius saw, he said, that wrong, thats heretical. 0000011872 00000 n They did not believe God was choosing who would be saved. The Wesleyan Chapel project was dedicated in July of 1993, and has been enjoyed by visitors to the park for the last sixteen years. So troubled by those questions did one man offer a stern critique of ransom atonement, in a book whose influence is still being felt today. If they get rid of Him, then the tensions will resolve. There are six or seven atonement theories. The king had to send someone in the form of a slave to pay back himself, the king. We also see John talking about believers overcoming the devil, overcoming The Enemy because of the Word of God dwelling in them in 1 John 2. Also, I think there are elements of the theory that are absolutely true. In 1099, St. Anselm of Canterbury wrote Cur Deus Homo, or why God became man. It took the ransom theory to task. Imagine siting safely on a pier, in a deck chair, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a man flings himself into the ocean and drowns. God had to make the satisfaction for Himself. Besides the same criticism of dualism in the ransom theory (making Satan equal to God), the most pressing question with this theory isnt why, but how? The dualism demonstrated in that theory returns. Relational Atonement: Covenant Renewal as a Wesleyan Integrating Motif If he died for the sins of the world to pay their penalty, then it would result in universalism. But in penal substitution, the judgment is absorbed. J. Kenneth Grider believes that if Jesus paid the penalty for the whole world, because thats what Scripture says, that Christ died for the sins of the world. He held to total depravity and the need for grace. Whats demonstrated on the cross here is that the suffering of Christ for sin, in general, should be enough to deter us from sin. This particular view was developed by Hugo Grotius. Theres evil, theres a demonic power, theres people who are partnered with that demonic power, and then, there are people who are in bondage to that power. The surfs who worked the land owed their protection to the lords and knights who owned it, who owed their loyalty to a regional lord or sovereign. Our last theory today is scapegoat theory. Atonement is what God is doing through Christ, in which, this is according to him, the powers of sin, death, and the devil are overcome, and the world is reconciled to God. So, his example of love is one that we should be emulating. John Wesley clearly held to the penal substitution view. So, there is an element of substitution in government theory, but instead of being for specific individuals, its more of a corporate idea. When you hear the words, sin, death, and the devil together, thats usually an indicator of the Christus Victor theory. One of the things that this theory, substitutionary atonement, takes into account is the Old Testament sacrificial system. Martin Luther was also one of the primary formulators of this theory. The goal with this theory is to find a theory that upholds the biblical truths but is also nonviolent in its view of God. With a question like this, there are multiple answers that can be held within orthodoxy. The resurrection proved that Jesus was Gods way, that God would not allow violence to be what won the day. 0000006246 00000 n xZKo7ra~ z l$c7[b,h= "Hn6b=]R$K Charles's view of the atonement was based in theology. Doctrine - Remonstrance So, the focus of penal substitution really is on that punishment.
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