{"id":5701,"date":"2012-04-06T10:29:38","date_gmt":"2012-04-06T15:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/?p=5701"},"modified":"2015-03-13T16:51:45","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T21:51:45","slug":"a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/","title":{"rendered":"A Better Atonement: Jesus Died for This"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\n
\n
<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

This week, as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter, we\u2019ve have a post every morning about the atonement<\/a>. And I\u2019ve curated streams on\u00a0Storify<\/a> and Tumbler<\/a>, both tracking atonement.\u00a0You can read all of the posts, and my past posts on this topic,\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Before I conclude, let me express my thanks. This blog has picked up many new readers over the past month, as I\u2019ve written my way through my thoughts on the atonement. I welcome you here, and I appreciate your comments (and tweets, FB posts, and blog posts). I also appreciate the favorable reviews of my ebook, <\/em><\/em>A Better Atonement<\/a>. Some of that book appeared originally on this blog, and some of it is exclusive to the book. This, my concluding post on the topic (for now), is not in the book.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Some have wondered why I am consumed with this topic. My brothers and sisters more liberal than I state that they figured this out long ago<\/a>, and that I just making too much of Jesus\u2019 death. One, John Vest, writes<\/a>,<\/p>\n

I titled this post \u201cOckham\u2019s Atonement\u201d not because William of Ockham had a theory of the atonement (that I\u2019m aware of). Rather, I\u2019m suggesting an approach to Jesus\u2019 death that applies\u00a0Ockham\u2019s Razor<\/a>:\u00a0a simpler explanation is better than a more complex one<\/em>.\u00a0Jesus died because he was executed by the powers he threatened. To suggest anything else is to overlay this fact of history with unnecessary theological speculation.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Am I just too evangelical, looking as I am for cosmic import and redemption in the death of at\u00a0Galilean\u00a0peasant two millennia ago?<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I think not.<\/div>\n
If Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the incarnation of the second person of the Trinity \u2014 which I believe he was \u2014 then his crucifixion matters. And it matters more than as an example of someone who\u00a0demonstrated<\/a> \u201ca Jesus-like revolutionary resistance in relation to a culture of unprecedented social inequality\u2014and of unprecedented and appalling economic, racial, military, penal, environmental, and psychological violence.\u201d (Oh, wait, that quote was about us, not Jesus.)<\/div>\n

But, if you\u2019ve been reading these posts, you know that I do not think that I owe a debt to God. I don\u2019t think that God\u2019s wrath burns against me because of some inherently sinful state that I involuntarily inherited.<\/p>\n

So, I\u2019ve looked for a reason<\/em> \u2014 for some rationale as to why the Logos died on a cross.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve found two interpretations of the crucifixion that give me something I\u2019m looking for. Rene Girard\u2019s Last Scapegoat<\/a> appeals to my intellect. It makes sense of the Hebrew scriptures and the sacrificial system therein.<\/p>\n

J\u00fcrgen Moltmann\u2019s theology of the cross<\/a> appeals to my sense of hope. Here, God comes to us and, in his experience of godforskakeness, unites with us in eternal solidarity. In fact, God invites us into the eternal love of the Trinity.<\/p>\n

If I ever write a big book on the atonement, it will likely be an attempt to bring these two theories into harmony. For now, they co-habitate in my soul on this Good Friday. They\u2019ve brought some peace to me, and some hope. And, as I said above, I am grateful for this journey.<\/p>\n

On this Good Friday, what are your closing thoughts on the atonement?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week, as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter, we\u2019ve have a post every morning about the atonement. And I\u2019ve curated streams on\u00a0Storify and Tumbler, both tracking atonement.\u00a0You can read all of the posts, and my past posts on this topic,\u00a0here. Before I conclude, let me express my thanks. This blog has picked up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5729,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,39],"tags":[67,330],"class_list":["post-5701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible","category-theology","tag-atonement","tag-jesus"],"yoast_head":"\nA Better Atonement: Jesus Died for This<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This week, as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter, we've have a post every morning about the atonement. And I've curated streams on\u00a0Storify and Tumbler,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Better Atonement: Jesus Died for This\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This week, as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter, we've have a post every morning about the atonement. And I've curated streams on\u00a0Storify and Tumbler,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Theoblogy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-06T15:29:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-03-13T21:51:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2\/2012\/04\/Slide20.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"297\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tony Jones\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tony Jones\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/\",\"name\":\"A Better Atonement: Jesus Died for This\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-06T15:29:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-03-13T21:51:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/#\/schema\/person\/42ce41f0b36973114dad81e583450069\"},\"description\":\"This week, as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter, we've have a post every morning about the atonement. And I've curated streams on\u00a0Storify and Tumbler,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Better Atonement: Jesus Died for This\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/\",\"name\":\"Theoblogy\",\"description\":\"The Tony Jones Blog at Patheos\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/#\/schema\/person\/42ce41f0b36973114dad81e583450069\",\"name\":\"Tony Jones\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d50708c3731048719806adf9c6f6df30?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d50708c3731048719806adf9c6f6df30?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tony Jones\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/tonyj.net\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/author\/tonyjones\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Better Atonement: Jesus Died for This","description":"This week, as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter, we've have a post every morning about the atonement. And I've curated streams on\u00a0Storify and Tumbler,","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Better Atonement: Jesus Died for This","og_description":"This week, as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter, we've have a post every morning about the atonement. And I've curated streams on\u00a0Storify and Tumbler,","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/","og_site_name":"Theoblogy","article_published_time":"2012-04-06T15:29:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-03-13T21:51:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":"400","height":"297","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2\/2012\/04\/Slide20.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tony Jones","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tony Jones","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/","name":"A Better Atonement: Jesus Died for This","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-04-06T15:29:38+00:00","dateModified":"2015-03-13T21:51:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/#\/schema\/person\/42ce41f0b36973114dad81e583450069"},"description":"This week, as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter, we've have a post every morning about the atonement. And I've curated streams on\u00a0Storify and Tumbler,","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/04\/06\/a-better-atonement-jesus-died-for-thi\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Better Atonement: Jesus Died for This"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/","name":"Theoblogy","description":"The Tony Jones Blog at Patheos","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/#\/schema\/person\/42ce41f0b36973114dad81e583450069","name":"Tony Jones","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d50708c3731048719806adf9c6f6df30?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d50708c3731048719806adf9c6f6df30?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tony Jones"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tonyj.net"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/author\/tonyjones\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}