1. Understanding Atonement: A New and Orthodox Theory
Robin Collins
Professor of Philosophy
Messiah College
Finish slide 55.
Improvements: Story of brain’s being hooked up….memory of virtue and action….we partake of the experience and will….suppose that you could tap into my memory and my will and imputus in a situationof courage could be yours (e.g., the guy in tiammon square with the tanks)….imagine a future in which one person goes into battle for everyone else, excersing great courage. Then, other warriars hook into the will and imputus this person excersed when they go into battle – so that the first person’s exercise of courage does it for everyone else….
The bridge idea
Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar; for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement.” (NRSV).
Ephesians 1:17 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”
Hebrew 10:16-18. "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds," 17 he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Greek word for Forgiveness: (From Strong’s Concordance aàfesiv, Aphesis ) 1. release from bondage or imprisonment; 2. forgiveness or pardon, of sins (letting them go as if they had never been committed), remission of the penalty.
Leviticus 4:33 “You shall lay your hand on the head of the sin offering; and it shall be slaughtered as a sin offering at the spot where the burnt offering is slaughtered.” This is repeated many other places (Search for hand AND head in searchgodsword.org).`
PARABLE OF BRAIN’S BEING HOOKED UP: ONE PERSON’S COURAGEOUSLY WILLING (OR INTENTIONAL IMPUTUS) CAN BE PLUGGED INTO BY ANOTHER. E.G., A SCIENCE FICTION SCENARIO IN WHICH ONE PERSON ACTS COURAGEOUSLY IN BATTLE, THEN OTHERS WHO NEED TO ACT COURAGEOUSLY CAN TAP INTO THE LIVING MEMORY AND IMPUTUS OF THAT …

2. Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Rebecca Adams, my spouse, for much helpful insights and input as I have worked to develop and present the Incarnational theory.

3. Doctrine of Atonement
Traditionally, Christians have asserted that through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection humans are saved from sin and reconciled to God. This simple assertion is known as the doctrine of Atonement, and is one of the central doctrines of the Christian faith.

4. Yet, for anyone who has thought about it, this is a very puzzling doctrine. Several questions immediately arise: Why couldn’t God just forgive us of our sins? And even if God could not just forgive us, how is the bloody death of an innocent victim supposed to reconcile us to God? Indeed, many have asserted that the doctrine is incoherent.

5. Theory of Atonement
A theory of Atonement is supposed to answer these questions; and ideally, it should help make sense of the doctrine. Specifically:

6. Theory of Atonement --Continued
A Theory of Atonement explains how Jesus' life, death and resurrection is supposed to save humans from sin and reconcile them to God and why it made sense for God to use this method.
Salvation
How?

7. Doctrine Versus Theory Continued
Yet, no theory of the atonement has been officially sanctioned by any ecumenical creed or council. Neither do the Christian scriptures explicitly state any theory. Thus, there has been a variety of theories in Church history.

8. Purpose of Presentation
The purpose of this presentation is: (1) to provide an overview of the major Western theories of Atonement and some prominent critiques of those theories; (2) to present a theory of Atonement based on the Eastern Orthodox understanding of Salvation; and (3) to indicate how the proposed theory promises to provide a philosophically coherent Christian understanding of the doctrine. This should help anyone – whether Christian or non-Christian –to gain a deeper understanding of, and to be able to evaluate the plausibility of, this central claim of the Christian faith.

9. As with philosophical theology done in any religious tradition -- such as Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism -- the ideas proposed should be compatible with the scriptures of that tradition. So, before considering various theories of Atonement, I will briefly overview the kinds of things the New Testament writings say about Atonement:

10. Some major New Testament statements and symbols regarding Atonement
Jesus is our sacrifice of Atonement
Jesus is our scapegoat
Jesus' life is a ransom for many
Jesus bore our sins
Jesus died for us
Jesus turned away God wrath against sin
Jesus defeated the powers of darkness and death
Jesus’ blood washes us from sin
Jesus revealed God’s love for the world
Jesus gave us a perfect example to follow

11. New Testament Statements Relating to Atonement and Salvation
Jesus gave us new life in God
Jesus released us from bondage to sin.
Jesus made us righteous
Jesus justified us
Jesus’ death brought forgiveness of sins
Through Jesus we are crucified to the world
Eucharist and Baptismal Symbols
ONE LESSON: The New Testament authors use a wide variety of different metaphors, symbols, and statements to present the salvific significance of Jesus’ life death.

12. Because of the above diversity of New Testament statements and symbols, from the early centuries Christians have come up with many different theories of Atonement, each emphasizing some of the above statements, symbols, and metaphors.

13. Ransom/Bargain Theory
One of the earliest theories was the Ransom or Bargain Theory. This theory was based on Mark 10:45, where Jesus is recorded as saying that he came to give his life as “a ransom for many.”

14. Basic Ideas
God Makes A Bargain with the Devil: “Hand over your claim to humans, and I will give you my only Son in exchange.”
Devil is Tricked: He did not realize that God the Son could not be held in the bonds of death.

15. Critique of Theory
Almost a thousand years later, Anselm of Canterbury ( ) provided what was taken to be a definitive critique of this theory in his book Cur Deus Homo? [Why Did God Become Man?]:
Anselm: Devil is an outlaw, and hence has no claim to anything.
Anselm: Why would God ever set up the world so that the Devil could gain legal rights over Adam and Eve? This doesn’t make sense!

16. After critiquing the Ransom theory, Anselm presents his own theory of Atonement, called the Satisfaction Theory.
Anselm of Canterbury

17. Basic Idea of Satisfaction Theory
Jesus paid the debt of obedience that we owe God because of our sins.

18. Centuries later, the Protestant reformers – for example, John Calvin and his followers – championed a similar theory, called the Penal theory:
John Calvin

19. Basic Idea of Penal Theory
Jesus took on the punishment that justice demands for our sins.

20. These theories are based on the idea that the moral order, or God’s honour, demands that sin be punished. When spelled out, they each can be articulated in terms of the following four claims:

21. Basic Claims Elaborated
Our sins accumulated a debt of obligation (satisfaction theory) or punishment (penal theory) so large that we could not pay it.
2. The moral order (or “God’s honour”) demands that the debt be paid or the sin be punished.
3. Jesus paid the debt for us or accepted the punishment, thereby satisfying the demands of Divine Justice.
4. Therefore, God no longer needs to punish us but can shower his mercy and blessings on us.
Logic of Penal and Satisfaction theories.

22. Illustration of Penal and Satisfaction theories

23. Historical Perspective.
Some variation of these theories was dominant among Christians since the time of Anselm in the 11th Century, though the idea goes back to the early centuries.
Today, many conservative Christians, both Catholic and Protestant hold this theory.
It is embodied in Christian hymns, songs, and liturgy: “He paid a debt he did not owe, I owed a debt I could not Pay” (Grogan) and “He is the true Paschal Lamb, who at the feast of Passover paid for us the debt of Adam’s sin” (Recent Episcopal Liturgy for Easter Vigil)‏

24. As prominent as they have been in the West, these theories have always been subject to criticisms. I will present a few of them here.

25. A Philosophical Critique of Satisfaction Theory: Since according to the doctrine of the Trinity, God the Son is united with God the Father, doesn’t Jesus’ paying our debt simply amount to God’s paying God’s self, and therefore not paying a debt at all? Or who pays the debt we owe God the Son for our sin against him? Does this make sense?
God Pays God:
God transfers money from one of his accounts to another

26. Critiques --Continued
Penal Theory: How can justice be satisfied by one person accepting the punishment that another deserves, especially given that Christians believe that God the Son (Jesus) is God, and hence the One sinned against? Doesn't this amount to God punishing God’s own self for our sins? Does this make any sense? An analogy: If someone stabs you, does your further flogging yourself pay for the crime they committed against you?

27. By further hurting themselves, are these men paying for the sins of those who wronged them?

28. Other Critiques
Scriptural: Nowhere do the Christian scriptures explicitly state that Christ paid a debt for us on the Cross or that justice or the moral order requires that sin be punished, yet these are central claims of traditional versions of the theories. This is why it took over a thousand years for these claims to become prominent. At best these theories rely on questionable interpretations of scripture.
Historically Contingent: Theories are based on feudal legal system where a “debt of honour” could be paid by another. (At least for satisfaction theory.)‏
Ethically/theologically Inadequate: e.g., turns Atonement into an “economic” or “legal” transaction.
Modify slightly.

29. Cultural Critique
Overly Western: The critique is that these theories are bound to culturally and historically conditioned modes of thought. For example, the idea that the moral order demands that our sins be punished is foreign to traditional Chinese understanding of reality. This presents a problem of internal coherence for the Christian faith, since the Christian message is supposed to be “good news” for everyone. Yet, to constitute good news, one would already have to be convinced that one deserved an infinite amount of punishment for sin.
??Further, some Christians have asked, Does this sound like “good news” to a starving child in India, that because of her (or Adam and Eve’s) sins she actually deserves much more suffering than she is experiencing in this life?
Modify

30. An alternative to these theories is what is known as the Moral Exemplar or Moral Influence theory. This was first proposed by Peter Abelard in the 12th century.
Peter Abelard

31. Basic Idea
Jesus saves us by providing a perfect moral example of love, obedience, and humility to follow and by revealing the loving character of God.

32. Common Critique
As a complete theory of the Atonement it is claimed to be inadequate since it minimizes the uniqueness and significance of Jesus for salvation.
For example, St. Francis, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Buddhists, and many others provide inspiring, though not perfect, moral examples to follow, and thus seem to perform the same sort of salvific function as Jesus. Indeed, the fact that Jesus was perfect makes him harder to relate to, and thus less effective as an example.

33. Summary:
To be fair, there are many variations of the above theories that attempt to circumvent the problems I mentioned.
However, except for variations of the moral exemplar/influence theory, the Western theories of atonement and salvation have tended to be based on legal metaphors –e.g., salvation as consisting of being declared “not guilty” by the Great Judge, or Satan having legal rights to human beings.

34. A Look at Eastern Orthodoxy
In the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity, salvation has been conceived differently: in terms of participation in the life of God and being “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), not in terms of a legal transaction or a means of avoiding divine punishment.
In their language, salvation in the fullest consists of deification: being fully caught up in the Trinitarian life of God, with God in us and we in God, which is claimed to be supported by scriptures such as John 17: 21-22:
Possible explainwSt. Irenaeus explained this concept in Against Heresies, Book 5, in the Preface, "the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself." as implied by John 17:21-22.
Athanasius of Alexandria wrote, "The Son of God became man, that we might become God." (Athanasius, On the Incarnation, 54:3) – see Bradshaw, Aristotle East and West, p. 174.
St. Maximus the Confessor wrote, "A sure warrant for looking forward with hope to deification of human nature is provided by the incarnation of God, which makes man god to the same degree as God Himself became man." and "let us become the image of the one whole God, bearing nothing earthly in ourselves, so that we may consort with God and become gods, receiving from God our existence as gods."

35. John 17: (NRSV)
20 "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

37. Basic Idea behind Eastern Orthodox “theory” of Atonement
God had to share in what we are in order for us to share in what God is

38. History of Idea
Idea suggested by major early Greek theologians of the Church
Further developed through the centuries by Eastern Orthodox Theologians.
Has been implicit in some of the mystics in the West (i.e., Julian of Norwich).
To illustrate, consider the following statements made by prominent theologians in the early Church:
Is the reason given by athanasius for doctrine of Incarnation
Eastern Orthodox Church

39. Irenaeus (around 200 AD): "the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself." (Against Heresies, Book 5, Preface)
Athanasius of Alexandria (293 – 373 AD): "The Son of God became man, that we might become God." (On the Incarnation, 54:3).
St. Maximus the Confessor ( AD): "A sure warrant for looking forward with hope to deification of human nature is provided by the incarnation of God, which makes man god to the same degree as God Himself became man."
Correct font

40. Here I will present one way of developing this idea of salvation and atonement in a philosophically and theologically careful way
Then I will show how it fits in with important passages and symbols relating to Atonement in the Christian scriptures.

41. How I Came To Idea
I originally came to the basic idea behind the theory by reading and re-reading the Apostle Paul, especially Romans 6. Only later was it pointed out to me that the core idea was the same as that of the early Church fathers and the Eastern Orthodox understanding of salvation.
I felt it would be helpful to attempt to articulate this idea in as philosophically careful way as possible, which led to what I have called the Incarnational Theory.
Let’s look at two key Pauline passages first:

42. Romans 8: 6 - 7: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin.” (NRSV)
Put note in about corinthians passage, that in Paul’s mind we really die, but our death In fact, a substitutionary reading -- that Christ died so that we did not have to die -- seems inconsistent with what Paul says elsewhere about us dying with Christ, which means that we in fact do die -- it is just that we die IN Christ, not on our own, and hence we can share in his resurrection power (e.g., See Romans 6).  As another example, when Paul says why he preaches the gospel in 2 Cor. 5:14, he says "For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died."  So, Christ does not die in our place, but rather provides a means for us dying in such a way that we can partake of the new resurrected life.

43. Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in [OF] the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (NRSV)
In these and other passages, Paul seems to adopt a participatory model of Atonement in which being united with Christ in his death does away with our “sinful desires” while giving us new life through his resurrection. This is consistent theme in Paul, and has become a significant emphasis of many in the so-called “New Perspective on Paul” in Biblical Studies. (See also Galatians 6:14,  and 2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

44. I developed the Incarnational Theory to attempt to understand these passages of Paul, and to understand how Christ’s atonement could have the sort of direct transformative power that Paul attributes to it.
Because in the Penal and Satisfaction theories the Atonement only directly saves us from divine punishment, it does not account well for these Pauline passages.

45. Given these Pauline passages, several key questions arise.
First, what does it mean to be united to Christ in his death and resurrection?
Second, how is this supposed to save us from sin?
And third, how does this fit with other things said in the New Testament about salvation and atonement?

46. Basic Claims of Theory
The Incarnational Theory attempts to answer these questions. The next several slides will offer the basic claims of the theory. I will present it in two different versions: a more general version based on analogies and metaphors, and one that is more specific and philosophically precise.

47. Incarnational Theory Version #1 Basic Claims:
Step 1: Salvation involves sharing in the life of God.
Example: Jesus in John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches”

48. Is this supported elsewhere in the New Testament?
Yes. Consider: Paul's analogy of the body of Christ. 2 Peter 1:4: “Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature.” (NRSV) Colossians 3:4: “When Christ who is your life is revealed . . .”(NRV)

49. Basic Claims: Step 2: Apart from the Incarnation and Passion, God's life would be too alien from ours for this sharing to occur. Analogy: An apple tree branch cannot be grafted into a horse; the horse is too alien for it.
Incorrect
Correct

50. Basic Claims--Step 3:
Through the Incarnation and Passion, God entered as deeply as possible into our human life-situation of death, suffering, and vulnerability and thereby overcame the alienation between God's self and us.
Peter Paul Rubens.
Christ on the Cross. 1620

51. Basic Claims Step 4:
A fully human/fully divine life was created in Jesus through his life, death, and resurrection.

52. Basic Claims – Step 5
By partaking of this life through being grafted into the true Vine, we are saved from sin and reconciled to God. This allowed for us to share in a new fully human, fully divine life, thus saving us from sin and bringing us into unity with God.

53. Specific Theory: Basic Claims --Step 1
During the Incarnation and Passion, God the Son enacted the sort of courage, faith, and love of a kind that we need for our present human life-situation of vulnerability, alienation, uncertainty, and the like.
Sophia and her three daughters, Faith, Hope, and Love. (From a Russian Icon)‏

54. Basic Claims --Step 2
In order to enact the kind of virtues we need, God the Son must have experienced human vulnerability, unjust persecution, alienation from God, and the like. To see this, consider the virtue of courage:

55. Example: Courage
Courage = a commitment to one’s values in the face of danger, fear, and personal injury.
To exercise courage, one must believe that he/she is vulnerable to being harmed (or at least have the experience of such vulnerability)‏

56. Basic Claims--Step 3
Especially during his Passion and death, Jesus fully experienced human vulnerability, fear, injustice, unjust victimization, and even alienation from God. (Jesus’ cry in Mark’s gospel, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me” (15:34) is often cited as evidence of the latter.)‏
Jesus nonetheless acted in complete faith and love towards God and others, thus enacting the virtues of faith hope and love while having a fully human experience of fear, unjust persecution, alienation from God and others, and so forth.

57. Final Step
By identifying with and partaking of Jesus’ giving over his life in complete faith, hope, and love to God and others, we are saved from sin and reconciled to God.
This is what it means to partake of the
new resurrected life that Paul talks
about.

58. That is, we are saved from sin and reconciled to God by partaking of the new fully human/fully divine life in Christ.
ttttt
Branch (US) partaking of New Life in Vine (Christ)

59. Some Analogies and Key New Testament Symbols
Next, I will present some analogies to help in understanding the theory and show how it fits in with two key New Testament symbols for salvation/atonement.

60. A Memory Analogy
As an analogy, imagine a future society in which one person acts with tremendous courage, with any person who needs courage being able to “tap into” (and appropriately adapt) the memory of the desires and “willings” exercised by the single highly courageous individual. One could imagine members of the future society saying “as one is courageous for all, all our now courageous,” in parallel to similar statements by Paul (e.g., Romans 5:18 and 2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

61. Parent/Child Analogy
A more mundane analogy the common occurrence of a parent’s desires, views of, and orientation towards the world being transferred to the child, whether intentionally or not. In analogy, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, the new, fully human/fully divine faith, hope, and love enacted by Jesus in his life, death, and resurrection are progressively transferred to us, thus saving us from sin.

62. Blood Transfusion Analogy
In John’s gospel, Jesus says “Truly, Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life…[they] abide in me and I in them” (John 6:54-55)‏
This otherwise very puzzling passage makes a lot of sense under the Incarnational Theory:

63. Incarnational Theory Understanding of this Passage
Jesus’ blood represents his life completely given over to God in love, trust, and self-sharing in his Passion and Death.
We are saved from sin by partaking of this life given over in perfect love and trust

64. The Eucharist
This fits with Paul’s understanding of the Eucharist in 1 Corinthians 10:16 -17:   “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?”
Last Supper. Leonardo da Vinci

65. Blood Transfusion Analogy:
By entering fully into the human life situation of alienation, suffering, vulnerability, and uncertainty, and yet acting in complete trust and love, Jesus created a new “antibody” for sin. By partaking of this new antibody, the disease of sin is progressively wiped out in our lives. ** Note: In a blood transfusion, the blood types must be compatible. Likewise, for us to share in God’s life of righteousness.
1 cor. 10:16 ”the cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread F107 R384 which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? “
Mark 14:22-24 “While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body."  Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it.  He said to them, "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many ”
Matthew 26;27. “Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

66. Blood Transfusion Analogy
Fully Divine/Fully
Human Courage
Faith and Trust
In the Face of Fear
Doubt, and Uncertainty
LOVE in the face of fear,
suffering, alienation,
and unjust victimization

67. How does this theory understand the ancient Jewish ritual of the sacrificial lamb, which the New Testament authors claim is type of Christ?
The Sacrificial Lamb

68. The Ritual Explained
This ritual involved the worshiper laying hands on the head of an animal (e.g., a lamb or bull) and then slaying the animal. The priest then took the blood and poured it on the altar as a sacrifice to God.
Many Christian commentators claim that laying on of hands that occurs in this ritual is best interpreted as an act of identification with the one on whom hands are laid.
**Note: Nowhere does the Bible state that the Lamb is “punished” for our sins, or that punishment of the Lamb makes atonement. Rather, Leviticus 17:11 says “it is the blood that makes atonement”; and “the life is in the blood” (NRSV)
Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar; for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement.” (NRSV).

69. The Incarnational Theory’s Understanding of the Ritual
According the Incarnational Theory, the lamb is symbolic of Christ, the offering of its blood is symbolic of Christ's offering his life over to God and others in love, hope, and trust.
Thus the laying on of hands can be seen as representing our identification with, and thus sharing in, that love, hope and trust expressed by Christ on the Cross--a sharing that results in our redemption.

70. Note
Sacrifice is understood as a giving over of something to God – as for example in Romans 12:1: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

71. Conclusion – Short Version
The Incarnational Theory of Atonement provides one way of developing the basic Eastern Orthodox understanding of Salvation and Atonement. Further, it is a participatory model of Atonement that not only fits with the Pauline emphasis on the participatory and transformative nature of the Atonement along with other key New Testament symbols, but promises to be philosophically coherent way of understanding one of the most central claims of Christianity.

72. How This Theory Understands Baptism
“All who were baptized into Christ have been baptized into his death and if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Romans 6:3-5)‏ Only by partaking of his death can we experience his resurrection life.

73. As I State Elsewhere:
“being united with Christ during his death involves sharing in Christ’s experience of true human vulnerability and brokenness during his death, and hence becoming “crucified” to the world-system of status and psychic and spiritual bondage. Yet, at the same time, to partake of Christ’s death is to also to share in the perfect love, hope, and trust that Christ exercised during his life and passion, a love, hope, and trust that in turn overcomes our alienation towards ourselves, others, and God, thereby resulting in resurrection life.”

74. Eating the Bread
“While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." Mark 14:22
Among other things, the broken bread could be thought of as representing Jesus' entering into human brokenness and vulnerability. Partaking of the bread, therefore, could be thought of as representing our fully experiencing our own vulnerability through Christ and thus “dying” to our false illusion of invulnerability that we construct to protect ourselves. This in turn allows us to partake of the resurrection life. (Is this why eating the bread comes before taking the cup?)‏

75. Parent/Child Analogy
Children pick up their desires, how they view the world, and their orientation from the world unconsciously from their parents. The parents virtues or vices “rub off” or are transferred to the child. The new, fully human/fully divine virtues are progressively transferred from Christ to us, thus saving us from sin.

76. Makes Sense of Many Other Scriptures:
We are a “new creation” in Christ (1 Cor. 5:17)‏
Jesus was tempted in every way as we are (Hebrews 4:15)‏
St. Paul tells us to “put on Christ” or the “new Man” (Ephesians 4:24; see also Col. 3:9-11)‏
Makes sense of our being crucified with Christ and Crucified to the world (Gal. 2:19, 6:14).

77. Implications for Scriptural Exegesis
Galatians 2:16: “We know that a person is justified not by the works of the law, but through the faith of Jesus Christ”
Galatians 2:22: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God.”**
Philippians 3:8-9: “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through the faith of Christ”
**Typically translations use “faith in the Son of God” instead of the “faith of the Son of God.” However, A. A. Just claims that because of Richard Hays book on the topic, the tide is starting to turn towards the “of” translation in these and several other passages.

78. What Difference Does it Make?
The “faith in” tends to make one think that faith is something one must generate, with the righteousness of God being granted by God to us based on our having faith
The “faith of” Christ view makes it clear that faith is not something generated by ourselves.
**Perhaps, however, both translations contain complementary elements of the truth

79. Practical Implications
Encourages us to acknowledge our own vulnerability and weakness by “uniting ourselves to him in his death” (Provides a safe place, in Christ, for us to do that.)‏
Encourages us to recognize the solidarity that Christ had with our pain and suffering during his death.
Yet, it stress our ability to partake, through Christ, in virtues such as courage, faith, and love that are empowering forces in human life.

80. Implications for interreligious and intercultural dialogue
1. Almost all cultures have recognized that there is something wrong with human desire that cannot be fixed by self-effort. 2. Many of these cultures – e.g., Chinese, Buddhist, and Hindu – have recognized that humans need a new source of desire. 3. Jesus offers this new source of desire that is completely geared towards our actual life-situation of vulnerability, alienation, and sin. We can be fully ourselves – and face our own vulnerability, etc. -- and yet partake of this new source. Therefore, this understanding of the Christian message directly addresses a need that recognized in all cultures, making it universally available. [This is the issue of internal coherence.]

81. For Those Who Are Oppressed
It says Jesus suffers with them “outside the gate” (Hebrews 13:12), yet at the same time gives them the love, courage, and faith they need.

82. Possible Critiques
1. Is not able to adequately account for all the understandings of Atonement found in scripture and is thus incomplete.

83. Questions?

84. Notes for improvement
Girard’s theory as example of Christus victor God as the author of salvation idea Anselm’s theory fits with mine if mine is read as a merit (virtue) transfer from Christ to us. Fits with Porter, Stephen., 2001, “Substitution Reconsidered,” in Philosophy of Religion: A Contemporary Reader, W.L. Craig (ed.), Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, [Punishment of Christ as demonstration.]
Use Susanna’s painting of resurrection to illustrate victory over death and powrers as pat of Christus victor.
Put in implications for intercultural/interreligious dialogue, with separate slide for problem of chinese earlier in critique of penal and satisfaction.
Put in how theory understands sacrifice (modeled after Romans 12). N

85. Notes for Improvement
Ernest becker and scott peck material about undercutting illusion of invulnerabiltiy, and thus power of sin (first step in 12 step program). Link with Christus victor motif
Show how my theory makes sense cross culturally – need new source of desires.

86. Understanding of Atonement
An understanding of Atonement goes beyond the Doctrine of Atonement in making additional claims regarding what Christ accomplished for us through his life, death, and resurrection and what it means for us to be saved from sin and reconciled with God. Often, understandings are expressed in terms of metaphors or images.

87. Understandings Found in Church Tradition but not (directly) in Scripture
Jesus paid our debt
Jesus paid our penalty for our sin.

88. Theories of Atonement -- Continued
A theory of Atonement usually makes one or two of the scripatonement primary, and then attempts to explain the other understandings of atonement found in scripture by means of the primary understandings. We will see this below.