The Last Scapegoat

Tony Jones' posts on the atonement during lent continue. I recommend checking them out if the theology of "God punished Jesus so God doesn't have to send you to hell" has troubled you, as it has for me, and are interested in alternative ways of understanding the cross. I've wrestled with the atonement for a while, and dove deeply into it last fall. It's been challenging, rewarding and freeing. 

For me, probably the biggest problem with penal substitution is that it communicates that God's answer to our brokenness is an act of violence. Brian McLaren has wisely asked, "Was God with Jesus or with the Romans on Good Friday?" In other words, was God dying at the hands of humanity with & in Christ, or was God doing the killing to satisfy God's wrath? Never mind that the Hebrew bible and the gospels contain numerous references to forgivingness being offered freely to sinners without any need of sacrifice. 

Here's how I'd sum up my view on the atonement in two sentence: We needed the crucifixion, not God. The payment was to the "intransigent human heart" as Richard Rohr has put it, not to divine wrath. 

Anyway, here's Tony's latest post:

The Last Scapegoat