The Father's Will: Christ's Crucifixion and the Goodness of God

by Nicholas E. Lombardo

The night before his crucifixion, in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asks his Father to take away the cup of his suffering, but then says, "not my will, but yours, be done." Shortly afterward, Judas arrives, and his arrival reveals something important about the Father's will. Yet much remains obscure. The sheer fact of Christ's crucifixion shows only that God was not willing to spare his Son. It does not shed any light on the positive content of the Father's will. Drawing on
philosophical analysis and historical-critical exegesis, The Father's Will sets out to clarify the Father's will for Christ and how it relates to his death on the cross. Then, after considering the theologies of Anselm and Peter Abelard, it argues for the recovery of the early Christian category of ransom.

Since Christians look to the crucifixion to make sense of their suffering, the Father's will for Christ relates to many existential questions; it also shapes the place of God the Father in Christian theology and culture. Interpreting the crucifixion as a ransom makes the goodness of God more evident. It also makes it easier to see God the Father as the author of our salvation, rather than a stern judge who must be placated. And since the category of ransom traces back to Jesus' saying in the
Gospels about giving his life "as a ransom for many" it has great claim to interpret the crucifixion in the way Jesus himself interpreted it.

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 14, 2014

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece of clear and forthright philosophical reasoning. Father Lombardo shows with great precision that Anselm's satisfaction model of the atonement - as well as subsequent variants such as the Thomist or Calvinist models that are built on it - is incompatible with the attribute of goodness as traditionally ascribed to the God of classical theism. In its place Lombardo urges a rehabilitation of the patristic "devil's ransom" interpretation of the cross, which he defends at great length against objections both ancient and modern. The devil's ransom model sees Christ engaged in a deliberate provocation of evil, drawing it out and onto himself so as to allow it to destroy itself. The model allows for a strong account of both trinitarian unity and the centrality of the cross in bringing about an objective redemption of the human race, while avoiding the pitfall of implying that God somehow wills or intends the death of his Son. This is a very important work in showing the coherence of Christian belief in the goodness of God with the narrative of redemption through the cross.