Atonement, deeply rooted in ritual sacrifice, is examined through both biblical and psychological lenses. While biblical scholars often resist psychology, it's argued that psychological categories are inherently used to understand ancient religious practices. A central theory posits that some atonement concepts originate from a "payment through suffering" strategy, a coping mechanism children learn to appease moody or abusive parents.
Biblical sacrifices functioned primarily as purification from impurity or as compensation/redemption offered to God. New Testament authors like Paul and the author of Hebrews employed these cultic metaphors to explain Christ's death. However, these interpretations often implied a God who required appeasement or payment, echoing ancient reciprocity systems. This view contrasts sharply with Jesus's teachings, which emphasized God's free grace, unconditional love, and mercy, demonstrating that salvation is freely available without manipulative offerings or transactions. Jesus's message promoted trust and inclusiveness, challenging the fear and disgust often linked to purity systems.
Later theological doctrines, such as penal substitution, are criticized for distorting God's character into a wrathful, demanding tyrant, fostering unhealthy psychological patterns of guilt and shame. Historically, literal interpretations of blood sacrifice, like medieval transubstantiation, contributed to societal anxieties and prejudices, including anti-Semitic ritual murder accusations. The analysis advocates for evolving beyond these primitive, fear-based atonement concepts to embrace Jesus's non-transactional, love-centered understanding of salvation, unlinked to sacrificial death.
Introduction To Sacrifice And Atonement
Atonement As Compensation Or Reciprocity
Attachment, Cruelty, And Coping