Atonement
Atonement, atoning, or making amends is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do bad for others, or some other expression of feelings of hate. Atonement "is closely associated to forgiveness, reconciliation, sorrow, remorse, repentance, reparation, and guilt".[1] It can be seen as a necessary step on a path to redemption.[2] Expiation is the related concept of removing guilt, particularly the undoing of sin or other transgressions in religious contexts.
Names
Atonement and atoning both derive from the verb atone, from the
In law and society
In the
In religion and behavior
In religion, atonement is "a spiritual concept which has been studied since time immemorial in Biblical and Kabbalistic texts",[1] while "[s]tories of atonement are ubiquitous in religious discourse and the language of atonement fundamentally reveals a redemptive turn".[5]
Concepts in religion include:
- confession, restitution, tribulations (unpleasant life experiences), the experience of dying, or other factors.
- Another aspect of atonement is the occurrence of Yom Kippur (the day itself, as distinct from the Temple service performed on it), also known as "the Day of Atonement", which is a biblical/Jewish observance.
- denominations may vary in which metaphor or explanation they consider most accurately fits into their theological perspective; however all Christians emphasize that Jesus is the Saviour of the world and through his death the sins of humanity have been forgiven,[9] enabling the reconciliation between God and his creation. Within Christianity there are, historically, three[10] or four[11]main theories for how such atonement might work:
- Christus Victor (which are different, but generally considered together as Patristic or "classical", to use Gustaf Aulén's nomenclature, theories, it being argued that these were the traditional understandings of the early Church Fathers);
- Satisfaction theory developed by Anselm of Canterbury(called by Aulén the "scholastic" view);
- Moral influence theory, a concept that had been developed by the time of Enlightenment, which Aulén called the "subjective" or "humanistic" view and considered to have been anticipated—as a critique of the satisfaction view—by Peter Abelard.
- Other theories include recapitulation theory, the "shared atonement" theory[12] and scapegoat theory.
- Additional views include the penal substitution view, and substitutionary atonement
- The drug addiction, and family abuse.
Concepts of atonement also exist in other religious views. For example, in
Concepts of
Twelve-step programs include an atonement or "making amends" phase (steps 8 and 9).
See also
- Absolution
- Propitiation, sometimes conflated with atonement and expiation
References
- ^ a b Ruth Williams, "Atonement", in David A. Leeming, Kathryn Madden, Stanton Marlan, Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion: L-Z (2009), p. 83.
- ^ Linda Radzik, Making Amends: Atonement in Morality, Law, and Politics (2009).
- ^ Niels-erik A. Andreasen, 'Atonement/Expiation in the Old Testament' in W. E. Mills (ed.), Mercer dictionary of the Bible (Mercer University Press, 1990)
- ^ Theodore Millon, Melvin J. Lerner, Irving B. Weiner, Handbook of Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology (2003), p. 552.
- ^ Paul Wink, Jonathan M. Adler, and Michelle Dillon, "Developmental and narrative perspectives on religious and spiritual identity for clinicians", in Jamie Aten, Kari O'Grady, Everett Worthington, Jr., eds., The Psychology of Religion and Spirituality for Clinicians (2013), Ch. 3, p. 51.
- ^ "Atonement." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005.
- ^ atonement. CollinsDictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 11th Edition. Retrieved October 03, 2012: '2. (often capital) Christian theol a. the reconciliation of man with God through the life, sufferings, and sacrificial death of Christ b. the sufferings and death of Christ'.
- ^ Matthew George Easton, 'Atonement' in Illustrated Bible Dictionary (T. Nelson & Sons, 1897).
- ^ Ward, K. (2007) Christianity – a guide for the perplexed. SPCK, London, p. 48- 51.
- Gustaf Aulen, 1931.
- ^ Vincent Taylor, The Cross of Christ (London: Macmillan & Co, 1956), p. 71-2.
- Jesus was God in human form, when he died, we all died with him, and when he rose from the dead, we all rose with him. See Jeremiah, David. 2009. Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World, pp. 96 & 124. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.; Massengale, Jamey. 2013.Renegade Gospel, The Jesus Manifold. Amazon, Kindle.
- ^ Manuel Ramirez III, Multicultural/Multiracial Psychology: Mestizo Perspectives in Personality and Mental Health (1998), p. 174.