Jesus and the Cross - Theories of Atonement

Jesus is NOT the Cross

     Why did Jesus, the centerpiece of Christianity die?  It's interesting how many people believe that the cross was the way Jesus paid our debt to God (or the Devil). There is absolutely no doubt that Jesus died for our sin. But some people think He died because of our sins and some think He died to forgive our sins.  There is a distinct separation between the two and there is no shortage of people ready to speculate on them.  Some say Jesus paid our debt to God, others say He paid the Devil, and still others say He led by example.  These ideas have been debated throughout history, but one idea of Penal Substitution has dominated the playing field for almost 1,000 years.  However, it has recently been challenged by the very ideas that it had silenced so many years before.  Penal Substitution is a refinement of a slightly older idea known as Satisfaction.  For the thousand years before Penal Substitution was created, two ideas were formed about the death of Jesus.  One was Ransom, and the other was Moral Influence.  The more prevalent of the two was Moral Influence.

Grace / Law

     The “Grace/Law” picture at first glance conveys a message of Jesus the Christ’s grace being sufficient for all religions and beliefs.  It also shows the law dying on the cross, which would remove the notion of sin in the world.  This is very controversial in Christianity today and there is great criticism between the grace and law messages, as well as all of those in between.  The letters of grace each represent a belief system; the beliefs being Evolution, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Gender Equality respectively.  The cross has the Ten Commandments nailed to each arm representing the law being fulfilled through Jesus’ death.  The cross also reinforces this idea with the words, “The Law Fulfilled” engraved on it.

Jonah and the Whale

     In the book of Jonah we read a story about a man named Jonah who was supposed to go to Nineveh in order to warn them of God's wrath and to urge them to change their ways.  Jonah, however, decides that the people of Nineveh did not deserve God's grace and ought to be damned as a result of their disobedience.  Thinking theses things, Jonah ran from God and took a ship in the opposite direction.  A storm ends up raging over the ship that he was on and the crew starts asking why they are in this storm.  Jonah then admits that he has disobeyed God and he is thrown overboard.  When Jonah is thrown overboard, a whale catches him in its mouth, carries him to Nineveh, and spits him on the shore.  While Jonah was in the whale, he recognizes God's sovereignty and realizes that God showed him grace even when he refused to show the people of Nineveh the same grace.  Jonah, then goes to Nineveh and warns them of God's wrath and they change their ways.