Atonement
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The '''atonement''' is a doctrine found within both [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]]. It describes how [[sin]] can be forgiven by [[God]]. In Judaism, Atonement is said to be the process of forgiving or pardoning a [[transgression]]. This was originally accomplished through rituals performed by a [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]] on the holiest day of the Jewish year: [[Yom Kippur]] (Day 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. Within Christianity there are numerous technical theories for how such atonement might work, including the [[Atonement (ransom view)|ransom theory]], the [[Atonement (moral influence view)|Abelardian theory]], and the [[Atonement (satisfaction view)|Anselmian satisfaction]] theory.
==Etymology==
The word ''atonement'' gained widespread use in the sixteenth century after [[William Tyndale]] recognized that there was not a direct translation of the concept into English. In order to explain the doctrine of Christ's sacrifice, which accomplished both the remission of sin and reconciliation of man to God, Tyndale invented a word that would encompass both actions. He wanted to overcome the inherent limitations of the word "reconciliation" while incorporating the aspects of "propitiation" and forgiveness. It is interesting to note that while Tyndale labored to translate the 1526 English Bible, his proposed word comprises two parts, 'at' and 'onement,' which also means reconciliation, but combines it with something more. Although one thinks of the Jewish Fast of [[Yom Kippur]] (Day of Atonement), the Hebrew word is 'kaper' meaning 'a covering', so one can see that 'reconciliation' doesn't precisely contain all the necessary components of the word atonement. Expiation means "to atone for." Reconciliation comes from Latin roots re, meaning "again"; con, meaning "with"; and ultimately, 'sol', a root meaning "seat". Reconciliation, therefore, literally means "to sit again with." While this meaning may appear sufficient, Tyndale thought that if translated as "reconciliation," there would be a pervasive misunderstanding of the word's deeper significance to not just reconcile, but "to cover," so the word was invented.<ref>The Archbishop of Canterbury: William Tyndale; Reformer and Rebel. A Quincentenary Appreciation. Lambeth Palace, 5th October 1994 [http://www.tyndale.org/TSJ/2/carey.html]</ref><ref>Online Etymology Dictionary, Yom Kippur, 2001 [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Yom+Kippur]</ref><ref>David Rolph Seely, PhD. "Words
'Fitly Spoken': Tyndale's English Translation of the Bible." [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/pdf.php?filename=MjQtNi5wZGY=&type=aW5zaWdodHM=]</ref>
==Atonement in Christianity==
Christians have used three different metaphors to understand how the atonement might work<ref>Kohler, K. (1997) Atonement from the Jewish Encyclopedia, http://www.mb-soft.com/believe/text/atonemen.htm</ref>. Churches and denominations may vary in which metaphor they consider most accurately fits into their theological perspective, however all Christians emphasise that Jesus is the Saviour of the world and through his death the sins of mankind have been forgiven.<ref>Ward, K. (2007) Christianity – a guide for the perplexed. SPCK, London, p. 48- 51</ref>
The first metaphor, epitomised by the [[Atonement (ransom view)|“ransom to Satan”]] theory, was used by the fourth-century theologian [[Gregory of Nyssa]] based on verses such as Mark 10:45 – "the Son of Man came … to give his life as a ransom for the many". In this metaphor Jesus liberates mankind from slavery to Satan and thus death by giving his own life as a ransom. Victory over Satan consists of swapping the life of the perfect (Jesus), for the lives of the imperfect (mankind). A variation of this view is known as the “[[Christus Victor]]” theory, and sees Jesus not used as a ransom but rather defeating Satan in a spiritual battle and thus freeing enslaved mankind by defeating the captor.
The second metaphor, used by the eleventh century theologian [[Anselm of Canterbury|Anselm]], is called the [[Atonement (satisfaction view)|“satisfaction”]] theory. In this picture mankind owes a debt not to Satan, but to sovereign God himself. A sovereign may well be able to forgive an insult or an injury in his private capacity, but because he is a sovereign he cannot if the state has been dishonoured. Anselm argued that the insult given to God is so great that only a perfect sacrifice could satisfy and Jesus, being both God and man, was this perfect sacrifice. A variation on this theory is the commonly held Protestant "[[penal substitution]] theory," which instead of considering sin as an affront to God’s honour, sees sin as the breaking of God’s moral law. Placing a particular emphasis on Romans 6:23 (the wages of sin is death), penal substitution sees sinful man as being subject to God’s wrath with the essence of Jesus' saving work being his substitution in the sinner's place, bearing the curse in the place of man (Gal. 3:13). A third variation that also falls within this metaphor is [[Hugo Grotius]]’ [[Atonement (governmental view)|“governmental theory”]], which sees Jesus receiving a punishment as a public example of the lengths to which God will go to uphold the moral order.
The third metaphor is that of healing, associated with [[Pierre Abélard]] in the eleventh century, and [[Paul Tillich]] in the twentieth. In this picture Jesus’ death on the cross demonstrates the extent of God’s love for us, and moved by this great act of love mankind responds and is transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. This view is favoured by most liberal theologians as the [[Atonement (moral influence view)|moral influence view]], and also forms the basis for [[Rene Girard]]’s “mimetic desire” theory (not to be confused with meme theory).
==Main theories in detail==
===Ransom & Christus Victor===
{{main|Atonement (ransom view)|Christus Victor}}
* [[Origen]]
* [[Gregory of Nyssa]]
* [[Irenaeus]] ("Recapitulation")
===Satisfaction===
{{main|Atonement (satisfaction view)}}
* Divine satisfaction: [[Anselm of Canterbury]] and [[salvation in Catholicism]]
====Substitution====
{{main|Substitutionary atonement|Penal Substitution}}
* Penalty or punishment satisfaction: [[John Calvin]], [[Calvinism]], & [[imputed righteousness]]
* Vicarious repentance, [[John McLeod Campbell]] and [[Robert Campbell Moberly]]
====Governmental====
{{main|Atonement (governmental view)}}
* [[Hugo Grotius]], [[James Arminius]] and [[John Miley]]
* [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]] and [[Charles Grandison Finney]]
===Moral influence===
{{main|Atonement (moral influence view)}}
* [[Pierre Abélard]] (It is questionable whether Abélard himself taught this model of atonement)
* [[Hastings Rashdall]]
Scapegoating: [[William Tyndale]] (who invented the word from Hebrew and Greek manuscripts), [[René Girard]], [[James Alison]], [[Gerhard Förde]] see 'In Christianity' in [[Scapegoat]]
==Other denominational perspectives==
===Eastern Christianity===
[[Eastern Orthodoxy]] and [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Catholicism]] have a substantively different [[soteriology]]; this is sometimes cited as the core difference between Eastern and Western Christianity. In contrast to other forms of Christianity, the Orthodox tend to use the word "expiation" with regard to what is accomplished in the sacrificial act. In Orthodox theology, expiation is an act of offering that seeks to change the one making the offering. The Greek word that is translated both into propitiation and expiation is "hilasmos" which means "to make acceptable and enable one to draw close to God". Thus the Orthodox emphasis would be that Christ died, not to appease an angry and vindictive Father, or to avert the wrath of God, but to change people so that they may become more like God (see [[Theosis]]).<ref>Fr. James Bernstein, author of Surprised by Christ: My journey from Judaism to Orthodox Christianity, The Illumined Heart Podcast, May 22, 2008</ref>
===Roman Catholic views on atonement and reparation===
As expressed by [[Pope Pius XI]] in his [[encyclical]] ''[[Miserentissimus Redemptor]]'', in the [[Roman Catholic]] tradition the concepts of atonement and redemption are often seen as being inherently related. And atonement is often balanced with specific [[Acts of Reparation]] which relate the sufferings and death of Christ to the forgiveness of sins.<ref>Ann Ball, 2003 Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices ISBN 087973910X</ref>
Moreover, in ''[[Miserentissimus Redemptor]]'' the Pontif called acts of reparation a ''duty'' for Roman Catholics:
:"''We are holden to the duty of reparation and expiation by a certain more valid title of justice and of love.''" ... "''Moreover this duty of expiation is laid upon the whole race of men''"<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_08051928_miserentissimus-redemptor_en.html</ref>
[[Pope John Paul II]] referred to the concept as:
:"''the unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified''".<ref>Vatican archives http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/2000/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20001021_riparatrici_en.html</ref>
Specific Roman Catholic practices such as the [[Rosary of the Holy Wounds]] (which does not include the usual [[rosary]] mysteries) focus on specific redemptive aspects of Christ's suffering in [[Calvary]]. <ref>Michael Freze, 1993, ''Voices, Visions, and Apparitions'', OSV Publishing ISBN
087973454X</ref>
===The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)===
[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] ([[Mormon]]) expands the doctrine of the atonement complementary to the substitutionary atonement concept, including the following:
* ''Suffering in Gethsemane.'' The Atonement began in [[Gethsemane]] and ends with Christ's resurrection. (Luke 22:44; [[Doctrine and Covenants]] 19:16-19; [[Book of Mosiah|Mosiah]] 3:7; [[Alma]] 7:11-13. Christ described this agony in the Doctrine and Covenants as follows: "...how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.... Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit..." (19:15,18).
* ''The relationship of justice, mercy, agency, and God's unconditional love.'' Christ's infinite atonement was required to satisfy the demands of justice based on eternal law, rendering Him Mediator, Redeemer, and Advocate with the Father. Thus, he proffers divine mercy to the truly penitent who voluntarily come unto him, offering them the gift of his grace to "lift them up" and "be perfected in Him" through his merits ([[Second Book of Nephi|2 Nephi]] 2 and 9; Alma 12, 34, and 42; [[Book of Moroni|Moroni]] 9:25; 10:33; compare Isaiah 55:1-9).
* ''No need for infant baptism.'' Christ's atonement completely resolved the consequence from the fall of Adam of [[spiritual death]] for infants, young children and those of innocent mental capacity who die before an age of self-accountability, hence all these are resurrected to eternal life in the resurrection. However, baptism is required of those who are deemed by God to be accountable for their actions.
* ''Empathetic purpose.'' Christ suffered pain and agony not only for the sins of all men, but also to experience their physical pains, illnesses, anguish from addictions, emotional turmoil and depression, "that His bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities" (Alma 7:12; compare Isaiah 53:4).
"The word (atonement) describes the setting 'at one' of those who have been estranged, and denotes the reconciliation of man to God. Sin is the cause of the estrangement, and therefore the purpose of the atonement is to correct or overcome the consequences of sin." (Bible Dictionary in the LDS version of the King James Bible.)
===New Age===
[[New Age]] writer [[JJ Dewey]] synthesizes Western and Eastern religion to contend that "true atonement is a revelation of the truth so illusion passes away and guilt is lifted". <ref>[http://www.freeread.com/archives/1540.php ''The Atonement Writings''], [[JJ Dewey]]</ref>
==See also==
{{Christianityportal}}
{|width=100%
|-valign=top
|width=50%|
* [[Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ]]
* [[Blood atonement]]
* [[Divine grace]]
* [[Divine mercy]]
* [[Forgiveness#Religious and spiritual views of forgiveness|Forgiveness]]
* [[Justification (theology)|Justification]]
* [[Mercy seat]]
|width=50%|
* [[Pardon#Pardon in Christianity|Pardon]]
* [[Propitiation]]
* [[Scapegoat#Christian view|Scapegoat]]
* [[Sin]]
* [[Substitutionary atonement]]
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{wiktionarypar|atonement}}
* [http://clarionjournal.typepad.com/clarion_journal_of_spirit/2007/07/stricken-by-god.html Nonviolent Atonement and the Victory of Christ]
* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/christiantheology-philosophy Atonement Theories in Current Philosophical Theology] from ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''
*[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=2092&letter=A&search=atonement "Atonement"] in the ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]''
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02055a.htm "The Doctrine of Atonement"] from the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''
* [http://www.lcms.org/ca/www/cyclopedia/02/display.asp?t1=a&word=ATONEMENT "Atonement"] from the ''Christian Cyclopedia'' (Lutheran)
* [http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/atonement.html Articles on the Atonement] (Calvinist/Reformed)
* [http://twtministries.com/articles/8_mgt/hisatone.html Historical Opinions as to the Nature of Christ's Atoning Death] (Arminian/Wesleyan)
* [http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/basic/christ/atonement.html The Atonement of Christ] (Latter-day Saint)
*[http://www.apollos.ws/atonement/ Online academic articles on atonement]
[[Category:Atonement in Christianity| ]]
[[Category:Christian hamartiology]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint doctrines, beliefs, and practices]]
[[Category:Mormon cosmology]]
[[Category:Judeo-Christian topics]]
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