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Thursday, March 18, 2010

NT Wright and atonement



I don't like the idea of atonement (In Christian theology the atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin through the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion, which made possible the reconciliation between God and creation - Wikipedia), but instead prefer the view expressed by Ken Overberg SJ in his article The Incarnation: God's Gift of Love. Here's just the beginning of it ...

The shadow of the cross covers our Christmas crib. During Advent and Christmas, we prepare for and then celebrate God's coming into the world. Still, most of us probably do not ask why God became flesh. If we did, our answers would likely sound something like this: "Jesus came to redeem us." Or more strongly: "Jesus came to die for our sins." Such convictions are found in the Scriptures and expressed in our liturgy. The shadow of the cross is present, even if not the center of our attention during these seasons.

There is, however, an alternative view about why God became human, expressed both in the Scriptures and in the Christian tradition. Though less well known, this perspective which emphasizes God's overflowing love offers more light than shadow. This article presents some of the key insights of the different perspective and suggests some implications not only for our celebration of Christmas but also for our everyday relationship with God ....


Having said that, though, I do find atonement theory interesting and have posted about it before (David Hart / Atonement ... Gustav Aulen, David Hart, and Atonement ... James Alison / Atonement ... Jeffrey John).

So when I saw a video today of NT Wright discussing atonement, I thought I'd post it here ....




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