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Tag Archives: atonement

The Wisdom of the Passion

Scapegoating and the Cross The Wisdom of the Passion Thursday, April 1, 2021 Holy Thursday CAC teacher Cynthia Bourgeault invites us to consider the meaning of the passion from a wisdom perspective, not as a spectator watching what Jesus did, but understanding what each of us is called to do: The passion is really the… Continue Reading The Wisdom of the Passion

There Is No Anger in God

Julian of Norwich There Is No Anger in God Thursday, May 14, 2020 Author and Episcopal priest Mary Earle explores the difficult questions that beset individuals during Julian’s time as well as our own. She writes, In a social and cultural context [the fourteenth century was] so saturated with suffering and death, it is no… Continue Reading There Is No Anger in God

At-one-ment, Not Atonement

Alternative Orthodoxy At-one-ment, Not Atonement
 Wednesday, February 5, 2020 The Franciscan view of atonement theory is a prime example of our alternative orthodoxy. The Franciscan School was dissatisfied with the popular theological idea that Jesus came to Earth as a necessary sacrifice to appease an angry God. As human consciousness advances, more and more people cannot believe that God would demand Jesus’ blood as payment for our sins. It seems to be inevitable that our old… Continue Reading At-one-ment, Not Atonement

Layered Meanings

Jesus’ Death Layered Meanings Thursday, April 18, 2019 Holy Thursday Two theologians I deeply respect, Marcus Borg (1942-2015) and John Dominic Crossan (b. 1934), offer important historical and symbolic context for the crucifixion. The theory of “penal substitutionary atonement” only became dominant in recent centuries. [1] Over the next two days, consider their advanced perspective… Continue Reading Layered Meanings

A Bigger God

Jesus and the Cross A Bigger God Wednesday, February 6, 2019 Our predestination to glory is prior by nature to any notion of sin. —John Duns Scotus [1] The Franciscan School, led by such teachers as Duns Scotus, refused to see the Incarnation and its finale on the cross as a mere reaction to human… Continue Reading A Bigger God

An Alternative Story

Jesus and the Cross An Alternative Story Monday, February 4, 2019 The theory of substitutionary atonement has inoculated us against the true effects of the Gospel, causing us to largely “thank” Jesus instead of honestly imitating him. At its worst, it has led us to see God as a cold, brutal figure who demands acts… Continue Reading An Alternative Story

Substitutionary Atonement

Jesus and the Cross Substitutionary Atonement Sunday, February 3, 2019 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… Continue Reading Substitutionary Atonement

At-One-Ment, Not Atonement

Jesus of Nazareth: Week 2 At-One-Ment, Not Atonement Sunday, January 21, 2018 The common reading of the Bible is that Jesus “died for our sins”—either to pay a debt to the devil (common in the first millennium) or to pay a debt to God (proposed by Anselm of Canterbury, 1033-1109). Franciscan philosopher and theologian John… Continue Reading At-One-Ment, Not Atonement

Saved by the Cross

Salvation as At-One-Ment Saved by the Cross Wednesday, July 26, 2017 The cross is a perfect metaphor for what I meant when I titled one of my books Everything Belongs. God is to be found in all things, even and most especially in the painful, tragic, and sinful things—exactly where we do not want to look… Continue Reading Saved by the Cross

Incarnation Instead of Atonement

Salvation as At-One-Ment Incarnation Instead of Atonement Tuesday, July 25, 2017 Franciscans never believed that “blood atonement” was required for God to love us. We believed that Christ was Plan A from the very beginning (Colossians 1:15-20, Ephesians 1:3-14, John 1:1-18). Christ wasn’t a Plan B after the first humans sinned, which is the way… Continue Reading Incarnation Instead of Atonement

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