Achieving Atonement

By Thompson, Derek, Philip

Book Id: WPLBN0100003072
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 4.00 MB
Reproduction Date: 6/8/2018

Title:	Achieving Atonement
Author:	Thompson, Derek, Philip
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Non Fiction, Religion, Soteriology
Collections:	Authors Community, Religion
Historic Publication Date:	2018
Publisher:	Derek Philip Thompson

Member Page:	Derek Thompson
Citation APA MLA Chicago Philip Thompson, B. D. (2018). Achieving Atonement. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
At the heart of Christianity is the atonement, God at one with his creation. But how is this being achieved? Numerous theories have been proposed but none generally accepted. The historic church councils were too busy with the trinity to turn their attention to the atonement. Consequently the church is divided by different views of what happened on the cross. Critics from outside the church are quick to point out the problems, such as questionable ethics applied to God, inconsistent use of Scripture, limited scope, and poor reasoning. Achieving Atonement is a free eBook by Derek Thompson which presents a new atonement model, one that is biblical, ethical, reasonable, comprehensive, ecumenical, and avoids the problems of traditional atonement theories while retaining their truths. Finally, someone explains how God is achieving atonement and the place of Christ’s violent death on the cross. Derek has a post-graduate Diploma in Theology from Charles Sturt University. For the past twelve years, Derek has been the Coordinator of the Illawarra Prayer Network and Public Officer for the ecumenical Five Islands Christian Ministries Inc. The eBook is beautifully illustrated with Australian aboriginal artwork and is 170 pages plus 98 pages of hyperlinked Scripture Index for easy reference

Summary
Derek Thompson sets out to describe how Christian atonement works and the place of Christ’s violent death on the cross. The author says that any model of the atonement must satisfy the following criteria. 1. Enhance the preaching of the gospel. 2. Accord with the full range of biblical teaching. 3. Be consistent with the good, gracious, holy and merciful nature of God. 4. Encourage Christlike behaviour in Christians. 5. Be coherent, reasonable, and ethical. 6. Support ecumenism and retain the truths found in the churches’ historical atonement teaching. Traditional atonement theories fall short at one or more points on this list and fail to engage successfully with the full range of issues, such as: a) Human responsibility for sin. b) Forgiveness and reconciliation. c) Justice and punishment. d) Sacrifice and atonement. e) Righteousness. f) Goodness, mercy and holiness. g) Evil in nature. These two lists define the integrity and comprehensiveness of an atonement theory. The author sets a high standard for his new model of the atonement but proceeds to use some unorthodox methods to derive a model he calls Lumen Christi. The author employs the tools of critical reasoning and draws on a wide range of theological works in an innovative approach to the problem. The model proposed is multifaceted, but unlike others that attempt to combine the traditional theories, Lumen Christi takes a completely different route. The eBook is beautifully illustrated with Australian aboriginal artwork and incorporates a fully hyperlinked Scripture Index. The book is 170 pages plus 98 pages of Scripture Index.

Excerpt
Atonement is not a course of action, but an end, the goal God is seeking to achieve. God’s ways are often said to be a mystery beyond human comprehension. I. H. Marshall (2008, p. 63) said, “It is true that the concept of God the Son suffering and dying is paradoxical and incomprehensible.” Although God’s inner nature is a mystery, his actions in creation are open to investigation. Human nature pursues understanding. Some Christians object to the questioning of their preferred atonement theory, viewing such questioning as a challenge to the gospel itself. Despite the fact that Christianity’s central message is of salvation and reconciliation with God, its theologians disagree over the gospel’s basic logic. Christians must understand the atonement if they are to proclaim the faith to a needy world in a reasonable and coherent manner. After all, the search for truth leads to Jesus, who claimed to be the truth.

Table of Contents
Preface 1 1. The Atonement Problem 3 2. Atonement Theories 14 3. God’s Vision for Atonement 26 4. Atonement Logic 46 5. The Lumen Christi Model 82 6. The Atonement in Scripture 99 7. Atonement Theology 118 8. Jesus’ Love Message 141 9. Debrief 147 10. Summation 154 Appendix: Preaching the Gospel 157 Subject Index 171 Scripture Index 172 Index of Illustrations 265 About the Author 267 Other Works by this Author 268 Connect with Derek Thompson 269