Tag Archives: sacrifice
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
Compassion, Not Sacrifice
Prophets: Part Two Compassion, Not Sacrifice Wednesday, July 10, 2019 In his book The Great Spiritual Migration, Brian McLaren writes about the possible meaning behind Jesus’ cleansing of the temple (see John 2:13-17): Perhaps it is not merely the cost of sacrifice that Jesus protests. Perhaps it is the whole belief system associated with sacrifice,… Continue Reading Compassion, Not Sacrifice
Doing the Victim Thing Right
Jesus’ Death Doing the Victim Thing Right Tuesday, April 16, 2019 The deep-time message of Jesus’ death is presented through a confluence of three healing images from his own Hebrew Scriptures: the scapegoat whom we talked about on Sunday; the Passover lamb which is the innocent victim (Exodus 12); the “Lifted-Up One” or the homeopathic… Continue Reading Doing the Victim Thing Right
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
Changing Perspectives
Jesus and the Cross Changing Perspectives Tuesday, February 5, 2019 When we look at history, it’s clear that Christianity is an evolving faith. It only makes sense that early Christians would look for a logical and meaningful explanation for the “why” of the tragic death of their religion’s founder. For the early centuries, appeasing an… Continue Reading Changing Perspectives
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
A Gracious God
Judaism A Gracious God Monday, August 27, 2018 For most of human history God was not viewed as having a likeable, much less lovable, character. That’s why every “theophany” in the Bible (an event where God manifests in visible reality) begins with the same words. Whenever an angel or God breaks into human life, the… Continue Reading A Gracious God
Redefining Success
The Path of Descent Redefining Success Monday, July 31, 2017 Much of the teaching and culture that has emerged in recent Christianity has much more to do with Greek philosophy and Roman mythologies than the Gospel. This is not all bad, but we must acknowledge these influences. The ego is naturally attracted to heroic language,… Continue Reading Redefining Success