Notes on Atonement

atonement theory seeks the answer to 'why did Jesus have to die upon the cross?'

Excerpt:

In Mark 10:45 Jesus said, "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (cp. Matt. 20:28, NIV). This is a powerful statement. Jesus redeemed his followers from sin. The price of this redemption, however, was his own life (1 Tim. 2:6; 1 Pet. 1:18,19), the supreme expression of his love for us (cf. John 15:13).
That Jesus described his death as a ransom payment is clear. But to whom was the ransom paid? Jesus never said. In fact, to pose the question is to stretch the metaphor out of shape. Yet the question was posed nonetheless.

Satisfaction/Penal Substitution
The Ransom theory dominated the theological landscape for a millennium until it was finally debunked by Anselm of Canterbury (ca. 1033-1109). Anselm rightly pointed out that this theory gave the devil far too much power. Hence Anselm gave a different answer: Jesus' life was paid as a ransom not to the devil, but to God.

Anselm, who lived in a feudal society, saw sin as dishonor to God. God's nature is such that He cannot overlook dishonor; thus a satisfaction is needed. Since sinful humankind is unable to make sufficient satisfaction, God became human to do it on humanity's behalf. Jesus is then a payment not to Satan but to God.

Pasted from http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/openhse/atonement.html


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CAN WE THINK OF IT PARALLEL TO JESUS ANSWERING THAT THE MAN BORN BLIND FROM BIRTH WAS NOT BECAUSE OF ANYONE'S SINS, BUT SO THAT MORE WOULD BELIEVE IN HIM?..
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Bob: Okay, Jane, you owe me ten dollars. Pay up.
Jane: Oh, but I don't have the money. Do I really have to pay you back?
Bob: I'm sorry, Jane, but I can't forgive your debt. Somebody has got to pay.
Ted: Hey guys! What's up?
Bob: Well, Ted, if you must know, I'm trying to collect the ten dollars that Jane owes me, but she can't pay it.
Ted: Hmm. Let's see here. Hey, I do have ten dollars on me. Here, Bob, you can let Jane off the hook.
Bob: Jane, your debt is paid. You can go now. You don't owe me anything.

Now in the illustration, did Bob forgive the debt, or was he paid? In fact, Bob was paid off. There was no grace, no mercy, no forgiveness of the debt.

Similarly, if Jesus' death were a literal payment to God for all our sins, then God cannot truly be said to forgive sin.

This observation points out the difficulty of "go[ing] beyond what is written" (1 Cor. 4:6, NIV). Posing the question, "to whom was the ransom paid?" takes us beyond the purview of the Scriptures. The "ransom" was not literally paid to anyone. It is a metaphor used to describe the significance and dramatic effect of Jesus' death.

Above Pasted from http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/openhse/atonement.html

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in my experience, the power of the cross is not in the concept of my sins being forgiven by it. it is in the fact that jesus would be willing to get up there, both for obedience and for love of me. that somehow if he didn't, then the scriptures would not be fulfilled and his job would not be done… the cosmic effect of what is opened to us in the door to everlasting life - available both now and after we die, through belief in (=relationship with) jesus.

something actually changed cosmically by jesus getting up there. i think it has to do with him drinking the sour wine after telling us to do so as a rememberance of him… it made possible forever after god being able to relate to us (the experience of suffering to death on the cross? - did it make possible a perspective by god, something limited which because of god's omniscience, he could not access outside of human form… his experience of the power of temptation, his expereince of wanting to disobey when he felt how hard it was to walk toward death… i really believe god learned something through this.

the concept of a learning god may seem heretical given an omniscient god, but actually god cannot know everything - because of human free will. he does not know what we will do - this explains his frustration and wrath. god is omniscient in what can be known - but the story of the bible is ultimately the story of god learning how to do relationship with humans, in a way that continues to respect our autonomy as separate persons. coming to walk the earth as jesus then was a 'take a walk in my shoes' journey for god, who would then forever after understand our struggle, temptation, and pain - and truly be able to forgive freely, from a place of empathic compassion.

This is my answer to why Jesus had to die on the cross. i don't think it needs to have anything to do with atonement.

(afterthought ...it strikes me how much our confusion is answered by jesus' teaching to his disciples. he criticizes the disciples for arguing who is greatest (cf conservatives/liberals arguing); and he calls them out for not realizing and being with him when he is there (cf. Christianity and Real Relationship post)