I have been thinking lately about the atonement, and especially about the substitutionary atonement, as it is clasically understood in most Evangelical circles (of which I am a product, even if I moved on). I heard some good questions about this:
Did God have to kill Jesus in order to forgive me?
If God was unable to forgive me without killing his Son, then how come he asks me to forgive others?
He doesn’t ask me to forgive my wife, and then go and beat the dog.
Is God asking me to do something that he is not capable of himself?
I think these are all good questions. Here are some quotes from John McLeod Campbell, a celebrated Scottish theologian of the mid nineteenth century, in his book, The Nature of the Atonement. I found him very helpful in this area:
I’ve been thinking some more about this idea of starting an autobiography category, but the more I think about it, the more I realise that it’s more complicated than I initially considered. A chronological biography is unappealing to me, and possibly useless for my readers as well.
But perhaps focussing on the mile-stones that influenced my journey would be a useful exercise. The difficulty, or rather the challenge is to look in balance at both the bad and the good experiences. I am very much aware of the hurt and oppression from my past, while at the same time acknowledging their formative quality. Perhaps a reflection on this aspect of my journey could make this category worth-while.
Quote from Walter Brueggemann, “Divine Presence Amid Violence. Contextualizing the Book of Joshua”, p. ix:
“The conviction that Scripture is revelatory literature is a constant, abiding conviction among the communities of Jews and Christians that gather around the book. But that conviction, constant and abiding as it is, is problematic and open to a variety of alternative and often contradictory or ambiguous meanings. Clearly that conviction is appropriated differently in various contexts and various cultural settings. Current attention to hermeneutics convinces many of us that there is no single, sure meaning for any text. The revelatory power of the text is discerned and given precisely through the action of interpretation which is always concrete, never universal, always contextualized, never ‘above the fray’, always filtered through vested interest, never in disinterested purity.”
Here I go again with some philosophical answers – somebody stop me!
Thisis a follow-up from the previous post, found here!
So, why did the chicken cross the road? For the last time!
Plato: For the greater good.
Karl Marx: It was a historical inevitability.
Machiavelli: So that its subjects will view it with admiration, as a chicken which has the daring and courage to boldly cross the road, but also with fear, for whom among them has the strength to contend with such a paragon of avian virtue? In such a manner is the princely chicken’s dominion maintained.
If you missed this debate on BBC between Cristopher Hitchens, Stephen Fry and two Catholic counterparts, have a look at the five clips below. I found it very interesting indeed. Was it a bit early to push such a bill? I think so! Much too early! They should have given it a few decades at least, and waited for another pope! Or better yet, they should not have come with such a triumphalist bill! See what you think!
This is a very interesting and provocative discussion with Brandon Scott, a New Testament scholar, former Roman Catholic. He has a very interesting perspective on the Constantinian hijacking of Christianity, with its departure from Jesus to an imperialist structure. And yet…
I’ve decided to start a new autobiographical category, not because I’ve acheived so much in my life-time but because I think it is helpful for people to get an idea of where I’m coming from and what is the underlying narrative that defines who I am and what I do, and what this blog is about.
So watch this category for a narrative of my journey. Coming up!
Quote from Brian D. McLaren, Everything Must Change (p.33)
“More and more reflective Christian leaders are beginning to realize that for the millions of young adults who dropped out of their churches in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the Christian religion appears to be a failed religion. [...] it has specialized in dealing with ’spiritual needs’ to the exclusion of physical and social needs. It has specialized in people’s destination in the afterlife but has failed to address significant social injustices in this life. It has focused on ‘me’ and ‘my soul’ and ‘my spiritual life’ and ‘my eternal destiny,’ but it has failed to address the dominant societal and global realities of their lifetime: systemic injustice, systemic poverty, systemic ecological crisis, systemic dysfunctions of many kinds.”
A heterosexual couple are planning legal action after their application for a civil partnership was rejected this morning. They say that both civil marriage and civil partnership should be options for any couple, whether same-sex or mixed-sex.
Politicians must not be allowed to duck the challenge of systemic change, say campaigners responding to the publication of the House of Commons Reform Committee Report entitled 'Rebuilding the House'.
Attempts to give the royal household complete exemption from the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act are facing strong opposition, with MPs, campaigners and members of the public criticising the proposal.
Moral relativism, confusion and cynical resignation to the pressures of realpolitik bring apathy in their train, says Jill Segger. Truthfulness is about a different and hopeful way of living.
In the continuing quest for gender equality in the world, a group of young women have been working at the United Nations to expand the message that theology which emphasises equality is essential to real progress.
A former soldier who fled the US army following homophobic persecution is appealing for asylum in Canada. Bethany Smith says she received death threats and was repeatedly assaulted after other soldiers discovered her sexuality.
The rapidly developing field of stem cell research mobilises immense amounts of money in private and public grants, says Celia Deane-Drummond. But it also raises deep ethical questions regarding health justice and the dignity of human life.
The World Council of Churches has criticised the construction of 900 new housing units in Israel's illegal Gilo settlement on traditionally Palestinian land in East Jerusalem, saying it further imperils peace and justice for all in the region.
For the first time in northern Nigeria, a Muslim state governor has accepted an invitation to a church revival programme during which he called for unity and peaceful co-existence between the country's Christians and Muslims.
In the face of continued attacks from a hardcore minority opposed to women and gays in the churches' ministry, the Episcopal Church in the USA has launched a national advertising campaign about its key beliefs and practices.
but because I think it is helpful for people to get an idea of where I’m coming from and what is the underlying narrative that defines who I am and what I do, and what this blog is about.
RSS - Posts
