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The Pros and Cons of 7 Christian Atonement Theories
Spoiler alert: 6 share at least one con
In Christianity, “atonement” refers to the necessity of reconciling sinful humans to a Holy God. Christians believe their atonement occurs through the death and resurrection of the sinless Jesus Christ.
Which begs all sorts of questions! The biggest question being, “Why did God choose to do it this way?”
If God is all-powerful, then couldn’t God have created humans with the capacity to live sinless lives?
Or couldn’t God declare humanity reconciled instead of incarnating as Jesus, suffering torture and death, and coming back from the dead?
Why do we have this earthly way-station to heaven in the first place? Why didn’t God cut out the “middleman” of mortal life?
That massivie “Why, God?” question begets heroic efforts to explain the ways of God to men. There are seven major “atonement theories” in the history of Christianity. Some originated early in the faith’s history, while others emerged centuries or even millennia later.
In my view, each of the atonement theories except “scapegoat theory” shares at least one drawback — they grow out of a misunderstanding of God’s power.
