The
Atonement




Preview

  1. Preview
  2. Background for Atonement Theories
    1. Euthyphro's Dilemma
    2. Who, What, When, Why, Where, and How
  3. Ransom – Early Church
  4. Christus Victor – Early Church
  5. Satisfaction - Anselm
  6. Moral Influence - Abelard
  7. Penal Substitution – The Reformers
  8. Moral Government – Hugo Grotius
  9. Socinian – Radical Reformation
  10. East Versus West
  11. Review
  12. Sources
  13. Appendix
    1. Scriptures Relating to the Atonement
What Do We Mean By "Atonement"? [1 ]


Subjective and Objective Views of the Atonement (Shouse) [2 ]


What Questions Do We Need to Answer With an Atonement Theory? (Boyd & Eddy, 113) [3 ]


Atonement In the 3 Major Churches [4 ]

PROTESTANTISM Penal Substitution Protestant Reformers 1600's ROMAN CATHOLICISM Satisfaction Anselm 11th Century EASTERN ORTHODOX Ransom/Christus Victor Early Church 1st Century

Background for Atonement Theories

[5 ]


Euthyphro's Dilemma

Who Is Euthyphro, and What Is Euthyphro's Dilemma? [6 ]
  1. We meet Euthyphro in Plato's dialogue of the same name
  2. Euthyphro was an acquaintance of Socrates whom Socrates encountered at the courthouse. Euthyphro was there pressing charges against his own father for mistreating a slave. Intrigued by Euthyphro’s total conviction that he is in the right, Socrates begins a discussion of THE GOOD with Euthyphro.
  3. Socrates asks ...
    1. Don’t the gods disagree on what is THE GOOD? Socrates brings up two different Greek stories about the gods, one in which a god declares murder is wrong while in a second story, another god actually assists a man in committing murder.
    2. How can you expect a consistent standard of GOOD when the gods are constantly at variance and warring with one another? The Illiad and The Odyssey are stories of wars between the gods using human proxies.
    3. But the most important question was If the gods were agreed on a common standard of GOOD, did they arbitrarily decide what THE GOOD is, or is THE GOOD something beyond and above the gods, something even more powerful than the gods themselves? This question about whether THE GOOD is arbitrary or something that exists above and beyond the gods, and that rules even them is Euthyphro's Dilemma
  4. The Christian’s Answer to Socrates and Euthyphro's Dilemma Is ...
    1. The Persons of the Trinity are always in agreement within themselves, unlike the gods of Greece and Rome.
    2. THE GOOD is God’s Nature translated into humanly understandable Moral Values and Moral Duties. God’s Nature itself is THE GOOD. God is not subject to some external standard above and beyond Himself: He Himself is The Standard.


What Does Euthyphro's Dilemma Have to Do With the Atonement? [7 ]
Discussions of the Atonement have frequently depended on what God's Nature allows Him to do or not do. For instance, the Satisfaction Model hinges on God being Just; the Penal Substitution Model hinges on God being Holy.

Who, What, When, Why, Where, and How

[8 ]


Ransom – Early Church

When and How It Appeared [9 ]
Origen, c 270 AD -

SuRansommmary [10 ]
"Redemption in this theory means to buy back, and purchase the human race from the clutches of the Devil. The main controversy here with this theory is the act of paying off the Devil. Some have written that this is not a fair statement to say that all Ransom Theorists believe that the Devil is paid, but rather in this act of Ransom, Christ frees humanity from the bondage of sin and death." Morrison

[11 ]


[12 ]


[13 ]


[14 ]


[15 ]


Christus Victor – Early Church

When and How It Appeared [16 ]
"Classically, the Christus Victor theory of Atonement is widely considered to be the dominant theory for most of the historical Christian Church. In this theory, Jesus Christ dies in order to defeat the powers of evil (such as sin, death, and the devil) in order to free mankind from their bondage. This is related to the Ransom view with the difference being that there is no payment to the devil or to God. Within the Christus Victor framework, the cross did not pay off anyone, but defeated evil thereby setting the human race free." Morrison

SChristus Victorummary [17 ]


[18 ]


[19 ]


[20 ]


[21 ]


[22 ]


Satisfaction - Anselm

When and How It Appeared [23 ]


AnselmSummary [24 ]
"This theory was developed in reaction to the historical dominance of the Ransom theory, that God paid the devil with Christ’s death. Anselm saw that this theory was logically flawed, because what does God owe satan? Therefore, in contrast with the Ransom theory, Anselm taught that it is humanity who owes a debt to God, not God to satan. Our debt, in this theory, is that of injustice. Our injustices have stolen from the justice of God and therefore must be paid back. Satisfaction theory then postulates that Jesus Christ pays pack God in His death on the cross to God. This is the first Atonement theory to bring up the notion that God is acted upon by the Atonement (i.e. that Jesus satisfies God)." Morrison

[25 ]


[26 ]


[27 ]


[28 ]


[29 ]


Moral Influence - Augustine, Peter Abelard

When and How It Appeared [30 ]
  1. Augustine, c 400 AD - "He [Augustine] affirmed the Moral Influence theory as the main theory of the Atonement...This theory focuses on not just the death of Jesus Christ, but on His entire life. This sees the saving work of Jesus not only in the event of the crucifixion, but also in all the words He has spoken, and the example He has set. In this theory the cross is merely a ramification of the moral life of Jesus. He is crucified as a martyr due to the radical nature of His moral example. In this way the Moral Influence theory emphasizes Jesus Christ as our teacher, our example, our founder and leader, and ultimately, as a result, our first martyr." Morrison
  2. Peter Abelard


Summary [31 ]
Peter Abelard

[32 ]


[33 ]


[34 ]


[35 ]


Penal Substitution – The Reformers

When and How It Appeared [36 ]


Summary [37 ]

"Penal Substitutionary Atonement is a development of the Reformation. The Reformers, Specifically Calvin and Luther, took Anselm’s Satisfaction theory and modified it slightly. They added a more legal (or forensic) framework into this notion of the cross as satisfaction. The result is that within Penal Substitution, Jesus Christ dies to satisfy God’s wrath against human sin. Jesus is punished (penal) in the place of sinners (substitution) in order to satisfy the justice of God and the legal demand of God to punish sin. In the light of Jesus’ death God can now forgive the sinner because Jesus Christ has been punished in the place of sinner, in this way meeting the retributive requirements of God’s justice. This legal balancing of the ledgers is at the heart of this theory, which claims that Jesus died for legal satisfaction. It’s also worth mentioning that in this theory the notion of inputed righteousness is postulated." Morrison

[38 ]


SBC "On The Necessity Of Penal Substitutionary Atonement" [39 ]
In 2017, the SBC passed a resolution reaffirming "the truthfulness, efficacy, and beauty of the biblical doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement as the burning core of the Gospel message and the only hope of a fallen race."

The resolution was introduced because "WHEREAS, In recent days numerous voices from the Protestant world have boldly attacked the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement; and WHEREAS, These voices have publicly labeled penal substitution 'monstrous,' 'evil,' 'a terrible doctrine,' and indicative of 'the Father murdering a son'..." The SBC holds the line against Liberal Protestants who deny the sacrifical and substitutionary nature of Christ's death, but they fail to demonstrate how the Penal Substitution Model is superior to the other Models likewise affirming the sacrifical and substitutionary nature of Christ's death.
[40 ]


Socinian – A Radical Reformer's Response to Penal Substitution

When and How It Appeared [41 ]
Faustus Socinus's On Jesus Christ Our Savior appeared in 1578 as a rebuttal to Anselm's Satisfaction Model and the Reformer's Penal Substitution Model. Some of these criticism still used in argumentation today.

Summary [42 ]
These are the highpoints of Socinus's critique of Penal Substitution:
  1. Socinus argues, quite logically, that "'remission is an impossiblity --where the debt no longer exists.' So it is an impossibility that a debt can be both satisfied and remitted at the same time." Craig, 40.
    You owe someone $20. A friend pays your debtor. The debtor then turns to you and magnaminously says, "I forgive you of your $20 debt." You respond--somewhat indignantly-- "You're not forgiving me anything; you got your $20!"
  2. Socinus carries the argument into the philosophical arena by denying that punitive justice is one of God's attributes.
  3. How can God inflict punishment on an innocent person and then say His Justice is satisfied? Translate this to money...someone owes you $20 and you take the $20 off someone else to pay the debt. Even if that person is willing to give you the $20, what has the payment of that debt got to do with Justice?
  4. If we deserve eternity in Hell for our sins, then Christ certainly did not satisfy our sin debt. If we argue that Christ's sinless, divine nature gave a higher value to His sufferings so that they did equal all huumanity's sin debt, then why did He have to suffer so greatly? Why couldn't He have paid for our sins with a paper cut?


[43 ]


[44 ]


[45 ]


[46 ]


[47 ]


Moral Government – Hugo Grotius

When and How It Appeared [48 ]


Summary [49 ]
"The Governmental Theory of the Atonement is a slight variation upon the Penal Substitutionary theory, which is notably held in Methodism. The main difference here is the extent to which Christ suffered. In the Governmental Theory, Jesus Christ suffers the punishment of our sin and propitiates God’s wrath. In this way it is similar to Penal Substitution. However, in the Governmental Theory, Jesus Christ does not take the exact punishment we deserve, He takes a punishment. Jesus dies on the cross therefore to demonstrate the displeasure of God towards sin. He died to display God’s wrath against sin and the high price which must be paid, but not to specifically satisfy that particular wrath. The Governmental Theory also teaches that Jesus died only for the church, and if you by faith are part of the church, you can take part in God’s salvation. The church then acts as the sort of hiding place from God’s punishment. This view contrasts both the Penal and Satisfaction models, but retains the fundamental belief that God cannot forgive if Jesus does not die a propitiating death." Morrison

[50 ]


[51 ]


[52 ]


[53 ]


[54 ]


Objections to Penal Substitution

David Bercot [55 ]


The Two Views The Modern Church
(Satisfaction/Penal Substitution)
The Early Church
(Ransom, Christus Victor)
When Did This Theory Appear? Anselm introduced the Satisfaction Model in the 11th century work "Why God Became Man." The Penal Substitution Model appeared in the early days of the Protestant Reformation. The entire church held to the Ransom/Christus Victor view until Anselm. The Eastern Church never accepted the Anselm's Satisfaction Model or its outgrowth, the Penal Substitution Model.
Who and What Does Jesus Save Us From?
Jesus saves us from the Wrath of God; The Son saves us from the Father. Jesus saves us Satan, Death, and Our Human Corruption
Was God Just or Merciful In the Atonement?
God's Justice and Holiness does not allow Him to forgive our sins; justice demands God be paid for our sinfulness. The Trinity together sacrificed the Son to Satan so They could free us from Satan's bondage.
Who Receives the Ransom?
The Ransom is paid to the Father. The Ransom is paid to Satan, the kidnapper of humankind.
  1. In the Fall Adam and Eve took Satan as their Master
  2. Satan could offer Jesus all the kingdoms of the world because they were his to give.

Does the Father receiving the Ransom make sense? If a child is kidnapped, is the ransom paid to the child's parent or to the kidnapper?

Why is the Resurrection Important?

The Resurrection is really unnecessary in the Penal Substitution Model. Christ died for our sins--mission accomplished. None of the animals sacrificed in the Tabernacle or Temple rose from the dead.

Christ's Resurrection was necessary in order to ensure the liar Satan did not break his word and continue to enslave man, and because Christ was also breaking the power of Death.

Why are Christ's Ministry and Teaching Important?

Christ's ministry and teachings are unnecessary. Christ died for our sins--mission accomplished. He could have been some nameless person we never heard of and still appeased God.

Part of Christ's victory over sin was clarifying what sin is and how we must follow his teaching and example.

What Is the Nature of God's Sacrifice?
Christ's death was a ritualistic sacrifice. God is angry, and needs to be appeased. Christ's death was a heroic sacrifice. He was unlike the animal sacrifices in that He voluntarily sacrificed Himself.
Who Is Changed By The Atonement?
God is changed, His Wrath is appeased and He can now adopt us because the price of our sin has been paid. Christ's blood enables the divine ledger to be modified in our behalf. God is reconciled to us. Human nature has to be changed; God is always ready to forgive us. Christ's blood actually cleanses and changes us, we are not just receiving a legal change in status. We are reconciled to God because of our new nature.
How Does the Incarnation Affect the Atonement?
The Incarnation was a means to an end in the Incarnation. The Incarnation reaffirms that what God made was good.


David Brow, The "Forensic Virus ("Forensic" - Relating to, used in, or appropriate for courts of law) [56 ]
  1. "It was the legal minds of the first Latin translators and Jerome's Vulgate which introduced the forensic virus into the western church." (Jerome introduces the possible error)
  2. "Augustine did not know Greek, and he set the Roman law court model in stone." (Augustine fails to see the possible problem and runs with it.)
  3. "Anselm and Calvin clarified that logic with ruthless perfection." Anselm and Calvin follow Augustine)
  4. "In the King James translation the adjective dikaios and the noun dikaiosune are correctly translated 'righteous' and 'righteousness' thirty-four times in the Epistle to the Romans. The forensic virus was introduced when the King James Version [and most other English translations including the RV, RSV, NIV, NEB, NRSV] in thirteen cases translated the related Greek verbs by the typically Roman law court verbs 'to justify' and the passive 'to be justified.' In each case the forensic term 'justify' was used to translate the Greek verb dikaioo which need mean nothing more than 'to make righteous.'"
  5. "Those who use the Latin root words 'justification,' 'justify,' and 'be justified' have already assumed a judicial paradigm, and by doing so they set Paul's argument in a mold which is alien to his thinking in other epistles. The translators have therefore taken for granted what should be very questionable."
  6. "Since the time of Chrysostom it has been pointed out in the Greek Church that dikaioo could equally well be translated 'make upright or righteous.'"
  7. "The literal translation of the Greek by terms such as 'make righteous or upright or just,' 'be made righteous,' 'righteousness,' etc. would have left open the question of what model Paul had in mind. That does not prove that the forensic model is wrong, only that another model fits the Bible just as well, and avoids the moral problem inherent in Latin law court theology.' 'It is therefore time translators had the courage to discard 'justify,' 'justified,' and 'justification' from our Bible and use the ordinary meaning of the Greek words instead. Wherever the adjective dikaios, the verb dikaioo, and the noun dikaiosune occur the translation should use 'righteous,' 'make righteous,' and 'righteousness.' The meaning of those words should be derived from the Hebrew idea of a righteous person (tzaddiq) which never has a forensic connotation in the Old Testament."


Sources

Appendix

[57 ]


Scriptures Relating to the Atonement

Click here to Show Or Hide Scriptures About CHRIST DYING FOR US


Click here to Show Or Hide Scriptures THE BLOOD OF CHRIST


Click here to Show Or Hide Scriptures About COVENANT SACRIFICE


Click here to Show Or Hide Scriptures About PASSOVER SACRIFICE


Click here to Show Or Hide Scriptures About SIN OFFERING


Click here to Show Or Hide Scriptures About OFFERING OF FIRST FRUITS


Click here to Show Or Hide Scriptures About SIN OFFERING


Click here to Show Or Hide Scriptures About SIN OFFERING