Tag: The Atonement

Why Does Christ’s Resurrection Matter?

Easter is one of the most important celebrations in the Christian liturgical calendar, serving as the conclusion of the 40-day season of Lent. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the definitive turning point in the history of redemption, transforming the tragic, lasting consequences of the fall into a narrative of victory and restoration. This essential mystery serves to reveal God’s plan for all of humanity. This reflection explores why Christ’s resurrection was necessary for God’s restoration process of humanity and why his resurrection matters for Christians today. The Problem Explained In order to understand why Christ’s resurrection was necessary, we …

Is the denial of penal substitutionary atonement a heresy?

As this article from The Banner — The official magazine of the Christian Reformed Church — points out, the CRC General Synod of this year had an interesting discussion regarding Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA), which is one of the many theories to understand and interpret the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice. Interesting to me was the question of whether the denial of PSA might constitute a ‘heresy’ or not. The CRC synod, after some deliberation, concluded: [I]t is a serious deviation from the teachings of the confessions of the Christian Reformed Church to in any way deny that Jesus Christ’s life, …

Key themes in John Calvin’s view of the atonement

When one discusses Christ’s atonement and the relation between God’s wrath and love, many questions and themes emerge. In this respect one can find at least three major themes in Calvin’s view of the atonement/redemption as discussed in the Institutes: the substitutionary dimension of Christ’s atoning work, the atonement as a sacrifice, and Christ’s triumph over sin and the powers. These themes not only emerge from Calvin’s understanding of the redemptive work of Christ but also are considered being central in such discussions. Atonement as Substitution In a few words, the atonement understood as substitution deals with the fact that …

The atonement – Its biblical basis, main models, and major representatives

Despite the fact that the doctrine of atonement was never discussed openly in one of the church councils during the early Church, it is a doctrine that stirs up controversy in many theological circles. In its basic form, the atonement refers to the meaning of the sacrifice of Christ. There are several passages in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures that speak of the atonement. One of the best-known passages in the Hebrew Scriptures is Isaiah 53. Traditionally, this chapter has been considered to speak about the suffering servant who bears human transgressions and iniquities in order to heal his people. …

Rene Girard on desire, violence, and the atonement

In Part I and II of René Girard’s I see Satan Fall Like a Lightning, René Girard, a French Christian philosopher, offers a sociological and philosophical perspective on the atonement as understood in the Christian tradition emphasizing the similarities between the mythological and the biblical of the Gospels. For him the way in which mythology and the Gospels characterize their victims is noteworthy. In this respect, Girard introduces the concept of scapegoats which are “innocent targets of a senseless collective transference that is mimetic and mechanical.” (p. 1) In other words, the scapegoat is a member of a community who is …

My reservations with Brown and Parker’s project of divine child abuse

In her controversial book chapter titled “For God So Loved the World” (From Christianity, Patriarchy, and Abuse: A Feminist Critique,1-30, NY: Pilgrim Press, 1989), Joanne C. Brown and Rebecca Parker (hereafter Brown & Parker) begin their discussion claiming that women have been convinced by society that their suffering is justified. By giving examples of how women have been discriminated against in several societies and cultures worldwide, the authors want to convince their readers that Christianity has place an important role in such discrimination. “Christianity has been a primary in many women’s lives, the primary force in shaping our acceptance of …

What I believe series – Who is Christ, and how is he a savior?

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet. Psalm 8:3-6 In order to reflect upon how Christ is our savior, I think it is also important to reflect about the reasons why humankind exists, the nature of sin, …

The New Testament as a diverse set of expositions of a single gospel claim

The New Testament as we know is not only varied in its literary and artistic style but also in its content. Nonetheless, the New Testament has a very strong unity when presents Christ as the savior of the world and his ministry as a predestined plan that God orchestrated before the foundation of the world. All that is said in the New Testament points out Christ directly or indirectly. For example, the Gospel of Luke, the Book of Romans, and the Book of Hebrews may differ on their understandings of the meaning of Jesus’ death, yet together they paint one …