Atonement Flashcards
What does atonement mean
Reconciliation
What are the earliest versions of the atonement based off of
The idea of sacrifice and ransom;Jesus is the sacrifical lamb to repay a debt
John the baptist-Jesus is the “lamb of god”
What does Hebrews 27 say about Jesus’ death
Through his perfect sacrifice, human sin was taken away “once for all”
What are the three ideas of atonement and ttheir proponents?
Penal Substitution/Satisfaction-Anselm and Calvin
Christus Victor-Gustav Aulen
Moral Example-Abelard
What is the christus victor theory of the atonement
Human beings had been bound by sin, death and the devil. Jesus is offered like bait to the devil and he takes it, overstretching himself, and Jesus empowers the suffering of humans. Not a theological hypothesis but a passion story about god vanquishing evil.
Why is tehe christus victor theory criticised
Plays down human sin
Comfortably Triumphalist
Why omnipotent god needs to sacrifice his son.
What is the favoured view of the Orthodox church on the atonnement
Jesus became human to show that humans can be like jesus-A Irenaen interpretation of the ransom model that states that god was not a debtor to satan but humans were indebted to god.
What is the satisifaction theory of atonement
In Cur Deus Homo, anselm proposed that human sin had offended god so badly only Jesus’ death could be recompense. Jesus’ death bought an abundance of honour, which he didnt need as he was sinless, so it passed onto everyone who believed in him.
Why is the satisfaction theory of atonement criticised.
It is very much based in the feudal worldview anselm lived in, an ubiblical mdoel to base things off of. For anselm, god is simply a feudal overlord scaled up.
What is penal substitutuin.
Somewhat of a development of the penal substitution theory, it was Calvins idea that Jesus set human beings free by dying on the cross; taking their place in Gods grand punishment, thus satisfying justice. Based off of the suffering servant songs in the OT/
Why is penal substitution criticised.
BAsed on criminal justice systems of the 16th century, so once again, unbiblical
It punishes the innocent, not the guilty
Rooted in violence.
Seperates the father and the son as if they were entirely different entities.
Incompatible with the alleged nature of god.
Why cann penal substtitution be seen as the root for all other interpretations of the atonement.
Cross as ransom-Jesus needed to take our punishment
Cross as an example-This demands we identify with jesus’ sacrifice, but we can only do this because hhe identified with our sin by taking our punishment.
Cross as victory-We can only share jesus’ victory if we are untied with him. We cannot be united until our sins are forgiven, which they are by jesus’ sacrifice
What is the moral example theory.
Jesus died not to placate god but to show his love for us and demonstrate how to live a good life free of sin, and open the path to heaven, leading people to repentance.
What are the criticisms of the moral example.
Does not explain the crucifixiox, he could have sent his message without being tortured to death.
Teaches that humans can achieve salvatiion through their own efforts, denying salvaiton by faith and rather by works, and denies the supernatural triump of jesus’ death
Belittles gods anger at sin and our culpability(no punishment)
