3 posts tagged “atonement”
After reading McKnight's book, I realize how little the church has understood atonement. How easier it is to study and speculate upon (or even worse, ignore intellectual engagement altogether) atonement than to practice. Is this a harsh assessment of the church? Consider our reception of former inmates. PEP seems to get it. Do you think murderers and drug dealers deserve a second chance? See the "Made New" video and give it some thought.
When George W. Bush spoke of the war on terrorism as a “crusade,” he was roundly criticized for the perceived suggestion that it was a war of Christianity against Islam. His aides apologized, saying that the president had only used the term in its sense of a campaign, but in the Middle East, the remark was thought to confirm a popular assessment of Americans and Europeans as “crusaders.” This is a hard lesson for the West, which long ago relegated religious beliefs to personal preferences and celebrates religious diversity -- at least a Western understanding of diversity. We often confuse diversity with the Western idea of multiculturalism, which I would argue, is intrinsically racist, since is posits a single (Western) perspective for seeing all other cultures. Diversity seen through “our” eyes and “our” perspective is also a diversity that fits “our own” needs and interests. Or even worse, we see others as means for achieving our desired ends.
The same could be said of the “Western” Gospel. McKnight’s dialectic shows how theology (atonement theology in our discussion) actually does shape the mission of the local church:
The gospel we preach shapes the kind of churches we create.
The kind of church we have shapes the gospel we preach.
Given our history, we should ask ourselves, what’s in our Gospel?
Perhaps that this isn't the best way to introduce our next book discussion, especially when we have worked so hard to create a conversational atmosphere. But atonement is an appropriate Lenten topic, so let me explain.
The conflict began in England a few years ago when Steve Chalke and Alan Mann found themselves in hot water for raising provocative questions about a popular theory of atonement in their book The Lost Message of Jesus. Some Evangelicals, largely ignoring the main point of the book — the good news of the kingdom of God — said Chalke and Mann no longer belonged in their tribe because for them, Christianity means a) subscribing to one particular theory of atonement, and b) equating that theory with the gospel.
Scot McKnight’s book, A Community Called Atonement, comes just as some scholars in the U.S. may be tempted to sharpen their pens. Here in the U.S., a number of Evangelical authors have also been raising questions about atonement. Among them are Dallas Willard, whose Divine Conspiracy critiques what he calls “the gospel of sin management.”
McKnight isn’t calling for a mushy “can't we all just get along?” evasion of the issues, which are many and important. But he is wondering why atonement isn't "working" for so many Christians, and is seeking to practice what we preach whenever we preach atonement: that God calls us to reconcile with God, ourselves, one another, and all creation.
For those of you who will be joining me for the Brown Bag book club, I'll see you on February 10 after the 10:45 service.
Corey
