Problems With Atonement: The Origins of, and Controversy about, the Atonement Doctrine

About the Book

The origins of atonement are found in Paul's writings. Popular Christian theology has understood them to mean that God demanded a bloody victim to pay for human sin. In Problems with Atonement Stephen Finlan examines the Christian doctrine of atonement and current debates about it. He considers its biblical foundation in Pauline texts, the Old Testament background, and the theological questions under discussion about atonement. He provides ancient historical background and raises questions, such as whether the Incarnation must be understood through the lens of atonement. Chapters are Chapter 1: Sacrifice and Scapegoat," "Chapter 2: Paul's Use of Cultic Imagery," "Chapter 3: Atonement afterPaul," "Chapter 4: Rationalizing the Atonement Doctrine," and "Chapter 5: The Incarnation." Stephen Finlan, PhD, is an adjunct professor of New Testament at Seton Hall University and Fordham University. He is the author of The Background and Content of Paul's Cultic Atonement Metaphors (Society of Biblical Culture, 2004). "

Table of Contents:

Contents
Abbreviations   vii
     Standards   viii
Introduction   1
     The Incarnation   3
     Ritual Atonement Metaphors   5
     The Logic(s) of Atonement   8
Chapter 1: Sacrifice and Scapegoat   11
1.1 Hebrew Sacrifice   11
     1.1.1 As a Gift   11
     1.1.2 For Purification   12
     1.1.3 Purifying the Temple   15
     1.1.4The Kippering of Sin   17
     1.1.5 The Basic Meanings of Sacrifice   19
1.2 Spiritualization   20
1.3 Typological Interpretation   29
1.4. Expulsion Rituals   31
     1.4.1 Gentile Expulsion Rites   32
     1.4.2 OT Expulsion Rituals   34
1.5 Using Scapegoat to Christianize Sacrifice   37
Chapter 2: Paul’s Use of Cultic Imagery   39
2.1 The Sacrificial Metaphor in Romans 3:25   39
2.2 Scapegoat and New Creation in 2 Corinthians 5:21   42
2.3 The Currency of the Curse in Galatians 3:13   44
     2.3.1 Redemption and Curse   44
     2.3.2 Covenants and Curses   46
2.4 The Body of Sin in Romans 6 to 8   48
2.5 Summary of Paul’s Expulsion Imagery   50
2.6 Hellenistic and “Noble Death” Motifs   52
2.7 Cultic and Social Metaphors   55
2.8 Pauline Soteriology   57
     2.8.1 Explaining the Messiah to the Gentiles   57
     2.8.2 What Does “Dying for Us” Mean?   58
     2.8.3 Your Faith Has Saved You?   60
Chapter 3: Atonement after Paul   63
3.1 Domesticating Paul   63
     3.1.1 The Conservative Deutero-Pauline Tradition   63
     3.1.2 Making Redemption Dominant   64
3.2 Development of the Doctrines of Atonement   66
     3.2.1 The Rescue Theories   67
     3.2.2 Augustine and Gregory the Great   69
     3.2.3 The Satisfaction Theory   71
     3.2.4 The Moral Influence Theory   74
     3.2.5 Reformation Theories   75
3.3 The Psychology of Atonement   79
     3.3.1 Why Atonement Is Compelling   79
     3.3.2 The Guilt-Gratitude Cycle   82
Chapter 4: Rationalizing the Atonement Doctrine   84
4.1 Restating Atonement   85
4.2 Redefining Sacrifice   86
     4.2.1 Sacrifice as Soul-Repair   87
     4.2.2 Sacrifice as Sacred Violence   89
          4.2.2.1 The Theory of Girard   89
          4.2.2.2 Exonerating Paul   94
4.3 Critiques of Atonement   96
     4.3.1 Winter’s Critique of Inadequate Atonement Theories   96
     4.3.2 Weaver: Improving the Atonement   98
     4.3.3 Wink: A Nearly Pacifist Gospel   100
     4.3.4 Feminist Rejection of a Gospel of Suffering   104
4.4 Atonement: A Call for the Question   106
     4.4.1 Is the Atonement Metaphor Inherently Flawed?   106
     4.4.2 Can the Sacrifice Metaphor Be Spiritualized?   108
4.5 Did Jesus Have to Be Killed?   109
4.6 The Soteriology of Jesus   111
     4.6.1 The Hosea Principle   112
     4.6.2 Jesus at Odds with Ritual Correctness   113
Chapter 5: The Incarnation   117
5.1 The Incarnation Interpreted through Secondary Doctrines   117
5.2 Theøsis   120
Bibliography   125
Index of Modern Authors   135
Index of Ancient Texts   138

About the Author :
Stephen Finlan, PhD, is an adjunct professor at Drew University and has taught at Fordham. He is also author of Problems with Atonement and Options on Atonement in Christian Thought (both published by Liturgical Press) as well as The Background and Content of Paul's Cultic Atonement Metaphors (SBL and Brill, 2004).

Review :
... a book that I would want to read and digest before preaching or teaching on the meaning of God's salvation.Ernest Thompson, First Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, North Carolina ... this book is essential reading for those wrestling with the problems of atonement theory.Journal for the Study of the New Testament ... does a very good job in sorting through the paradoxes that are present in thinking about atonement. Finlan is good at catching the nuances of metaphor and setting out the different values in the balance of the discussion. He understands the role of ritual action in trying to reach where more discursive forms of thought cannot go.New Theology Review ... it is a book that I would want to read and digest before preaching or teaching on the meaning of God's Salvation.Ernest Thompson, First Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, North Carolina In this challenging and enlightening book, Stephen Finlan suggests that we have misunderstood the nature of God's salvation by allowing primitive ideas about sacrifice to inform our doctrine of the atonement, and by making atonement the central doctrine of the Christian faith. Finlan insists that the unique and central doctrine of the Christian faith is not the atonement, but rather, the incarnation.Ernest Thompson, First Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, North Carolina Finlan's book is well worth reading for a number of reasons. It contains a fantastic summary of Pauline metaphors for atonement. It contains fascinating side comments about questions such as the relationship of ritual to the moral structure of society. Finally it is a stimulating debate partner for those who wish to defend the biblical and traditional doctrine of atonement in some form or another.Catholic Studies An Online Journal Problems with Atonement is an ambitious argument against theories of atonement. Worship ... its discussion of biblical theology contains ideas that could bear much fruit.Worship