Jump to content

Atonement in Christianity

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Skolstoe (talk | contribs) at 17:31, 7 August 2006 (reverted as per discussion page). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other uses, see Atonement in Christianity (disambiguation).

The Atonement is a Christian doctrine that describes how the redemptive death of Jesus Christ renders possible a reconciliation between God and creation. Christians believe that Christ's death makes possible the forgiveness of sin and enables some or all of creation to be reunited with God.

There have been numerous theories of Atonement put forward by theologians, with the most popular including the ransom theory, the Anselmian theory and the Abelardian theory.

Etymology

The word atonement gained widespread use in the sixteenth century after William Tyndale recognized that there was no direct translation of the concept into English. In order to explain the doctrine of Christ's sacrifice, which accomplished both the remission of sin and reconciliation of man to God, Tyndale invented a word that would encompass both actions. He wanted to overcome the inherent limitations of the word "reconciliation" while incorporating the aspects of "propitiation" and forgiveness. It is interesting to note that while Tyndale labored to translate the 1526 English Bible, his proposed word is comprised of two parts, 'at' and 'onement,' which also means reconciliation, but combines it with something more. Although one thinks of the Jewish Fast of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), the Hebrew word is ‘kaper’ ing ‘a covering’, so one can see that ‘reconciliation’ doesn't precisely contain all the necessary components of the word atonement. Expiation means “to atone for.” Reconciliation comes from Latin roots re, meaning “again”; con, meaning “with”; and sella, meaning “seat.” Reconciliation, therefore, literally means “to sit again with.” While this meaning may appear sufficient, Tyndale thought that if translated as "reconciliation," there would be a pervasive misunderstanding of the word's deeper significance to not just reconcile, but "to cover," so the word was invented.

The Atonement in Christianity

Especially prominent in western Christianity is the concept of substitutionary atonement pioneered by Anselm of Canterbury and adapted by Pierre Abélard, Thomas Aquinas, Hugo Grotius, John Calvin, John Miley and others. (Eastern Orthodoxy has a substantively different soteriology; this is sometimes cited as the core difference between Eastern and Western Christianity.)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expands the doctrine of the atonement complementary to the substitutionary atonement concept, including the following:

  • Suffering in Gethsemane. The Atonement began in Gethsemane and ended on the cross (Luke 22:44; Doctrine and Covenants 19:16–19; Book of Mormon | Mosiah 3:7; Alma 7:11–13)
  • The relationship of justice, mercy, agency, and God's unconditional love. Christ's infinite atonement was required to satisfy the demands of justice based on eternal law, rendering Him our Mediator, Redeemer, and Advocate with the Father. Thus, He proffers divine mercy to the truly penitent who voluntarily come unto Him, offering them the gift of His grace to "lift them up" and "be perfected in Him" through His merits. (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 2; 2 Nephi 9; Alma 12; Alma 34; Alma 42; Moroni 9:25 & 10:33) (See also Isaiah 55:1-9)
  • No need for infant baptism. Christ's atonement completely resolved the consequence from the fall of Adam of spiritual death for infants, young children and those of innocent mental capacity who die before an age of self-accountability, hence all these are resurrected to eternal life in the resurrection.
  • Empathetic purpose. Christ suffered pain and agony not only for the sins of all men, but also to experience their physical pains, illnesses, anguish from addictions, emotional turmoil and depression, "that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." (Book of Mormon | Alma 7:12) (see also Isaiah 53:4)

The Atonement in Judaism

A different concept of atonement exists in Judaism. Atonement is said to be the process of forgiving or pardoning a transgression. Notably, this belief does not implicitly believe a redeemer was necessary.

The Holiest day of the year is the Day of Atonement known as Yom Kippur in Hebrew. It comes exactly ten days after the Jewish New Year known as Rosh Hashana.

Atonement theories in Christianity

Christus Victor

Recapitulation: Irenaeus, Eastern Orthodox Church, some Lutherans

Ransom: Origen, Gregory of Nyssa

Scapegoating: William Tyndale (who invented the word from Hebrew and Greek manuscripts), René Girard, James Alison, Gerhard Förde see 'In Christianity' in Scapegoat

Moral Influence

Satisfaction

Divine satisfaction: Anselm of Canterbury & Salvation in Catholicism

Penalty or Punishment satisfaction: John Calvin, Calvinism, & Imputed righteousness

Governmental

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atonement_in_Christianity&oldid=68224673"