Source: “Salvation Not Purchased: Overcoming the Ransom Idea to Rediscover the Original Gospel Teaching”, By Stephen Finlan, 2020.
Psychological Problems With Attonment.wav
This podcast critically examines "sacrificial atonement" within Christianity, arguing that popular interpretations revive primitive religious instincts and present a monstrous and primitive God the Father alongside a kindly Son. It identifies two problematic concepts: magical atonement, which assumes God can be manipulated by ritual (like "the power of the blood"), and propitiatory atonement, which views salvation as a payment or punishment, glorifying suffering and potentially fostering guilt. The text then explores the psychological undercurrents of atonement theology, suggesting it often stems from dysfunctional family dynamics where parental rage is appeased through suffering, leading to a projection of abusive patterns onto God. Finally, it critiques the origin of hell, asserting that the concept is a later development, emphasizing that Jesus' teachings on gehenna likely referred to worldly judgment, not an eternal fiery damnation, and highlighting the shame and fear inflicted by such interpretations, which contradict God's true nature as loving and merciful.
Topic 1: The Problem with Primitive Interpretations of Sacrificial Atonement The text argues that one of the most significant issues with sacrificial atonement is its tendency to revive primitive religious instincts. It suggests that popular atonement concepts have distorted the image of God, presenting God the Father as monstrous and primitive, in stark contrast to God the Son, who is often portrayed as kindly and self-sacrificing. This creates a theological rupture that is deemed neither real nor supported by biblical texts. When people interpret the sacrificial metaphor literally, they often feel compelled to uphold ancient beliefs about sacrifice, such as the idea that a sacrificial death can soothe or conciliate God's anger. The text strongly asserts that this is a non-moral idea, implying that God can be manipulated through material means, a notion vigorously condemned by the prophets.
Topic 2: The Magical Concept of Atonement This form of non-moral atonement belief is explored, particularly focusing on the idea of "the power of the blood," which includes the belief that "innocent blood" possesses cleansing power. This concept draws from certain New Testament passages, but the text criticizes it for assuming a "strange kind of causation," where a ritual cause is believed to produce a moral effect. Instead, it posits that a moral effect should inherently require a moral cause. This magical thinking is identified as a manipulative psychology that keeps Christianity tethered to ancient, primitive modes of thought, projecting human sacrificial ideas onto God.
Topic 3: The Propitiatory Concept of Atonement Described as perhaps more rigidly logical than the magical concept, the propitiatory understanding of atonement is characterized as "crudely economic." It involves the notion that salvation can be purchased through a specific "legal tender," which is identified as the Savior's innocent suffering. This concept is criticized for glorifying suffering and leading to a psychological trap that generates guilt and anxiety. It can even lead to the expectation or justification of inflicting suffering upon the innocent, often under the guise of being "for your own good." Historical figures like Calvin are cited as proponents of this "payment concept," believing that Christ's shed blood satisfied God's justice and acquired righteousness for believers as a form of compensation.
Topic 4: The Manipulative Psychology of Atonement and its Implications The core criticism against both magical and propitiatory atonement concepts is that they inherently imply a manipulative relationship with God. The text contends that these ideas unconsciously promote the belief that God can be "paid off" by a "ritual murder," even if Christian apologists would not use such direct terms. While modern proponents may deny or downplay the manipulative aspect, historical figures like Luther and Calvin were reportedly conscious of it, openly stating that salvation was purchased through a ransom payment to God. The text urges a closer examination of the manipulative logic embedded in popular atonement arguments, questioning whether it aligns with Jesus's teachings.
Topic 5: The Importance of Personal Responsibility and Moral Action vs. Magical Solutions The text emphasizes that the message of salvation should be separated from all superstitious ideas, including using sacrifice to cleanse impurity or appease God's anger. It highlights that Jesus's ministry, acts of kindness, and life were significant, not merely a prelude to his death. Salvation is presented as not being a magical cleansing or a sacrificial payment. Instead, wrongdoing carries real personal and social consequences that must be addressed through a moral and social process. This involves admitting sin wholeheartedly, repenting, making reparations to those who have been hurt, changing one's life and habits, and resolving not to repeat sins. The popular phrase "his blood covers our sin" is critiqued as a magical solution that evades personal responsibility, potentially leading to further sinning and half-hearted apologies.
Topic 6: Psychological Undercurrents: The Projection of an Angry or Strict God The text explores the troubling psychological undercurrents of atonement, particularly when it's combined with the idea of "satisfaction," implying the appeasement of God's anger. This theological perspective is seen as assuming God is a strict authority figure who keeps track of misdeeds and prepares severe punishments. This portrayal is identified not as the real God, but as a projection of human assumptions about how a strict father or king would rule. It suggests that such a God is perceived as an insecure monarch requiring repeated demonstrations of submission and suffering. While atonement theology may outwardly speak of God's love, the underlying reality often reflects a need to soothe and placate an angry God, potentially deriving from learned behaviors of coping with parental rage.
Topic 7: The Connection Between Atonement Theology and Dysfunctional Family History A significant psychological argument made is that certain atonement ideas, such as ransom and penitential suffering, are religious echoes of childhood strategies for coping with parental brutality. In oppressive home environments, children learn to appease parental anger by demonstrating their suffering. This learned pattern is then projected onto religious concepts, where an angry parental God is believed to be appeased by seeing someone suffer for humanity's sins. This kind of theology is strongly linked to authoritarian parenting, with the text suggesting that harsh theology can be passed down through generations, much like patterns of abuse. It also notes a correlation between religious conservatism (across various faiths) and harsh or abusive parenting, where the idea of a harsh or violent God resonates with those who experienced violence at home.
Topic 8: The Experience of Shame and its Link to Fundamentalism The text delves into the emotional toll experienced by survivors of fundamentalism, identifying "shame" as an overwhelming and crippling experience. Shame is defined as the feeling of being inherently unlovable, damaged, bad, unwanted, or worthless at one's core, distinguishing it from guilt (consciousness of having done something wrong). Chronic shame is described as debilitating, leading to depression, self-loathing, sorrow, emptiness, and potentially self-harm, unlike guilt which can motivate change. Fundamentalism is broadly defined as any ideology demanding scriptural perfection, behavioral conformity, and offering conditional rewards and punishments. Such systems often involve intense social pressure, indoctrination, and teachings of a harsh, judgmental God, contributing to the "God that shame built"—a yearning for a distant, respectable father figure in God to overcome internalized shame.
Topic 9: Sandor Rado's Theory of Atonement as Manipulative Suffering and Self-Punishment The work of psychologist Sandor Rado is presented as shedding light on the psychological roots of atonement thinking. Rado posited that atonement can be understood as a child's psychological strategy to appease parental anger and regain love after experiencing estrangement or punishment. The child internalizes parental rage and seeks a solution by unconsciously reproducing anticipated punishments within their mind, hoping to win back affection. This leads to self-punishment as an expiatory process, originating from a longing for love and a connection between guilt, atonement, and forgiveness. This learned pattern, where suffering is undergone (or even self-initiated) to win back love, continues into adulthood, potentially manifesting as depression. This self-punishment, even if unconscious, is seen as an attempt to manipulate or coerce the parent (or God) into being kindly, illustrating the manipulative nature of atonement theology.
Topic 10: The Origin and Critique of the Christian Concept of Hell The text undertakes a critical examination of the Christian concept of hell, arguing that the Greek word "gehenna" (often translated as "hell" in older English versions) originally referred to Ge-hinnom, a literal valley south of Jerusalem used for garbage, corpses, and forbidden pagan rituals. This valley was associated with disgust and a perpetually smoldering fire. The prophetic threats related to gehenna in the Hebrew Bible are interpreted as promises of this-worldly punishment and the judgment of Jerusalem, not an afterlife inferno. The idea of fiery punishment in the afterlife is suggested to have expanded during the intertestamental period, possibly influenced by Zoroastrianism, and then incorporated into some New Testament texts, notably Mark and Matthew. The text asserts that the harsh doctrine of hell is largely a product of the Christian Dark Ages, reflecting medieval cruelties rather than Jesus's teachings, which emphasize "fear not" and God's mercy. It contrasts the fear-based hell concept with Jesus's appeal to love and decency and Paul's teachings that "the wages of sin are death," not eternal torment.