Problems with Atonement: The Origins Of, and Controversy About, the Atonement Doctrine

by Stephen Finlan

Overview

The origins of atonement are found in Paul's writings. Popular Christian theology has understood them to mean that God demanded a bloody victim to pay for human sin. In Problems with Atonement Stephen Finlan examines the Christian doctrine of atonement and current debates about it. He considers its biblical foundation in Pauline texts, the Old Testament background, and the theological questions under discussion about atonement. He provides ancient historical background and raises questions, such as whether the Incarnation must be understood through the lens of atonement.

Chapters are Chapter 1: Sacrifice and Scapegoat," "Chapter 2: Paul's Use of Cultic Imagery," "Chapter 3: Atonement after Paul," "Chapter 4: Rationalizing the Atonement Doctrine," and "Chapter 5: The Incarnation."

Stephen Finlan, PhD, is an adjunct professor of New Testament at Seton Hall University and Fordham University. He is the author of The Background and Content of Paul's Cultic Atonement Metaphors (Society of Biblical Culture, 2004).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814652206
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	10/01/2005
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.32(d)

About the Author

Stephen Finlan, PhD, is an adjunct professor at Drew University and has taught at Fordham. He is also author of Problems with Atonement and Options on Atonement in Christian Thought (both published by Liturgical Press) as well as The Background and Content of Paul's Cultic Atonement Metaphors (SBL and Brill, 2004).

Table of Contents

	Abbreviations	vii
	Standards	viii
	Introduction	1
	The Incarnation	3
	Ritual Atonement Metaphors	5
	The Logic(s) of Atonement	8
Chapter 1	Sacrifice and Scapegoat	11
1.1	Hebrew Sacrifice	11
1.1.1	As a Gift	11
1.1.2	For Purification	12
1.1.3	Purifying the Temple	15
1.1.4	The Kippering of Sin	17
1.1.5	The Basic Meanings of Sacrifice	19
1.2	Spiritualization	20
1.3	Typological Interpretation	29
1.4	Expulsion Rituals	31
1.4.1	Gentile Expulsion Rites	32
1.4.2	OT Expulsion Rituals	34
1.5	Using Scapegoat to Christianize Sacrifice	37
Chapter 2	Paul's Use of Cultic Imagery	39
2.1	The Sacrificial Metaphor in Romans 3:25	39
2.2	Scapegoat and New Creation in 2 Corinthians 5:21	42
2.3	The Currency of the Curse in Galatians 3:13	44
2.3.1	Redemption and Curse	44
2.3.2	Covenants and Curses	46
2.4	The Body of Sin in Romans 6 to 8	48
2.5	Summary of Paul's Expulsion Imagery	50
2.6	Hellenistic and "Noble Death" Motifs	52
2.7	Cultic and Social Metaphors	55
2.8	Pauline Soteriology	57
2.8.1	Explaining the Messiah to the Gentiles	57
2.8.2	What Does "Dying for Us" Mean?	58
2.8.3	Your Faith Has Saved You?	60
Chapter 3	Atonement after Paul	63
3.1	Domesticating Paul	63
3.1.1	The Conservative Deutero-Pauline Tradition	63
3.1.2	Making Redemption Dominant	64
3.2	Development of the Doctrines of Atonement	66
3.2.1	The Rescue Theories	67
3.2.2	Augustine and Gregory the Great	69
3.2.3	The Satisfaction Theory	71
3.2.4	The Moral Influence Theory	74
3.2.5	Reformation Theories	75
3.3	The Psychology of Atonement	79
3.3.1	Why Atonement Is Compelling	79
3.3.2	The Guilt-Gratitude Cycle	82
Chapter 4	Rationalizing the Atonement Doctrine	84
4.1	Restating Atonement	85
4.2	Redefining Sacrifice	86
4.2.1	Sacrifice as Soul-Repair	87
4.2.2	Sacrifice as Sacred Violence	89
4.2.2.1	The Theory of Girard	89
4.2.2.2	Exonerating Paul	94
4.3	Critiques of Atonement	96
4.3.1	Winter's Critique of Inadequate Atonement Theories	96
4.3.2	Weaver: Improving the Atonement	98
4.3.3	Wink: A Nearly Pacifist Gospel	100
4.3.4	Feminist Rejection of a Gospel of Suffering	104
4.4	Atonement: A Call for the Question	106
4.4.1	Is the Atonement Metaphor Inherently Flawed?	106
4.4.2	Can the Sacrifice Metaphor Be Spiritualized?	108
4.5	Did Jesus Have to Be Killed?	109
4.6	The Soteriology of Jesus	111
4.6.1	The Hosea Principle	112
4.6.2	Jesus at Odds with Ritual Correctness	113
Chapter 5	The Incarnation	117
5.1	The Incarnation Interpreted through Secondary Doctrines	117
5.2	Theosis	120
	Bibliography	125
	Index of Modern Authors	135
	Index of Ancient Texts	138

Editorial Reviews

. . . a book that I would want to read and digest before preaching or teaching on the meaning of God’s salvation.
Ernest Thompson, First Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, North Carolina


. . . this book is essential reading for those wrestling with the problems of atonement theory.
Journal for the Study of the New Testament


. . . does a very good job in sorting through the paradoxes that are present in thinking about atonement. Finlan is good at catching the nuances of metaphor and setting out the different values in the balance of the discussion. He understands the role of ritual action in trying to reach where more discursive forms of thought cannot go.
New Theology Review


. . . it is a book that I would want to read and digest before preaching or teaching on the meaning of God’s Salvation.
Ernest Thompson, First Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, North Carolina


In this challenging and enlightening book, Stephen Finlan suggests that we have misunderstood the nature of God’s salvation by allowing primitive ideas about sacrifice to inform our doctrine of the atonement, and by making atonement the central doctrine of the Christian faith. Finlan insists that the unique and central doctrine of the Christian faith is not the atonement, but rather, the incarnation.
Ernest Thompson, First Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, North Carolina


Finlan's book is well worth reading for a number of reasons. It contains a fantastic summary of Pauline metaphors for atonement. It contains fascinating side comments about questions such as the relationship of ritual to the moral structure of society. Finally it is a stimulating debate partner for those who wish to defend the biblical and traditional doctrine of atonement in some form or another.
Catholic Studies An Online Journal


Problems with Atonement is an ambitious argument against theories of atonement.
Worship


. . . its discussion of biblical theology contains ideas that could bear much fruit.
Worship

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