Atonement: A Guide for the Perplexed

Guides for the Perplexed

by Adam J. Johnson

Christians agree that they are saved through the death and resurrection of Christ. But how is the atonement achieved in these events? This book offers an introduction to the doctrine of the atonement focused on the unity and diversity of the work of Christ. Johnson reorients current patterns of thought concerning Christ's work by giving the reader a unifying vision of the immensely rich and diverse doctrine of the atonement, offering a sampling of its treasures, and cultivating the desire to further understand and apply these riches to everyday life. Where introductions to the atonement typically favor one aspect of the work of Christ, or work with a set number of themes, aspects or theories, this book takes the opposite approach, developing the foundation for the multi-faceted nature of Christ's work within the being of God himself. It offers a grand unifying vision of Christ's manifold work. Specific elaborations of different theories of the atonement, biblical themes, and the work of different theologians find their place within this larger rubric.

Genres: Theology, Nonfiction, Christian, Religion

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 21, 2015

About the author

I am a theologian who focuses on the doctrine of the atonement, exploring the many ways in which the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ effect the reconciliation of all things to God.

In addition to biblical, theological and historical explorations of the atonement, I also enjoy exploring the contribution of literature and other fields to the topic.

I am an Assistant Professor in the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University in La Mirada, CA.

My wife, Katrina, and I have been married 12 years, and have three sons. We love camping and exploring America's National Parks.

Reviews

[Aaron Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still perplexed.

[Rory Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a relatively solid tread through the main contours of historical discussions about the Atonment. Anselm, Aquinas, Calvin… etc. There were also some surprisingly new elements, such as Jesus’ sacrificial death on the Cross also having a benefit for (non-human) animals. This is because his actions have a cosmic significance, and as non-human life forms are part of the Cosmos then Jesus’ death must be relevant to them. This was clearly stated, but less clearly explained. By the end of the book I had no idea what would be different for cows in the field, if Jesus had not died on the Cross.

There was also a rather large gap in the book in terms of the Old Testament sacrificial system. If Jesus is a sacrifice, which is superior to the Old Testament sacrifices (as the letter to the Hebrews makes clear), then don’t we need to understand those Old Testament sacrifices in order to make sense of the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice? But there was no chapter dealing with those issues.

In a similar vein, the book made assumptions about the meaning of ‘forgiveness’ and the constraints which “forced” God to require that Jesus sacrifice himself. But there was no significance analysis of the nature of forgiveness. We also heard about God’s Wrath and God’s Justice, but is the only way to understand those biblical texts, the interpretation that Reformation thinkers gave them? If not, then perhaps a chapter probing the meaning of those texts would have been appropriate?

The centre of the book was taken up with explaining the Trinitarian nature of Jesus’ sacrifice. In particular the author stressed the point that it is wrong to interpret matters as a wrathful God the father punishing a lovingly obedient Jesus the Son. That was a point well made. But beyond that it wasn’t entirely clear what the specifically Trinitarian doctrine added to Redemption. For example, if there was only two persons in the Trinity (ie no Holy Spirit) how would that change the doctrine of the Trinity? If it wouldn’t, then in what sense is it relevant to talk about Atonement as a Trinitarian event?

Throughout the book the author also noted the tendency of medieval thinkers to focus upon the death of Jesus as the salvific centre of doctrines of atonement. This had the consequence of undermining (or even rendering irrelevant) the Resurrection. That was a good point, and modern thinkers are seeking to rectify that. But once again it wasn’t clear from the book what that actually means. If, for example, Jesus had died on the Cross and there had been no Resurrection, how would that have affected Atonement? Would atonement have not taken place, and would God and humanity still be irreconciled without the Resurrection? And if so, why and how, would the Resurrection make such a fundamental difference. Those issues just didn’t seem to be probed or pressed to a conclusion.

Overall, this was an interesting book with a useful presentation of relevant biblical texts and historical theories. But it just didn’t press the difficult questions to conclusions. That was disappointing, as those difficult questions are at the intra-Christianity heart of what the Atonement truly means, and they are at the inter-faith heart of whether the doctrine of the Atonement is credible and coherent in the modern world.

[Toby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really is a superb book on the atonement. At once engaging, readable, mind-stretching and argumentative. Johnson weaves in ancient, medieval, Reformation and modern theologians in a way in which you always feel that you are in dialogue with them without the book ending being a patchwork of quotes. I particularly appreciated the way in which Johnson wove in cultural references. I had not seen the Massacio Trinity or the Abingdon Lily crucifixion before and both will help me meditate more on the depth of the doctrine. Above all, reading this book reminded me about the beauty of doctrine and why theology at its best is such a great subject to study - and more than study, as an aid to worship.

[Matt Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atonement: a guide for the perplexed is a brief volume on the atonement. Very early on, Johnson mentions that there many different approaches to the atonement and gives a survey of what they are. I wish he would have gone in depth on any of them. He spends a vast majority of the time saying not to exclusively rely on penal substitutionary atonement, and to perhaps give more attention to the ransom theory. Although, he gives ransom theory almost synonymous with Christus Victor. If you were to ask which he places the most emphasis on , Christus Victor would definitely be it. He surgery’s the historical and biblical theology of the atonement but never goes into great detail. It is a decent overview but leaves more questions than it answers.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book that fills out the issues around the main "theories" and historical/theological viewpoints. If you want the detailed version of the main theories of the atonement, Christus victor, Satisfaction, Exemplar, etc., then this is not the book to read, but it does provide background logic of the main theories, connectivness of the atonement to other areas of theology, and most importantly, grounds the atonement in the nature of God himself. Johnson advocates for a full view of the atonement and all its Biblical metaphors without focus on one view to the exclusion of others.

[Alonzo Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read...very deep

[Rafael Sales · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uma introdução geral sobre o tema.

[Jessica Snell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first paragraph of "Atonement" gives a good feel for how Johnson approaches the doctrine of the atonement:

"As I told my veteran pastor of my plans to do graduate studies in the doctrine of the atonement, a wry smile creased his face as he asked: 'So . . . which theory of the atonement do you believe in?' I responded: 'All of them!' The purpose of this book is to offer a more expansive answer to this question ..."

In fact, this book takes on all the classical theories of the atonement and, rather than dismissing any of them, tries to mine the riches from all of them. In some ways, it reminded me of the way my kids eat ice cream on a hot day, licking up every last bit of goodness from the bowl: Johnson doesn't want any good thing that is ours in Christ to escape our grateful notice.

I appreciated the first several chapters of the book, which examine the lay of the land and remind me of all the theological classics I last read (too long ago!) in college, but the book really came alive for me in the middle chapters, which turn to examining the atonement in the light of:

-the Trinity
-the divine attributes,
and,
-the life of Christ

These sections were golden. Books of hard theology (i.e., not lay-level theology) are, well, hard. But these middle chapters reminded me of why it's worth it for me, as a layperson, to read hard theology: because I am reminded of how good God is, and how much he has done for us, and how truly amazing his acts of mercy and grace really are.

By examining the doctrine of the atonement in light of the Trinity, I was reminded that only a triune God could have accomplished our deliverance. It was because of who God is - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - that the Redeemer could be sent by the Father, could live a life of obedience, and could come to be present within us through his Spirit. And only by God becoming man could humanity actually be reunited with God.

Johnson reminds us that we are not just saved from our sins, but we are saved "into the life and pattern of Christ" and that Jesus' life is "not merely an example to inspire us, but ... the reality into which we are swept ... Jesus had to live this life for it is our incorporation or assumption into this life by the Spirit which is our at-one-ment with God, which constitutes our salvation."

I also appreciated his understanding of God's wrath, in light of the cross. Johnson writes:

"Much of our work in this book has emphasized the life-giving creative nature of Christ's atonement. But this cannot be at the expense of the destruction, judgement, wrath and death included within this same event - for while in the work of Christ God says 'YES' to humankind in Christ, he simultaneously says 'NO' to sin, evil and death. The Old Testament consistently holds the compassion of God for his people and his creatures in tension with his righteous anger against them..."

And then, after observing that God passed over the sins of humankind not to overlook them, but to deal with them "in the right time and in the right way", Johnson makes this truly terrifying observation:

"To be sure, he did not pass over these sins completely. Adam and Eve were sent from the garden, Israel was exiled, and many sins were punished - but God's response was always mingled with grace and patience, always giving room and making space for his sinful creatures, always seeking to bring them back to himself. The judgement, the punishment and the wrath were always muted, always a witness and testimony to that which would one day be fully released without restraint."

Which makes me pray with the words of the Te Deum, "We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge ... we therefore pray thee, HELP THY SERVANTS ..."

And, I suppose a good place to end this review would be to say, in this book, I am reminded: God has answered that plea. Definitively.

[Dan Glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope to review this eventually.....for now, let me say I debated giving it 5 stars. It was very good. (Ok, so I went back and gave it 5 stars after all.)

In a nut shell, Adam Johnson advocates for a comprehensive view of the atonement which focuses on how each of the attributes of the Triune God are displayed and/or satisfied in the atonement. Johnson focusses not only on the traditionally anthropocentric aspects of the atonement (aspects directly affecting humanity's sinful and lost condition) but also draws the reader to look at the creation-wide purposes and effects of Christ's atoning work. He points not only to what God is saving humanity and the whole created realm from but also what he is saving it for, both the negative and positive aspects of God's atoning work in Christ (redeeming/rescuing as well as restoring). Johnson purposefully avoids favouring one theory of the atonement over another, seeing that as a tacit favouring of one (or some) of God's attributes over others, as if certain aspects of who God is could be more important than other aspects of who he is.

Those who view penal substitutionary atonement as the one true understanding of the atonement over against all others will certainly dismay over this work. Those who view penal substitution as the commanding or central theory among many legitimate but lesser facets of the atoning work of Christ will have good reason to rethink the balance. [For example, Johnson argues that God's wrath is not an essential characteristic of God because there was a time, pre-sin, when this was not part of God's attributes and, as all things will one day be restored to perfection and peace, that time will come again. Wrath is a reaction of God's holiness to sin, not an actual attribute of God.] Those who would like the church to abandon all thought of substitutionary atonement will also be dissatisfied with Johnson's treatment. He fully recognizes that Scripture speaks of Christ taking the place of sinners - substitution. However, Johnson (if I recall correctly) prefers to steer clear of language of the Father punishing Christ, favouring instead that the Father punished sin in Christ while simultaneously magnifying the obedience and service of Christ.

Johnson argues ultimately that only a holistic view of the nature, character, purposes and works of God will give us a full orbed view of what God has done/is doing in the atonement. Toward this end, Johnson sees Christ's atoning work as not merely what he did on the cross, or even in the cross and resurrection, but what he did from incarnation to ascension and outpouring of the Spirit. This work is not that full-orbed view of the atonement that the author advocates for (its less than 200 pages of text). Indeed, such an expansive view of the atonement will continually grow as theologians expand their exploration of the eternal and inexhaustible glories of the person and works of God. However, this work is a call to and a brief pattern of what the ever-expanding theological exploration into the atonement could look like.

I highly recommend this work. I hope to see more studies like this, exercises in theological maximalism, which seek not to prove one view or aspect of theology by arguing against all competitors but rather which examine the many aspects of a given point of theology from the various perspectives afforded when one considers the multifaceted nature, character, purposes and interactions of God with himself, with humanity, and with all creation.


Ok, so maybe I did kind of review it. I might expand this later.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I concur with Stephen Wellum's comment on this book - "I read this book perplexed about the atonement. And I left this book still perplexed" (Not his exact quote)

I liked some of it; The chapter on the Trinity was good. His page or two explaining that God's wrath is necessary to the atonement yet it's not God's original character was really helpful.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and navigating clearly and comprehensively through the many aspects of the atonement without compromising certain models in favour of others. Simply fantastic.