Atonement for Sins

 

Unlike some other well-known concepts, the concept of Atonement for sins is in fact found in the Bible. It says things like:

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

All of these references to dying or sacrifice can be found in letters attributed to Paul. Paul’s letters were written during the first few decades following the crucifixion of Jesus. They are widely considered to be among the first New Testament texts and the concept of Atonement for sins has been part of church doctrine for hundreds of years since then.

Paul’s authority to speak on Jesus’ behalf has been questioned by both modern scholars as well as opponents in his own time. Paul’s connections with the Jewish community and meeting with the apostles in Jerusalem undoubtedly helped boost his standing as did his undeniably successful effort to spread Christianity to the entire region. When Paul spoke, people generally listened. But was he right?

Many decades later, John writes that 

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son

I don’t see anything about Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins in that statement. What I see is Jesus as a light in a world full of darkness. He is our only hope for a world without suffering.

It is true that Jesus did die a gruesome death, but it did nothing to restore the Garden God had created and we had destroyed. What it did do is shine a spotlight on what had caused this tragedy, namely human hunger for wealth and power. Jesus knew what had to be done to fix it, to love God and to love one another, so for the rich and powerful to maintain power, he had to be eliminated. They chose to do it the worst possible way guaranteeing enmity and suffering to continue to be in our lives.

Jesus did not come to be sacrificed for our sins. He came to save us from ourselves.