atonement
What does the death of Jesus have to do with me?
Whatever the historical reasons for the crucifixion, the Christian tradition has always insisted that one of the reasons Jesus died is me.
All atonement theologies are contextual
God is known not in abstraction but among those we police, punish, and forget.
The relief people need
David Zahl focuses on sharing a gospel that’s unapologetically about the grace of God.
Postliberalism and the romantic lie
I love René Girard. I don’t love that J. D. Vance loves him, too.
Did God intervene to save Trump’s life?
Underneath this question lies layer upon layer of ever more troubling theological questions.
What does it mean to be an inclusive church?
Being a community means welcoming those with diverse views, not cocooning oneself with like-minded people.
Atonement without participation?
In the substitution theory, God simply does stuff for us. What about the relational God of the Bible?
Restorative justice with Anselm
The satisfaction theory of atonement offers my incarcerated students something the substitution theory does not: a way to make amends and be restored.
What does the cross mean for people with disabilities?
David McLachlan proposes a participatory atonement in which God engages creation’s contingency and vulnerability.
An epidemic of moral injury
Christians have an opportunity to transform a faith that has fueled genocide, slavery, war, and kleptocracy.
Why I’ve come back around to substitutionary atonement
Sometimes sacrifice is an act of love.
True witness, absurd violence
Pope Francis’s response to the killing of a French priest puzzled some. But it pointed to the true nature of Christian witness.
Why give alms?
Belief in the incarnation places suffering bodies within the realm of Christian responsibility.
Speaking of the cross
Much of what Christianity has long been saying about the cross of Christ is problematic. So what is to be done about it?
The Death of the Messiah and the Birth of the New Covenant, by Michael J. Gorman
For there to be a heresy about the cross, there would have to be an orthodoxy about it. Michael Gorman argues that contentions over how Jesus saves lead to an inadequate grasp of what the Passion means and does.
Books that have changed Jonathan Merritt
Jonathan Merritt writes books and articles that change people. He’s a senior writer for the Religion News Service and just last week, he won the 2014 Religion Commentary of the Year from the Religion Newswriters Association.
I had the pleasure of asking Merritt a few questions about books that have influenced him.
Questions for Christians, by John Morreall
John Morreall's book is modeled after Peter Abelard's Sic et Non. Morreall wants Christians to ask questions of their beliefs and practices.