By Steve

More than the magic in Harry Potter or the xxx of The DaVini Code, McKnights, A community called atonement captures ones attention ignites our imaginations. And not just into the mystical or to Mary and the Chalice, but straight into the heart of God. A theology book does this. As it should. But enough book reviewing, on to atonement chatter. Almost.

I confess that I approach this conversation carefully because I am walking in the land of (theological) giants. I choose to join them but am also very well aware of lacking qualifications. But then, who is (or perhaps isn’t) qualified to pursue and speak of the things of God…theology. Onward.

Where we begin shapes where we end up. My (theological) upbringing was shaped around (began with) me being a sinner. This of course ends up with the “penal substitution” theory of Atonement, that God being holy cannot ignore human sin so there must be punishment. Jesus paid the price of that sin for me and I’m forgiven (simply stated). I have never really disagreed with this, but for some time it has felt incomplete. Could there be other places to start from (these could include death and immortality, love and evil for example)? Where might that take us? And how may we consider the atonement if we could start from every possible place rather than just one? Hopefully, and I believe it to be, we would end up with a fuller, better, more accurate understanding of the gospel (good news for real this time) and a faith that really transformed life…one that we would count as helpful and meaningful.

And this cannot be done in isolation. It must come in community. The gospel is meant for families, for friends and for entire communities. It may be that atonement is about creating communities of faith wherein God’s will is done and lived out. This isn’t the entire story of atonement, but part of the story is about the community of faith and how we carry on the mission of God.

It is in discussions such as these that I cannot help but wonder about salvation. What are we saved from, to and for? Answers only including heaven and hell are inadequate. Salvation must include a here and now and a there and then element. It is about life and about life after. Therefore (and certainly for many more reasons the giants would bring up), we would do well in our theological pursuits to consider more starting points. Being willing to expand upon our, probably too limited, perspectives/opinions/beliefs, and gain a more beautiful picture of God ourselves, this world and how it all fits together.