Robert van Mourik
Introduction
Atonement Theory, the belief that Jesus died on the cross to redeem us for our sins, is deeply embedded in our literature, our hymns, our psyche, and our art. For example, highway billboards and street corner evangelists proclaim “Jesus died for our sins.” The Bible has numerous references - including language such as ransom, satisfaction, temple sacrifice - all emphasising a transactional relationship with God. Yet there are numerous examples of Jesus forgiving others; he did not have to wait until he died on the cross so that those he met could be forgiven.
History
Richard Rohr writes [1]:
“For most of church history, no single consensus prevailed on what Christians mean when we say, “Jesus died for our sins.” But in recent centuries, one theory did become mainstream. It is often referred to as the “penal substitutionary atonement theory,” especially once it was further developed during the Reformation. Substitutionary atonement is the theory that Christ, by his own sacrificial choice, was punished in the place of humans, thus satisfying the “demands of justice” so that God could forgive our sins.
This theory of atonement ultimately relies on another commonly accepted notion—the “original sin” of Adam and Eve, which, we were told, taints all human beings. But much like original sin (a concept not found in the Bible but developed by Augustine in the fifth century), most Christians have never been told how recent and regional this explanation is or that it relies upon a retributive notion of justice. Nor are they told that it was honest enough to call itself a “theory,” even though some groups take it as long-standing dogma.
Unfortunately, this theory has held captive our vision of Jesus, making our view very limited and punitive."
The Problem
John Shelby Spong (d. 2021) provides this assessment of Atonement Theory [2]:
• God is a vengeful monster requiring blood sacrifice
• Jesus is a chronic, perpetual victim, and
• Participating in our church services is a guilt trip, its primary message is that we are fallen sinners.
• Together, a theology that denigrates our humanity.
If we have a theology that requires victims, then that also require victimisers, and history has demonstrated that errant theology has created many. If that is what God is, we do not need God in our lives, nor do we need a manipulative religion.
Why did Jesus live?
In his book Jesus: An Historical Approximation, the Spanish theologian, José Pagola writes the principal reason Jesus lived on earth was to proclaim the existence of the reign of God, otherwise commonly known as the kingdom of God, or redefined by contemporary authors as a Field of Compassion by Judy Cannato [3] or Companionship of Empowerment by Diarmuid O’Murchu [4] However linguistically described, these phrases connote a life of mercy, compassion, and justice for all.[5] Not at some time in the future but here now.
Marcus Borg writes [6]:
"Jesus’s own self-understanding did not include thinking and speaking of himself as the Son of God whose historical intention or purpose was to die for the sins of the world, and his message was not about believing in him. Rather, he was a spirit person, subversive sage, social prophet, and movement founder who invited his followers and hearers into a transforming relationship with the same Spirit that he himself knew, and into a community whose social vision was shaped by the core value of compassion".
Why did Jesus die?
By proclaiming and living these values Jesus antagonised both the Roman hierarchy and the religious hierarchy. An itinerant, Jesus travelled the countryside often at risk and in danger. Ultimately, these powers combined forces to kill him as a dangerous man [7].
Pagola writes:
“Underneath it all, Jesus is crucified because his activity and his message have shaken the roots of the system, which is organised to serve the interests of the most powerful people in the Roman empire and in the temple religion. It is Pilate who pronounces the verdict: You will go to the cross. But that death sentence is signed by all those who, for different reasons, have refused Jesus’ call to enter the kingdom of God.” [8]
Jesus, through his example, was demonstrating an alternative world view, unacceptable to those in power, so he was killed, barbarically, but not as a sacrifice to redeem our sins. It was the outcome of living an authentic life.
There is good reason to change our understanding
We are diminished if we rely too much on a literal understanding of the bible or doctrine, interpreted through the lens of our past or even current state of consciousness. In the past, monarchies, colonialism, slavery, oppression of women and minorities, patriarchal attitudes, and other prejudices, have all been justified with biblical references. Yet a greater awareness, a higher state of consciousness, has resulted over time in a deeper and more nuanced understanding of these reports.
A literal understanding of the bible assumes that the Word of God is static, unchangeable, but we also know that the bible was written over a period of 300 years, is reflective of a worldview appropriate at that time, and has been subsequently edited.
We can grow and our understanding of these texts can change. Shawn Mikula is a neuroscientist at the Mind-Brain Institute at John Hopkins University. He says:
“The evolution and expansion of consciousness is inevitable. With the expansion of consciousness comes new ways of seeing reality. Everything changes. You see things that you could never have conceived of before. Old philosophies and religions suddenly appear naïve and give way to a far more profound understanding. Most religions (including naïve Christianity) and philosophies will not last long, simply because it’s inevitable that a profound transformation in our consciousness, in our way of understanding and interacting with reality, is going to soon take place. It’s inevitable because that is the direction consciousness is headed… Ordinary consciousness is simply too mundane and limiting.[9]
The 15th century mystic, Meister Eckhart wrote “God is a great underground river that no one can dam up and no one can stop.”[10] It is the continuing impetus generated by the force of this metaphorical river that continues to raise mankind’s consciousness.
In the light of new information or new perspectives, we can choose to change our interpretation of events and texts, we can choose to think differently about why Jesus died on the cross.
An alternative interpretation of Jesus’s life and death
Humanity begins when we love someone more than we love ourselves. Jesus was able to transcend his own biological need to survive and love and give his life away, able to put his own needs aside and care about others beyond his own boundaries.
He was denied and he responded by loving his deniers, he was betrayed and he responded by loving his betrayers, he was abandoned and he responded by loving those who abandoned him, he was tortured and he responded by loving those who tortured him, and he was killed and he responded by loving his murderers.
Jesus’s message is that there is nothing that we can ever do or ever be that will separate us from the love of God. His message is about love, enhancing humanity, not dragging us down, denigrating us. God calls us to exceed our boundaries and be all that we can be and our worship is a call to life. God is not a noun but a verb that must be lived. If God is the source of life, then we must live fully, love wastefully and be all that we are capable of being and helping others to do the same. Jesus made God visible in a radically different way. Jesus was not a victim but someone who chose to give his life away.
Implications and Consequences
Christianity is about helping people become whole, realising their fullest potential. Exemplifying a healthy, life affirming theology, defined by John 10:10 as “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”, we need look only to the example Jesus provided.
The well-known aphorism “God is love” could be restated as “Love is God in action.”
So much dogma, so many of our beliefs do not count for too much in the face of how we live. Jesus effectively taught that in order to have life, one needs to lose it by giving it away. He demonstrated this by pursuing his subversive actions and teachings despite the clear danger that the Jewish authorities or Roman occupiers may kill him. The lesson is that living an authentic life, acting compassionately, enduring suffering and death are "the Way". Jesus did not believe his death was the end of his relationship with God.
Discussion Questions
1. As Judy Cannato’s cancer advanced (as described in The Field of Compassion), she surrendered many of her beliefs realising that, by holding to those beliefs, she became judgemental and that interfered with her capacity to love. What is more important, holding on to your beliefs or the way you live your life?
2. If you could accept the propositions outlined here, what would that do to your view of religion, your expectations of church?
1 Richard Rohr Meditation: "Substitutionary Atonement” February 3, 2019
2 This summary and the section below “An alternative view” is drawn from these videos of two of Spong’s sermons: Why Atonement Theory will Kill Christianity and The Cross as the Moment of Glory - He Did Not Die For your Sins
3 Judy Cannato, The Field of Compassion
4 O’Murchu, When the Disciple Comes of Age, 115-116, 119
5 Pagola, Jesus: An Historical Approximation, 99-100
6 Marcus Borg, Meeting Jesus for the First Time, p164
7 Ibid, 367
8 Ibid, 368
9 Is Your God Big Enough? Close Enough? You Enough? Jesus and the Three Faces of God, Paul R. Smith
10 Meister Eckhart, Wrestling with the Prophets, Matthew Fox
July 2023
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