mbjones

In my first look at A Community Called Atonement, I described the beginnings of atonement — those places you first look when describing a broader, bigger picture. In the next section of the book, McKnight looks at the different images of atonement within various theological traditions. The focus of this quick note looks at the first chapter in this section, on metaphor. I’m just doing that chapter for now because I think it is one quite important to grasp and really does a fine job in setting up the rest of the book. In fact, looking back on the read, this is one of the chapters that stands out the most to me.

If you are wondering what said chapter could be about, wonder no more! It is a look at metaphors and their use in theology. In looking at various definitions of metaphor this one in particular stands out (originally written by Sallie McFague):

“Most simply, a metaphor is seeing one thing as something else, pretending ‘this’ is ‘that’ because we do not know how to think or talk about ‘this,’ so we use ‘that’ as a way of saying something about it.” (pg 36)

Atonement as metaphor then follows as the ‘that’ in which we describe God resolving the sin issue and restoring our relationship to Him, to the self, to others and to the world. Really dwelling on this was one of those ‘Aha!’ moments for me, which is why I so vividly recall this particular chapter. In my conclusion thoughts, I plan on getting back to why this was an ‘Aha!’ moment but for now I’ll move on.

So what metaphors exist in atonement theology? There is sacrifice/offering, legal/justification, interpersonal/reconciliation, military/ransom and this is just the beginning of the list. The remainder of the chapter looks at a very specific popular metaphor — penal substitutionary atonement — but for now I’ll save those details for later. For any interested enough to read this dwell on theology as metaphor for a bit and see if it resounds to you too.

Today I finished the best straight up theology book I’ve read since Transforming Mission by David Bosch. It is called A Community Called Atonement by Scot McKnight and is the first in the “Living Theology” series by Abingdon Press/Emergent Village (edited by EV’s national co-ordinator — Tony Jones). The “Living Theology” series bills itself as books of theology approachable by all folks. If A Community is any indicator of what is to come, then I have high hopes for future volumes in this series.

Anyways, this note isn’t about the series itself but about the book — an approachable look at the theology surrounding the atonement of Christ. For those unaware, atonement is defined in the dictionary as “compensation for a wrong” (among other definitions). Applied to theology and more specifically Christ it is everything surrounding forgiveness of sin. Now, I’m being brief here but will be more specific as I go through my review. Also note that this is a review in the sense of me regurgitating what I’ve read (in the hopes that I’ll pick up on further nuances). That means lots of details about the book (and little about my thoughts). Don’t let that scare you away though — this really is a fantastic read (the book, I mean).

A Community Called Atonement begins right where it should: with the beginnings of the atonement. More specifically, McKnight begins with a discussion of the kingdom of God (as espoused in Luke primarily). This is because McKnight sees any atonement theory that fails to be ecclesial (a major thrust of kingdom theology) as lacking.

“…atonement is only understood when it is understood as the restoration of humans — in all directions — so that they form a society (the ecclesia, the church) wherein God’s will is lived out and given freedom to transform all of life.” pg 9

Moving through Luke (highlights include 1:46-55, 67-79, 4:16-21, 6:20-26, 7:21-23) and into Acts (2:42-47, 4:32-35) he lays out a preliminary theory of the what Jesus meant when He came preaching “Repent! The Kingdom is near!”

So — we have the kingdom of God as one beginning to the atonement story, but it is not the only one. The next one discussed is Perichoresis. Thankfully this book is approachable so that big word is defined in the text (as “the mutual interdependence of the persons of the Trinity” pg 16). Why is this important? One big reason is because it sets up God as relational. The Father, Son and Spirit remain separate but cannot be known apart from one another. And it’s a starting point because atonement ultimately concerns union with God (and communion with one another).

The third starting point discussed is humanity as Eikon (the image of God). We learn in Genesis that with the entrance of sin we become “cracked” eikons and thus begin the road of failing as God’s divine representation on earth until Jesus after which we go down the path of becoming redeemed eikons. This leads us to what being an eikon means before God:

“…to be in union with God as Eikons; …to be in communion with other Eikons; …to participate with God in His creating, His ruling, His speaking, His naming, His ordering, His variety and beauty, His location, His partnering and His resting and to oblige God in his obligating of us.” pg 21

Fourthly, sin has to be a beginning point. Afterall it is the problem that atonement solves. Sin is defined here (and this happens to be one of the better definitions I’ve read) as “…the hyperrelational distortion and corruption of the Eikon’s relationship with God and therefore with self, with others, and with the world.” (pg 23)

The fifth beginning examined is “eternity as worshipping fellowship”. This is a beginning because, as described, atonement readies God’s people for union with Himself and communion with others (all in a place of perfection — of justice, peace, and worship of God). The sixth beginning is ecclesial community as atonement aims for faith communities living out the will of God. And the final beginning is praxis and by this he means the reciprocity — us reflecting to others what has been done for us.

And thus we have the first chunk of A Community Called Atonement setting up the building blocks of atonement (the settings, the cast of characters, the problems and the responses). While written primarily as a refresher for myself (they say writing things down helps your memory) if any of this has caught your eye I encourage picking up this fine book. I’ll get to the remaining sections in the coming days (while it’s still fresh on my mind).