DEVELOPING A SUMMARY OF THE ATONEMENT - Laurence Gonzaga
DEVELOPING A SUMMARY OF THE ATONEMENT
In some parallel universe I might have chosen theology as my career field. Alas, not in this universe. It's simply a hobby of study. I came across an old post of mine summarizing the atonement. I couldn't find it in any of my digital archives. Luckily my post had a screenshot and I was able to find it in an email chain between me and Catholic apologist and author Robert Sungenis. This exchange is what led to my brief summary of the atonement which earned his seeming approval. Here's the exchange. Some edits had to be made due to some personal commentary. My summary of the atonement is at the bottom.
Enjoy. Or not. 😞
- Laurence Gonzaga, MA,
Child Development Psychology
Gonzaga:
I just watched this from NT Wright. It was pretty compelling. It sounds like Christus Victor. Eastern Catholics/Orthodox seem to favor Christus Victor.
Can Vicarious Satisfaction be coupled with Christus Victor?
Sungenis:
Laurence,
Now I know why Hahn sounds the way he does (NT Wright is Hahn's mentor),
... saying tons of words without ever saying anything that one can sink his teeth into. I actually couldn't wait until Wright was done, and was going to turn it off at the hour mark, but then I changed my mind, and I'm glad I did. At abut 7:15, Wright says,
"One angry online reviewer of my book accused me of failing to explain how the Atonement works."
Wright's answer to him was:
"This ignores the point!"
Wow. I thought the whole point was for Wright to tell us how the Atonement really works!
Then Wright says,
"Here's how it works."
So which is it?
I think Wright was struck by this reviewer's remarks, because the reviewer was absolutely correct. When Wright goes on to explain how the Atonement works, he doesn't explain why the Atonement atones for sin. He says:
"In the four gospels, the story of Jesus is set in counterpoint with the biblical story of evil. It isn't just Israel's story that rushes together in the gospels. It's the story of cosmic evil.....Then Jesus arrives, announcing that God is becoming king and that it looks like this. What happens? He seems to draw upon himself as though by a magnet, all the evil in the world, from the shrieking demons in the synagogue to the plotting priests in the Sanhedrin, and ultimately to Pilate, the pathetic representative of the world's rulers. And Judas and Pilate merely bring into sharp focus what is going on all along. Evil. Sin with a capital S, is gathered into one place and does its worst. The worst thing imaginable. The killing of the one true man; one genuine Israelite, the Word made flesh. This is how Atonement works. And with his death...Pharaoh is overthrown; Babel crashes to the ground; the gods of this world are robbed of their power....Jesus took upon himself the weight of evil hanging over all flesh....He went into the heart of that darkness so that Peter and the others would not suffer it....they would find that he had taken their place. The victory is won; Christus Victor, if you like."
Well, all I can say is that the "reviewer" of his book was right. After all this talk, Wright doesn't explain what makes the Atonement atone for sin. He only gives the results of the Atonement.
And then we wonder what clauses like "Jesus took upon himself the weight of evil hanging over all flesh" means to Wright. Or what does "He went into the heart of that darkness so that Peter and the others would not suffer it" mean, or what "they would find that he had taken their place" means. All of these are from typical of Atonement theories, but he gave the impression that he was distancing himself from typical Atonement theories.
I'm sorry to say, I don't think NT Wright has a clue what the Atonement is or how it accomplished the atonement. Atonement is not victory. Victory is what comes after the Atonement.
He definitely has the gift of gab, however.
Gonzaga:
Thanks for this analysis.
It makes for a good talk for sure. I think that's why I was into Hahn when I first came back to the church. Definitely an impressive orator. But you're right, he doesn't answer the question.
There's something about Christus Victor which pulls at the heart strings though, even if it is properly the effect rather than the cause of the Atonement.
Sungenis:
Yes, because the victory is the fruit of one’s labor. Who doesn’t like the fruit?
I’m going to do an analysis of Fraad’s interview with Fr Legge on Thomson versus Molinism next Wednesday.
Gonzaga:
I think I get Wright now.
Here's a 3 minute snippet. I don't know if it came before or after the lecture I sent you.
I think what he's trying to say is that all of the atonement theories can work if it is set in the context of the Christus Victor overarching theme.
Not either or, both and.
In other words the goal is Christus Victor, the means is any or all or some of the other atonement theories. It seems like he focuses in on penal substitution as the lead of the others, probably from a preexisting bias from his tradition.
So then, to twist his message a bit, what I'm proposing is vicarious satisfaction in the context of an overarching Christus Victor motive/goal/mission.
Thoughts?
Here's the video 3 minutes: https://youtu.be/bGeSQbLD7a8
Sungenis:
Don’t think so. Victory goes without saying. The question is, how did Christ achieve it? Wright’s answer is penal substitution
Gonzaga:
Ok, so we don't disagree then.
Thoughts on this outline below?
Atonement
Why?
-Sin: Man's sin, infinite offense to God, estrangement from God the Father.
What/How?
-Representative: Jesus took on human flesh to be a representative victim.
-Vicarious: Christ satisfied the wrath of the Father on our behalf.
-Not a Substitute: Christ did not pay our debts.
-Propitiation: the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross satisfies the wrath of God, opens a path back to God, and potential reconciliation by way of a life of grace (sacraments), primarily the Mass.
-Expiation: grace operating in the soul of the man, justifying the man, and progressively sanctifying the man.
Effect
-Christus Victor: the triumph of God over the Devil, light over darkness, grace over sin.
-Reconciliation: estrangement has been healed, prodigal son restored.
Sungenis:
Nice summary!
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