Adam J. Johnson's "Atonement: A Guide for the Perplexed" argues for a multifaceted understanding of the Christian doctrine of atonement, emphasizing that no single "theory" or model fully encapsulates the "riches, abundance and variety of blessings" found in Christ's saving work. The author critiques the tendency towards one-dimensional accounts of atonement, particularly highlighting the limitations of focusing solely on judicial themes like penal substitution, while still affirming the value and partial truth within various historical and theological perspectives. A central theme is the crucial role of the divine attributes and the Trinitarian nature of God in understanding the atonement, emphasizing God's proactive and benevolent action in bringing creation back to himself. The atonement is presented not just as salvation _from_ sin and its consequences, but primarily as salvation _for_ abundant life and restored relationship with the triune God and his creation. The cosmic scope of the atonement, extending to all of creation and even the demonic realm (though in a nuanced way), is also explored. **Key Themes and Important Ideas:** 1. **The Richness and Multifaceted Nature of Atonement:** - The author rejects the idea that atonement can be reduced to a single "theory" or "controlling category." Instead, he argues for a comprehensive understanding that embraces multiple aspects of God's work in Christ. - "The purpose of this book is to offer a more expansive answer to this question, sharing a vision for a fuller understanding of the atonement which is eager to explore, embrace and apply new aspects of God’s work in Christ to reconcile all things to himself." - Different historical figures in Christian theology have emphasized various aspects of the atonement (e.g., Athanasius, Irenaeus, John of Damascus, Anselm, Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Grotius), highlighting its inherent complexity. - The use of diverse metaphors and imagery (judicial, warfare, painting, fish-hook) reflects the manifold nature of Christ's saving work. - "The image of treasure is merely to communicate the riches, abundance and variety of blessings we have in Christ through his saving work." 2. **Critique of One-Dimensional Theories and the Importance of Multiple Perspectives:** - The author expresses concern about attempts to simplify the doctrine to a single "normal handsaw" analogy, arguing this risks neglecting other crucial dimensions. - While acknowledging the significance of Anselm's satisfaction theory, the author notes its "one-dimensionality" as a departure from earlier traditions that incorporated multiple facets. - Grotius's Governmental theory, while sharing elements with penal substitution, is presented as distinct due to its emphasis on God as Ruler and the demonstration of divine justice as an example. - Rejecting single, authoritative theories is seen as crucial for a robust understanding. 3. **The Centrality of Divine Attributes in Understanding Atonement:** - Each theory of the atonement is rooted in an understanding of God's character, often emphasizing one or a small group of divine attributes. - Understanding the divine attributes (e.g., goodness, justice, holiness, wisdom, benevolence, omnipresence) is essential for understanding why the death of Christ was necessary and what it accomplished. - Edwards' exploration of atonement through the lens of God's "manifold wisdom" is highlighted as a richer approach than solely focusing on retributive justice. - The divine attributes are described as "life-giving," though in the presence of sin they can take on an "alien mode" of destructive activity (e.g., holiness consuming impurity, justice judging and punishing). 4. **The Trinitarian Nature of Atonement:** - A fundamental principle is the oneness of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, emphasizing a single, harmonious will and unified action. - Critiques of atonement theories (particularly from feminist perspectives) are often based on a misunderstanding of the Trinity, treating the divine persons as distinct, potentially conflicting entities. - The atonement is understood as a "thoroughly Trinitarian event," rooted in God's internal, eternal relationships. - The incarnation is presented not only as the Son's descent but also as the "ascent" of human nature, where God brings our sinful condition into his own life to deal with it from within the Godhead. - "Because God is one, the action he accomplishes and effects in Christ is willed and accomplished in and through himself without division, without conflict." - "And it is because the one God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, eternally living with and relating to himself, that he is able to enact the dynamics of these relationships, of the divine life, for us, bearing our sin and re-establishing us as his creatures." 5. **Sin as a Perversion of God's Character and Will:** - Sin is understood as "that which denies and perverts the will and ultimately the character or attributes of God, by bending in on itself." - Sin is "a rebellious creaturely perversion of the character or attributes of God." - Different theories of atonement focus on various aspects of sin (e.g., bondage, guilt, shame, dishonour, uncleanness, ignorance, blindness). - Sin is not merely a passive affliction but also something actively done individually, socially, and cosmically. 6. **Penal Substitution within a Broader Context:** - The author acknowledges the biblical teaching concerning justice, righteousness, wrath, and Christ's substitutionary work. - Penal substitution is seen as helpfully affirming that in Christ, God "took upon himself the fullness of the alien mode of God’s righteous response to sin." - However, a complete understanding requires including the role of the resurrection and acknowledging that penal substitution offers only one perspective based on the divine attribute of justice/righteousness. - Divine wrath is understood as an "alien mode" of God's divine life, not an attribute in the same way as love or holiness, emerging in response to creaturely sin. 7. **Atonement as Salvation _From_ and Salvation _For_:** - While the atonement saves _from_ sin, death, and the devil, this is secondary to being saved _for_ abundant life and restored relationship with God and creation. - "Properly put, we are saved for abundant life with the triune God and his creation (the ‘yes’ of God)." - The emphasis should be primarily constructive and life-giving, with the "no" to sin being surrounded and concealed in God's ultimate "yes" to creation. 8. **The Cosmic Scope of Atonement:** - Christ's saving work extends beyond individual human salvation to encompass all of creation. - Christ is the Creator, inheritor, and in him all things hold together, giving cosmic significance to his life, death, and resurrection. - The atonement impacts the entire created order, from physical bodies to social relationships, the cosmos, and even the demonic realm. - The idea of "recapitulation" (Irenaeus) is used to describe how Christ repeats and transforms human history and creation within himself. 9. **The Role of Resurrection:** - The resurrection is not merely an add-on to the atonement but is integral to it. - It is the "satisfaction of God," bringing Christ's mission to completion, revealing the Son, and spreading the Spirit. - The resurrection is presented as a definitive act of re-creation, renewing all of creation and establishing believers in God's love, justice, and righteousness. - "Without God’s No, in judgement and crucifixion, the resurrection would be only an empty show of wonderful power – it would not have any saving content to it, it would contain no forgiveness." 10. **Atonement for Different Aspects of Creation (Angels, Cosmos, Demons):** - The atonement has implications for the unfallen angels, allowing them to participate more fully in God's life and worship. - Christ's life, death, and resurrection have a tangible impact on the cosmos, bringing healing and renewal to the physical creation groaning under sin's effects. - The atonement also involves Christ's victory over the demonic realm, disempowering Satan and the principalities and powers. - The author acknowledges the challenging question of atonement _for_ the demons, suggesting it might be primarily in revealing God's wisdom and goodness, even if they ultimately resist. 11. **The Importance of Scriptural Interpretation and Theological Reflection:** - The work is presented as an "exercise in theological interpretation of Scripture," drawing on both the biblical witness and historical theological interpretations. - Understanding atonement requires careful reading of Scripture in a theological manner, moving beyond simplistic or isolated passages. **Key Quotes:** - "My talk of dazzling riches may suggest a beautiful and inspiring picture, but I would not be the first theologian accused of overzealously painting on clouds, failing to deliver on the substance of the matter... Were I to fail in my task." - "God is most certainly loving and just, but he is just as much loving and holy – accordingly, he seeks to deal with our sin comprehensively in both its guilt and uncleanness." - "Christ died and rose again to make us clean and holy, that we might be holy as he is holy (Lev. 20:26; 1 Pet. 1:16)." - "Just as significant as overcoming our guilt, shame and sloth was Christ’s mission to overcome our ignorance and blindness – not with knowledge generally, but with knowledge of the Father. And in order to do away with this darkness Christ took upon himself this reality, experiencing the darkness of death, a darkness that is utterly abolished in the resurrection light and ascension to the Father (20:17)." - "Thus far, Thomas has accounted for the nature of sin within epistemic/psychological categories – sinning, or cleaving to certain lesser goods, results in a stain of the soul, by which our use of natural reason and our knowledge of God is dimmed and distorted, such that we become creatures of darkness (Jn 3:19)." - "A stain is properly ascribed to corporeal things, when a comely body loses its comeliness through contact with another body. . . . Now man’s soul has a two-fold comeliness; one from the refulgence of the natural light of reason... the other, from the refulgence of the Divine light... when man sins, he cleaves to certain things, against the light of reason and of the Divine law... Wherefore the loss of comeliness occasioned by this contact, is metaphorically called a stain on the soul." (Thomas Aquinas) - "God was moved by his own goodness to bestow distinguished blessings upon us. But since our sins, which deserved punishment, were an obstacle to this, he determined that Christ... should... pay the penalty for our sins, in order that without prejudice to the exhibition of divine justice, we might be liberated... from the punishment of eternal death." (Hugo Grotius) - "Orthodoxy is not a matter of a single theory of the atonement. Moreover, we should resist locating orthodoxy at the level of theory at all, as though we could simplistically affirm one theory as orthodox, while rejecting another." - "Monotheism, with its single governing principle, is what we value – not monotheism defined as the sovereignty of a single person... but the single rule produced by equality of nature, harmony of will, identity of action, and the convergence towards their source of what springs from unity – none of which is possible in the case of created nature." (Gregory of Nazianzus) - "Because God is one, the action he accomplishes and effects in Christ is willed and accomplished in and through himself without division, without conflict." - "And it is because the one God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, eternally living with and relating to himself, that he is able to enact the dynamics of these relationships, of the divine life, for us, bearing our sin and re-establishing us as his creatures." - "God’s answer was to make sin his own, so that he could fully reject and destroy sin and evil, while ultimately safeguarding his beloved creatures from that same rejection and destruction." - "Wrath, we must say, is something new in the life of God – something new, due to the sin of the creature." - "While Scripture does not affirm penal substitution with all its central elements in a single passage, the above reflections encourage us to consolidate the Bible’s teaching concerning justice/righteousness, wrath and Christ’s substitution and vicarious bearing of our sin." - "Properly put, we are saved for abundant life with the triune God and his creation (the ‘yes’ of God)." - "His goal in creation is to share the divine life with the creature, that it too might have presence – a sphere of belonging and activity proper to the creature by means of which it can live, relate and extend itself through activity." - "The important thing is that in Christ all things are made new – a reality which will come to completion in the second coming of Christ, and to which we must now bear witness, in part (though not exclusively) in a theologically informed environmentalism." - "The atonement, as we know it, confronts our sin and its consequences, and our development of sin within the doctrine explains the nature of our plight and opposition to God." - "This movement of grace, we should add, is rooted in the incarnation of the eternal Son, the divine light himself, who makes the soul comely once more, through his refulgence in the soul." **Conclusion:** The excerpts demonstrate Johnson's commitment to a comprehensive and biblically grounded understanding of the atonement that moves beyond the limitations of single-theory approaches. By highlighting the diverse ways theologians have understood Christ's work throughout history, emphasizing the interconnectedness of divine attributes and the Trinitarian life of God, and underscoring the cosmic scope of salvation, the author offers a richer and more nuanced perspective on this central Christian doctrine. The focus on salvation _for_ abundant life and restored relationship, rather than solely _from_ sin, provides a constructive framework for further theological exploration.