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Fortress Introduction to Salvation and the Cross
What does it mean to be saved, and how can we make sense of theChristian claim that Christ died for our sins?
That is the work of soteriology, the classic discipline of theology thatinquires into the "saving work" of Christ and asks the what, why, andhow of redemption as understood by Christians. In this careful surveyand insightful analysis of two thousand years of Christian refl ectionon salvation, theologian David Brondos lays bare the rich, diverse, andeven competing understandings of salvation, their social context anddevelopment, and their strengths and weaknesses. Concentrating onthirteen of the most important fi gures in that long arc - from its biblical roots to its most controverted contemporary expressions - Brondosunfolds the thought of each theologian as articulating a distinctive storyof salvation or atonement.
An excellent learning tool, Brondos's succinct and helpful text is augmentedwith a helpful time line, illustrations, glossary, suggestions forfurther reading, and questions for discussion and refl ection. His workillumines how Christians through the ages have understood Jesus,salvation, and human reconciliation with God.
The thirteen figures include Isaiah, Luke, Paul, Irenaeus, Gregory of Nyssa, Anselm, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Albrecht Ritschl, Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, Jon Sobrino, and Rosemary Radford Ruether.
That is the work of soteriology, the classic discipline of theology thatinquires into the "saving work" of Christ and asks the what, why, andhow of redemption as understood by Christians. In this careful surveyand insightful analysis of two thousand years of Christian refl ectionon salvation, theologian David Brondos lays bare the rich, diverse, andeven competing understandings of salvation, their social context anddevelopment, and their strengths and weaknesses. Concentrating onthirteen of the most important fi gures in that long arc - from its biblical roots to its most controverted contemporary expressions - Brondosunfolds the thought of each theologian as articulating a distinctive storyof salvation or atonement.
An excellent learning tool, Brondos's succinct and helpful text is augmentedwith a helpful time line, illustrations, glossary, suggestions forfurther reading, and questions for discussion and refl ection. His workillumines how Christians through the ages have understood Jesus,salvation, and human reconciliation with God.
The thirteen figures include Isaiah, Luke, Paul, Irenaeus, Gregory of Nyssa, Anselm, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Albrecht Ritschl, Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, Jon Sobrino, and Rosemary Radford Ruether.
- GenresTheology
234 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2007
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July 3, 2021
Quarantine-Book #43:
I just finished "Fortress Press Introduction To Salvation and the Cross," by David A. Brondos. (Less than $5 PB or Kindle on Amazon.)
Brondos is going to list 13 models of the Atonement in summary form and evaluate /critique them. He is going to do this in 185 pp. Tall order, but it is small print.
Isaiah and the redemption of Israel:
Per Isaiah looking forward: without a changed heart sacrifice didn't do a thing. And what is promised to the ones who have a repentant heart?--A new heaven and new earth, not a disembodied existence. This is a great Atonement intro chapter because it lays out what Israel expected in a Messiah.
Tha plan of salvation in Luke:
Luke seems to have written Luke-Acts as though divine forgiveness could have been had without Jesus death. The death of Jesus here has to be seen as an extension of prophets being killed in Jerusalem.
Christ Crucified in Paul:
Paul didn't list out a systematic atonement; Paul was writing churches who already accepted a previously preached gospel about the Atonement. What we get in Paul are passing fragments, but we can assume the fragments are his outworking of what Christ did based off a synoptic illustration. This was a good chapter and makes me glad I have his "Paul on the Cross" in my shortstack.
The redemption of man in Irenaeus:
This is an early recapitulation theory where Jesus comes as the prefect man to be born, live and die as all humanity will but he does so perfectly thereby all mankind find their perfection in His. It is as though the substance of Christ as perfect and participating in all human existence is distributed to all mankind. Irenaeus' second understanding of the Atonement is a early Christus Victor model. And his third is Christ as teacher: man is saved to the extent that they live out the revelation and teachings of Jesus.
Gregory of Nyssa and the union of Divine and Human Natures:
GoN, like the previous Irenaeus, believed that the human nature was in Adam who contaminated it with sin. This nature is shared by mankind (Platonic with a world-of-forms concept going on). Also in GoN is where the ransom theory over-reaches its metaphor (though I believe the traditional options are uncreative, and unobtainable). GoN adds a purgatorial aspect which thus eliminates all evil manifesting uber-univsrsalism.
Anselm and (can't get no) satisfaction:
I find this model interesting: so much is built off of it and yet it has a middle age fuedal lord framework which is totally not scriptural. And yet it (and its predecessors) are holy writ. Interestingly, Brondos suggests that this model and one's like it suggests that God is the problem and solution.
Christ as redeemer from sin, death and the devil in Luther:
Brondos seems to say that Luther was a shotgun preacher rather than a sniper: he would hustle any and every model or motif he could get his hands on in hopes of hitting the masses. This approach made him hard to nail down theologically. A criticism of him, just as above in Anselm and below in Calvin was that God had to save man from God.
Christ our righteousness in Calvin:
Adam sinned and the rest of humanity is born guilty of it. Humanity is/is not responsible for their sin. God would have none perish... Except some. For God so loved of the world... Well.... Brondos is tougher on Calvin than I'd have thought. He does highlight my reservations with determinism ans PSA.
Ritschl and the Kingdom of God:
Ritschl starts his Atonement theology from the crux of Jesus' own message: the Kingdom of God. A major part is that the Kingdom is at least somewhat "now" with a gradual perfection of this current history. For Ritschl we first grasp salvation in the Kingdom so as to understand what sin is: active opposition to the fulfillment of the Kingdom. God need not be reconciled to man, God was reconciling man to God in Christ which in the end lands Ritschl on a subjective, Abelardian, moral influence Atonement. I want to read more Ritschl.
Barth and Reconciliation:
Barth, after WWI & II, thought the above liberal view of man responding solely to a subjective presentation was a stretch: mankind has all this technology and just uses it to kill itself. In Barth Christ is the only elect and the prototype representative of all mankind, not Adam. As it is said that in Adam all sinned, Barth states that we--all man--were really in him, he as our substitute, taking the punishment for sin.
Bultmann and the proclamation of the word of the coss:
Mankind have a tendency for independence away from God. The submitting of this independence is acceptance of Grace. The Cross reveals to humanity the powers--law, sin, death--which enslave them and make the able to break free. God isn't changed by the cross; humanity is changed by the word proclaimed. The problem with his theology is that one is saved only for the here and now with a non-eschatological view.
Joe Soborino and the crucified people:
Soborino begins his Christology with the historical Jesus, and quickly to the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is about present and Future so that it speaks to the poor about their current situation where justice is offered in the Old Testament sense which is not retribution but recreation. Christ saw his death as a motivation for others--subjective not objective--and in a way all of humanity was in him in death which is how a "Crucified people" are seen.
Rosemary Ruether and liberation:
Ruether holds to a Jewish view of original sin where all have the capacity for good or evil. Our tendency to evil is biased in the historical systems of evil. Jesus sought to convert the priestly class and for them to join the community of oppressed thus liberating all. For this he was killed yet refused to be conquered rising again.
Good Atonement intro.
#SalvationAndTheCross #DavidABrondos #DavidBrondos #Fortress #FortressPress #Atonement #AtonementTheology
I just finished "Fortress Press Introduction To Salvation and the Cross," by David A. Brondos. (Less than $5 PB or Kindle on Amazon.)
Brondos is going to list 13 models of the Atonement in summary form and evaluate /critique them. He is going to do this in 185 pp. Tall order, but it is small print.
Isaiah and the redemption of Israel:
Per Isaiah looking forward: without a changed heart sacrifice didn't do a thing. And what is promised to the ones who have a repentant heart?--A new heaven and new earth, not a disembodied existence. This is a great Atonement intro chapter because it lays out what Israel expected in a Messiah.
Tha plan of salvation in Luke:
Luke seems to have written Luke-Acts as though divine forgiveness could have been had without Jesus death. The death of Jesus here has to be seen as an extension of prophets being killed in Jerusalem.
Christ Crucified in Paul:
Paul didn't list out a systematic atonement; Paul was writing churches who already accepted a previously preached gospel about the Atonement. What we get in Paul are passing fragments, but we can assume the fragments are his outworking of what Christ did based off a synoptic illustration. This was a good chapter and makes me glad I have his "Paul on the Cross" in my shortstack.
The redemption of man in Irenaeus:
This is an early recapitulation theory where Jesus comes as the prefect man to be born, live and die as all humanity will but he does so perfectly thereby all mankind find their perfection in His. It is as though the substance of Christ as perfect and participating in all human existence is distributed to all mankind. Irenaeus' second understanding of the Atonement is a early Christus Victor model. And his third is Christ as teacher: man is saved to the extent that they live out the revelation and teachings of Jesus.
Gregory of Nyssa and the union of Divine and Human Natures:
GoN, like the previous Irenaeus, believed that the human nature was in Adam who contaminated it with sin. This nature is shared by mankind (Platonic with a world-of-forms concept going on). Also in GoN is where the ransom theory over-reaches its metaphor (though I believe the traditional options are uncreative, and unobtainable). GoN adds a purgatorial aspect which thus eliminates all evil manifesting uber-univsrsalism.
Anselm and (can't get no) satisfaction:
I find this model interesting: so much is built off of it and yet it has a middle age fuedal lord framework which is totally not scriptural. And yet it (and its predecessors) are holy writ. Interestingly, Brondos suggests that this model and one's like it suggests that God is the problem and solution.
Christ as redeemer from sin, death and the devil in Luther:
Brondos seems to say that Luther was a shotgun preacher rather than a sniper: he would hustle any and every model or motif he could get his hands on in hopes of hitting the masses. This approach made him hard to nail down theologically. A criticism of him, just as above in Anselm and below in Calvin was that God had to save man from God.
Christ our righteousness in Calvin:
Adam sinned and the rest of humanity is born guilty of it. Humanity is/is not responsible for their sin. God would have none perish... Except some. For God so loved of the world... Well.... Brondos is tougher on Calvin than I'd have thought. He does highlight my reservations with determinism ans PSA.
Ritschl and the Kingdom of God:
Ritschl starts his Atonement theology from the crux of Jesus' own message: the Kingdom of God. A major part is that the Kingdom is at least somewhat "now" with a gradual perfection of this current history. For Ritschl we first grasp salvation in the Kingdom so as to understand what sin is: active opposition to the fulfillment of the Kingdom. God need not be reconciled to man, God was reconciling man to God in Christ which in the end lands Ritschl on a subjective, Abelardian, moral influence Atonement. I want to read more Ritschl.
Barth and Reconciliation:
Barth, after WWI & II, thought the above liberal view of man responding solely to a subjective presentation was a stretch: mankind has all this technology and just uses it to kill itself. In Barth Christ is the only elect and the prototype representative of all mankind, not Adam. As it is said that in Adam all sinned, Barth states that we--all man--were really in him, he as our substitute, taking the punishment for sin.
Bultmann and the proclamation of the word of the coss:
Mankind have a tendency for independence away from God. The submitting of this independence is acceptance of Grace. The Cross reveals to humanity the powers--law, sin, death--which enslave them and make the able to break free. God isn't changed by the cross; humanity is changed by the word proclaimed. The problem with his theology is that one is saved only for the here and now with a non-eschatological view.
Joe Soborino and the crucified people:
Soborino begins his Christology with the historical Jesus, and quickly to the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is about present and Future so that it speaks to the poor about their current situation where justice is offered in the Old Testament sense which is not retribution but recreation. Christ saw his death as a motivation for others--subjective not objective--and in a way all of humanity was in him in death which is how a "Crucified people" are seen.
Rosemary Ruether and liberation:
Ruether holds to a Jewish view of original sin where all have the capacity for good or evil. Our tendency to evil is biased in the historical systems of evil. Jesus sought to convert the priestly class and for them to join the community of oppressed thus liberating all. For this he was killed yet refused to be conquered rising again.
Good Atonement intro.
#SalvationAndTheCross #DavidABrondos #DavidBrondos #Fortress #FortressPress #Atonement #AtonementTheology
Displaying 1 of 1 review