In the 15th chapter of his Systematic Theology, Michael Horton speaks about the topic of Christ’s threefold office of prophet, priest and king, all speaking on his life, death and resurrection. At the very end of the chapter Horton brings up the question of the extent of the atonement. This is an important question that Evangelical Christians differ on and so it is necessary to discuss. Horton begins by summarizing the 3 main positions on the topic. The first is universal atonement that is that the sins of every single person have been atoned for bar none. So everyone is redeemed through Christ’s work, and the early church Father Origen went as far as to expect Satan himself restored at some point. The second is what Horton refers to as, …show more content…
In this understanding Christ’s death was sufficient to save everyone and bear every sin, but in actuality he only bore the sin and punishment for the elect. He goes on to defend this third view with two main arguments. First is that it most adequately expresses the relationship of the Trinity in the process of redemption. The Father was the architect, planning the whole thing in eternity past, the Son was sent to bear the actual burden, to do the actual work on the cross, and finally the Spirit applies the work to the elect and brings it all to completion. The second argument is that this view most adequately shows the “efficacy and objectivity” of the atonement. Those Christ died for cannot be …show more content…
The language of “limited” is misleading, putting a negative twist on the doctrine. If Christ’s atonement was limited then it does that mean that Christ was not able to take on all of the sins of the world? Was Christ not strong enough? Of course not, and yet this language seems to point in that direction. A helpful thing that Horton did was bring up how both the Arminian and Reformed doctrines place some limitation on the atonement as they are not universalist. The difference comes down to what the purpose of the atonement was in the first
During the Colonial Era, religion and worship played an important role in the quotidian lives of Puritans. Jonathan Edwards was an eloquent preacher and theologian who impacted many lives through sermons. Edwards's sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” persuaded individuals to worship Christ and ask forgiveness for their sins. This sermon left a strong lasting impact, one that would later trigger the Great Awakening from 1734 to 1750. In the sermon, Edwards uses many rhetorical strategies to assist in the influence of his sermon including appeals to pathos and ethos, imagery, and figurative language.
Throughout centuries, persuasion has been used to argue your point of view, whether it was the ability to give reason, or to cite evidence to support that idea. Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan preacher, used the power of appeal to reach his audience during a sermon. During Mr. Edwards sermons, he was able to capture the audience's attention by using many literary techniques such as; imagery to scare the literal hell out of people, the contrast of God's wrath and grace, and the demeanor in which he spoke in. An effective method that Mr. Edwards uses in his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, is the detailed and vivid imagery he conveys while speaking.
“Persuasion is often more effectual than force” – Aesop. The word persuasion is defined as the act of convincing the listener to think or act in a particular way, or attempting to inspire or challenge opinions or views. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards is a sermon that was formed using persuasion as its biggest tool. This sermon, or religious speech, describes the tragedies that will happen to sinners, from depicting an angry God to the horrors of an afterlife spent in Hell. After listening to the six hour oratory, many people were said to have been horrified and even released screams at the text being recited to them.
Lewis might not even be right in the way he handled Emeth, but he also could be. Many times when this argument comes up, there seem to be exceptions to who gets saved. For the longest time, I believed that Christianity was an exclusivist religion, but even then, I thought that young children who died would be saved. They hadn’t yet reached an ‘Age of Accountability’ and couldn’t be held accountable for what they did or didn’t know. But if that’s the case, what is the age where we draw the line?
Salvation according to many Christians is only practical through Jesus Christ and his death on the cross is the absolute sacrifice that will make up for the sins of the humanity. Therefore we can say that his death has been presented and classified as a "parole", which really gives us an idea that people 's sin has been forgiven. Because of
Aarushi Bellani Ms. Kanika Dang Thesis Paper 8th November 2015 Portrayal of Sin & Atonement in Khaled Hosseini’s ‘The Kite Runner’ “Our English word “atonement” explains well the theology behind such restoration, for it suggests that God and humanity can relationally be “at one” again,” suggests Ed Stetzer in his blog on Christianity & the Old Testament. This concept of sin and atonement can be seen to occur frequently in the novel ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini through the course of the protagonist, Amir’s life.
Ultimately, the order supports a compensation retributive model in America’s court system. A similar spiritual comparison is stated in one of the most popular verses in the Christian faith. In John 3:16 it says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Due to our sinful nature, it was required for God to send his one and only son as a compensatory to relinquish us from our sin.
Forgiveness is one of the hardest tasks to accomplish. Is it an easy for a human to forgive another who has wronged that particular person? Most people would say no. In Christianity, forgiveness is a prevalent topic because it can be one of the hardest things to do. Most of humanity seeks revenge for wrongs done to them.
Jonathan Edwards’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House” seem at first glance quite similar to one another regarding context, however, after taking a closer look, it becomes apparent that there are some substantial differences. These differences cannot be understood without the knowledge of cultural context concerning the Puritan belief system and their lifestyle. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was written with the sole purpose of scaring and intimidating the people that purtinans believed to be sinners. Edwards’s work contributed to a movement called “The Great Awakening”. It’s objective was to make the so-called ‘sinners’ aware of their wrongdoings and compel them to repent.
We often come across situations that may sometimes make us either doubt our faith in Christ. It may make us to even doubt whether Christ is really able to help us through those challenges. So we tend to ask, where is Christ when all this is happening? “Where was christ when my son was murdered, when my daughter was rapped, when ISIS beheaded my friend, where was he?” A challenging question that comes with the atonement is that if Christ saved us from evil, then why do we still have evil reigning over the world.
This infuriates the older brother who believes he has been a righteous son. His father replies, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” Christ teaches that no matter the sin, those that believe in Him and have true repentance may always return to the
The Divine Command Theory The Divine Command Theory is an ethical theory that states that God decides what is morally right and what is morally wrong. The theory argues that to be morally good one must do what God says and abstain from doing what God forbids. The question that is going to be discussed in this essay is if The Divine Command Theory provides an acceptable account of what makes an action morally right and others morally wrong.
I think that, while it is dangerous to wrap one’s entire atonement theology around, it is simply an easy way to grasp a particular aspect of atonement. Green would argue, and I agree, that each metaphor in the New Testament, rather than trying to encompass the whole of atonement, is merely shedding light on one aspect of it. Now, I do not think that most Christians whose beliefs are in line with the Penal Substitution Doctrine are aware of the inferences of said doctrine. For the most part I am sure that they are simply taking the analogy of the New Testament at its word and not at all pondering the consequences of said belief. I also agree with Green that we should be searching for and modeling new metaphors for our current culture.
Institutes of the Christian Religion was first published in 1536 by John Calvin (1509-1564) and is his magnum opus of Christian theology. The books, of which there are four, follow the order of the Apostle’s Creed examining God the Father in the first, the Son of God in the second, the Holy Spirit in the third, and lastly the Church in the fourth and final installment. For the purposes of this paper, the 17th chapter of the fourth book will come into view as the Lord’s Supper according to Calvin is analyzed. The chapter is divided into two sections, wherein the first describes the institution of the Holy Supper and the way in which a Christian participates and understands the sacrament. The second section, which makes up the majority of
Contrary to the gods presented in Things Fall Apart, God was presented in Dostoevsky’s novel as the all powerful and omnipresent God of love and forgiveness, much like God’s image that Christians know of. He sacrificed his only son, Jesus, who had died at the cross for humanity’s salvation. He is regarded as the absolute truth and whoever accepts Him will join Him in His kingdom where there is no more suffering and only joy. Father Zossima once spoke about the infinite love that God has while healing and blessing the peasants. He said that God’s love is too great for a human mind to comprehend.