Jesus, the Atonement, and Particularity

Jesus' death and resurrection can be viewed simultaneously as flesh and blood events as well as a metaphor of God's grace and reconciliation.

Two types of Death

There are two types of death spoken of in the scriptures and they are both significant to the atonement. Spritual death is one type and Physical death is the other. Both are said to enter the world with the fall of Adam and Eve and both are overcome by Christ.

"No Adam, No Fall?"

Links to an excellent article exploring ways in which the notion of the fall of humanity can be understood.

Why link to Wikipedia?

We link to Wikipedia, not because it is authoritative, but because it is mostly accurate and it is a good place to get ideas to start research.

Animals and Humans

The relationship between humans and animals in the Bible is often assumed to be marked by a sharp division between the two, but the Biblical record is not so clear cut.

18 Passages From The Bible That Say Hell Is Real and Sinners Go There.

Below are eighteen passages that talk about Hell as if it is a real place that sinners are sent to.

Video, In Chile, Altruistic Dog Risks Life To Save Another Dog.

This is one incident that captures the fact on video that altruism is not confined to humans. Non-humans recognize situations that require altruism, and modify their typical behavior to perform an altruistic act.

Atonement: Justice is at fault, not God

The atonement was a necessary part of God's plan to fulfill the demands of justice. When we fail to comply with one of the commandments it would be just to receive a punishment for the transgression. But we also expect God to be merciful and forgive our sins. God is said to be perfect(Matt 5:48) and as such we should expect him to be perfectly just and perfectly merciful. To remain as such poses a problem when we add consequences into the equation.

Monkey Cooperation and Fairness: Fundamental Principles in Law

Non-humans reason well enough to recognize the logical relationships necessary for negotiation to facilitate cooperation and they recognize when they are not getting treated the same as a peer. These are fundamental concepts to morality and law evident in non-humans. The following video is of two experiments demonstrating this fact.

Jesus and the Law

The concept of law is found throughout the Gospels and the New Testament and is an important element of atonement theology. This post explores the way Jesus understood and treated Old Testament law to provide a perspective for New Testament understanding of the law.