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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture ----- Original Message ----- From: "Edwin Hewitt" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2004 6:43 AM Subject: Re: [M-R] Atonement (1) > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture > > Fr. Ambrose wrote: > > Dear Elastic Doctor, I have to differ. The Atonement has no place in the doctrine of the East, and particularly in the form developed by Anselm taught - the offering of a sacrifice (the Son) to the Father in order to propiate the divine justice which required the punishment of the human race as the result of Adam's sin. > > Edwin replies: > We have had this conversation between us on another list, so I have no particular desire to begin it again. To sum up my position then, Atonement and blood sacrifice is part of the heritage that the Jewish faith bequethed to the Christian faith. The Passover Lamb was a type which the Christ fulfulled (hense pascha, from Greek, Passover, from Hebrew pesah). Leviticus 16 describes the blood atonement which later became Yom Kippur. Acts 8:25-52 clearly refer to Isaiah's Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53. This is reinforce in Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17, and other places. This is the enheritance of the whole Church. > > Anselm represented a view of Atonement which was representative of his place and time, but it has been but one perspective. The main characteristic of Atonement is not (as "River of Fire" would lead one to believe) the placification of a vengeful God, so much as a demonstration of Divine justice transformed by Divine mercy. As I read Orthodox literature, it seems that anyone of the Orthodox who shows support for Atonement is branded as "corrupted" by Western Theology. Indeed, it seems that Atonement is a concept used more for polemic argument to keep East from West, than for any useful thing. > > Did I summarize our previous conversation adequately? Not from my viewpoint. Nuance it how one may, it still appears to the Eastern Christians that the West teaches that the Father required the death of His Son in order to satisfy the divine sense of justice and bring about salvation. If that it not an adequate summary of the Western view of Atonement which has been dominant since the 11th century or if this view does not exist at all in Western theology, then the East would be pleased to hear it rejected? I am not aware of any Orthodox patristic writings which support the Atonement, and would be keen to have the references. Fr Ambrose __________________________ ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html