Category: atonement

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atonement history

Abelard – The Look of Love

logs on fire

In the previous post we looked at the Satisfaction Theory of the atonement. As we saw, this was developed by Anselm who drew heavily from the honour based culture of the middle ages in which he lived. Now we turn to look at a theory which does not seem have its focus in any cultural setting at all, and as such has a timeless, culture -free quality to it.

When I first heard about this theory I reacted in a strongly negative way. In my youthful ignorance it seemed faintly ridiculous. I flatter myself by thinking I have grown up since my mid 40s! Either way I am less black and white in my thinking , and a lot happier as a result…

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atonement

Anselm – On being Satisfied

a knight looking satisfied

Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)[1] – considered by some to be one of the greatest Christian thinkers – wrote a much loved book called ‘Cur Deus Homo’ – ‘Why Did God become Human?’ In this he has a dialogue with one of his students, who goes by the superb name of ‘Boso’. Boso wants to understand the doctrines of Christianity, and I therefore consider him my rightful ancestor. He is a clever chap, trained in philosophy – which is where, on both counts, the relational similarity between us breaks down.

Anyway, Anselm sets out to explain various Christian doctrines in as easy a way as possible.[2]

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atonement salvation

Irenaeus Explains the Atonement.

ball of tangled wool

This post carries on the introduction to the recapitulation theories that were framed by Irenaeus (130-202). Irenaeus was taught by Polycarp, who in turn heard sermons preached by a certain John the Evangelist. Imagine what that must have been like – to meet first generation apostle – someone who knew Jesus the man? So, we are right back almost at the source.

When I was at school I read Shakespeare and Chaucer; perhaps I should say I was ‘forced to read’ Shakespeare and Chaucer. To be honest, I did not understand much of school, and English Literature classes were some of the most boring of all! (ha ha, the irony!) I could read the words of these old books no problem, but put the words together and they didn’t mean much to me.

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atonement new testament Patristics salvation

Irenaeus and two Early Atonement Theories

christ the champion

At long last it is time to launch into one of the theories of the atonement, or more correctly one of the early church Father’s writings about atonement. In study group one of these went down very easily, and the other required a bit more wrestling. I could see that their horizons were being opened up – which is exactly what happened to me when I first heard these ideas too. On reflection though, as I look back, it seems to me that I was being in introduced to ‘a half remembered tune’ playing ‘softly in my mind.’ [1] … See what you think!

The very early church certainly proclaimed the cross, yet seemed to not spill much ink explaining how it provided salvation[2]. Sure, the New Testament (which they didn’t have then of course) mentions various metaphors as we have seen. From the second century Irenaeus (130-202) and others began to think of cross in terms of conflict with the powers of the day. This goes beyond the ‘Jesus is Lord’ vs ‘Caesar is Lord’ that we might think we understand, off into the spiritual, cosmic realm.

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atonement

A Constellation of Images

constellation of leo

In the last post I introduced two of the creeds. These are recited week in week out by Christians the world over. Given that these blogs are written to support a study on atonement why take this detour into something seemingly so off topic?

Simples. These creeds were written at a time when the church was working out its beliefs – there was really only one church then, but lots of competing theories about who, or what, Jesus actually was. The creeds went some way to giving a unified set of beliefs. What is really interesting is that the ‘how’ of the atonement does not seem to feature very much in either of them. It is almost as if it was not an issue to them. Think about that for a moment. It is simply astounding!

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atonement history

The Creeds

nicene councilby Fresco in Capella Sistina, Vatican

I have become increasingly interested in how the beliefs of Christianity developed. Yawn yawn… Sure, history is cool, but more important to me is how our following of Jesus is to be understood and lived out in a society has changed so dramatically since the documents we use were written. There are gigantic shifts going on – scientific, technological, cultural. Some of the most basic assumptions about our nature are shifting. Our understanding of the universe we live in has mushroomed (though it is still tiny, tiny mushroom in my opinion).

In this post I consider the role of the Creeds – and ask ‘should they even have a role?’ These creeds are short(ish) statements which encapsulate what Christians believe and in some cases were written over 1500 years ago. They are widely used – and by ‘widely’ I mean ‘all around the world’ kind of widely.

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atonement

What does ‘Atonement’ actually mean?

As you might know I was/am a teacher – having done some 14 years in the classroom. During my time in secondary schools I watched several wonderful new ‘initiatives’ that were ‘bound to raise attainment’ come into fashion and then quietly fade off the agenda as the mandarins at the top of the profession altered their views. Some ideas even return for a second go attempt at delivering the prize of 100% ‘A*s for everyone’.

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atonement salvation

Atonement – plunging in

Edward's siummer reading list on atonement

I began to think about doing a series on the ‘Atonement’ in life group as soon as life group started – sometime in September 2018. I plunged into the idea during July 2019. I began by getting the group to share testimonies, which was very good – though not as I thought it would be because there was so little atonement in their stories. Interesting.

In the meantime I had gone off and rejoined Oak Hill Library (where they train vicars…) What unbridled joy to be able to go in there again, where I used to study for my MA. I came out with an average sized pile of books to read over the summer. I sure do need a hobby.

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atonement Fall

The Fall – What it wasn’t

We have seen something of the awesome task given to our first Mother and Father – that of extending the temple (sanctuary) of Eden out to encompass the whole of the earth. Now it’s finally time to begin to answer that question – just what did they do wrong? Notice they – not Eve. Our culture has tended to emphasie the sin of Eve, and the stupidity of Adam, but to my mind the text clearly portrays a ‘both / and’ situation. In this post I want to look at a couple of common ideas about what was done wrong, and kick them out into the long grass.

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atonement creation Devotional identity

Human identity – part 4 – godlike

In “human identity – divinity” we cemented the connection between image (tselem) in Genesis 1 and cult statues or idols. To the people of the aNE (ancient near east) an idol was the living embodiment of their god, and not just a physical thing like a statue in the local park. To them it was not only alive, and in it their god was fully present to them. If you think about it this sheds light on the way humans could worship idols them and lavish care on them. Clearly, the understanding of the writers of genesis was very different to ours.

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atonement creation Devotional identity

Human identity – part 3 – divinity

identity divinity

In the first post “human identity – representation” we looked at the Hebrew words used for image and likeness. In “human identity – crowned” we looked into the royal meaning behind some of the words the Hebrew bible uses to describe Adam and Eve’s role and status. Given that the same ‘image’ language is used in Gen 5 it is clear that what was true of Adam & Eve is true for all of us – they were ‘God’s Royal Representatives.’ We briefly concluded by saying that to the cultures of the aNE, royalty were seen as children of a god. We cited two examples of this, and left the implicit link to Adam & Eve unspoken. It’s time to dig into this at last.

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atonement creation identity

Human identity – part 2 – crowned

identity crownedd

In the first post “human identity – representation” we looked at the Hebrew words used for image and likeness. We concluded that the authors of Genesis wanted us to think-in an holistic manner, which suggests that to their mind the image/ likeness was something included ideas around a statue ie physical. We also introduced the idea that we are made in such a way as to represent (think re-present or to “present again”) Yahweh God. We also saw there was a very clear, and somewhat disturbing “idol” theme to the word image (tslem). So there was lots to chew on. Back to our key passage Gen 1 for something a bit regal…

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atonement creation identity

Human identity – part 1 – representation

identity representation

In the previous posts I set out something of my thinking regarding the directions this series on atonement would go. We now come to look at Genesis to get a grip on what we, as humans, were created to be. Remember, our aim here is to look at our purpose and our nature as well – what can be referred to as our ‘ontology’. There will be several installments.

Reading in Genesis 1 26 we see:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea …”

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atonement salvation

Atonement – why?

atonement foundational

As I said in the first of these posts – atonement – ‘asking the question‘ this subject is a right old rabbits’ maze of dimly lit tunnels. One question leads to another and another and another – you get the idea. It is easy to get lost (unless you are a rabbit) and at times, you need to go back to the start…

Whatever people say, the bible does tie together. Sure, there are difficult, weird and mysterious bits.

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atonement salvation

Atonement – our story?

at-one-ment-testimony

When planning the Atonement series for our home fellowship group (ugh – what awful terminology) I started off by getting the members to give their testimonies. I had thought this would take two sessions, and I wasn’t wrong. In all eight people shared something of their various journeys to faith and it was really, really helpful. I deliberately didn’t give them much of a steer – just ‘take as long as you want’.

Most people started with ‘my testimonial isn’t very interesting’ or ‘mine isn’t very dramatic’ or some such phrase.

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atonement

Atonement – Asking the Question

atonement as at-one-ment

Over the last four or five years I have found myself wondering deeply about my understanding of the many issues surrounding ‘sin’ and ‘salvation.’ It has been a long process.  There were several false starts but it really got going when one of my lecturers asked ‘What if God just forgave sins?’ Good question. What if he just did?

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