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Exploring Christianity
Jesus died for our sins
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<blockquote data-quote="ViaCrucis" data-source="post: 73677518" data-attributes="member: 293637"><p>This is a really large topic, and you aren't going to get the same answers from everyone.</p><p></p><p>In Christian theology we sometimes talk about "Atonement Theories" or "Theories of the Atonement". Think of these as explanations for what it means to say "Jesus died for our sins", though it's more than that, as it covers larger territory, such as Jesus' life, Jesus' resurrection, and other aspects of Christian faith and teaching. These "Atonement Theories" are, basically, condensed explanations for many different themes and statements we find written in the New Testament. </p><p></p><p>Perhaps we can actually begin by explaining what "atonement" means. This is actually a somewhat modern word in the English language, it was coined by William Tyndale in the 1500's when he was trying to translate a particular concept in the Greek New Testament text. The coining of this word is, quite literally, at-one-ment, that is, the state or condition of being "at one", to be reconciled, united, healed, made whole, to bridge the gap, etc. There have been other ways to translate this same Greek word in other English translations, such as propitiation. The relevant Greek word is hilasterion, a word which is often a source of debate. </p><p></p><p>In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures made 300 years before Jesus, the Hebrew word kapporeth is used to refer to part of the Ark of the Covenant, the most sacred artifact in ancient Judaism, located in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Effectively the Ark was where God's Divine Presence was on earth, and only the High Priest could enter into the inner sanctuary (called the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place) to pray and make sacrifice for the whole nation. The covering on the Ark, where blood was sprinkled, was called the kapporeth. Martin Luther in his German translation calls this the Gnadenstuhl, literally "grace-stool" or "seat of grace", in English this became "mercy seat". The Septuagint renders this word, kapporeth, as hilasterion. </p><p></p><p>In the New Testament this word hilasterion is used only twice, in Romans 3:25 where the Apostle St. Paul writes, "[Jesus Christ] whom God put forward as a [hilsterion] by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins." It seems quite sensible here that Paul is linking Christ's own death and suffering with the Temple sacrifice(s) made over the kapporeth in the Holy of Holies. This word has been translated by various translations as "atonement", "sacrifice", "atoning sacrifice", "propitiation", and "mercy seat".</p><p></p><p>This is an example of the New Testament writers making a connection between Jesus' death and the old sacrifices of Judaism. Jesus is often described as a sacrificial victim, at other times He is compared to the Passover Lamb, whose blood was smeared over the doorposts to protect the Jews from the angel of death in Egypt, the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb was a yearly sacrifice during the time when there was a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, the Passover being a yearly remembrance of God's deliverance of His people from slavery in Egypt and bringing them into the land of promise. In the same way Jesus is called, "The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world", this comparison to the Passover Lamb brings continuity and symbolism from God's deliverance of the Jews from slavery in Egypt to God's deliverance of the world from the bondage of sin and death.</p><p></p><p>I'll probably offer a run down of the major Atonement Theories in a followup post. But here I want to focus on broad, basic concepts.</p><p></p><p>The idea of Christ "dying for the sins of the world" or "dying for your sins" or "dying for my sins" refers to the idea that Christ's suffering and death was a divine work by God to rescue us from that bondage of sin and death. To reconcile mortal sinners, estranged from God, back to God, in order that we can share in God's life. That even as Jesus Himself having died and then rose from the dead, God will do the same with us: There will be a resurrection of the dead, and God will make all things new, and there will be everlasting life in the future world. </p><p></p><p>That is, in a nutshell, what we are saying: Jesus is the means by which God has overcome sin and death, for us, in order that we can be reconciled to God and live forever with God in the age to come. </p><p></p><p>Of course all of that still needs to be unpacked. And I'll try and offer some unpacking in that follow up post I mentioned.</p><p></p><p>-CryptoLutheran</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ViaCrucis, post: 73677518, member: 293637"] This is a really large topic, and you aren't going to get the same answers from everyone. In Christian theology we sometimes talk about "Atonement Theories" or "Theories of the Atonement". Think of these as explanations for what it means to say "Jesus died for our sins", though it's more than that, as it covers larger territory, such as Jesus' life, Jesus' resurrection, and other aspects of Christian faith and teaching. These "Atonement Theories" are, basically, condensed explanations for many different themes and statements we find written in the New Testament. Perhaps we can actually begin by explaining what "atonement" means. This is actually a somewhat modern word in the English language, it was coined by William Tyndale in the 1500's when he was trying to translate a particular concept in the Greek New Testament text. The coining of this word is, quite literally, at-one-ment, that is, the state or condition of being "at one", to be reconciled, united, healed, made whole, to bridge the gap, etc. There have been other ways to translate this same Greek word in other English translations, such as propitiation. The relevant Greek word is hilasterion, a word which is often a source of debate. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures made 300 years before Jesus, the Hebrew word kapporeth is used to refer to part of the Ark of the Covenant, the most sacred artifact in ancient Judaism, located in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Effectively the Ark was where God's Divine Presence was on earth, and only the High Priest could enter into the inner sanctuary (called the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place) to pray and make sacrifice for the whole nation. The covering on the Ark, where blood was sprinkled, was called the kapporeth. Martin Luther in his German translation calls this the Gnadenstuhl, literally "grace-stool" or "seat of grace", in English this became "mercy seat". The Septuagint renders this word, kapporeth, as hilasterion. In the New Testament this word hilasterion is used only twice, in Romans 3:25 where the Apostle St. Paul writes, "[Jesus Christ] whom God put forward as a [hilsterion] by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins." It seems quite sensible here that Paul is linking Christ's own death and suffering with the Temple sacrifice(s) made over the kapporeth in the Holy of Holies. This word has been translated by various translations as "atonement", "sacrifice", "atoning sacrifice", "propitiation", and "mercy seat". This is an example of the New Testament writers making a connection between Jesus' death and the old sacrifices of Judaism. Jesus is often described as a sacrificial victim, at other times He is compared to the Passover Lamb, whose blood was smeared over the doorposts to protect the Jews from the angel of death in Egypt, the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb was a yearly sacrifice during the time when there was a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, the Passover being a yearly remembrance of God's deliverance of His people from slavery in Egypt and bringing them into the land of promise. In the same way Jesus is called, "The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world", this comparison to the Passover Lamb brings continuity and symbolism from God's deliverance of the Jews from slavery in Egypt to God's deliverance of the world from the bondage of sin and death. I'll probably offer a run down of the major Atonement Theories in a followup post. But here I want to focus on broad, basic concepts. The idea of Christ "dying for the sins of the world" or "dying for your sins" or "dying for my sins" refers to the idea that Christ's suffering and death was a divine work by God to rescue us from that bondage of sin and death. To reconcile mortal sinners, estranged from God, back to God, in order that we can share in God's life. That even as Jesus Himself having died and then rose from the dead, God will do the same with us: There will be a resurrection of the dead, and God will make all things new, and there will be everlasting life in the future world. That is, in a nutshell, what we are saying: Jesus is the means by which God has overcome sin and death, for us, in order that we can be reconciled to God and live forever with God in the age to come. Of course all of that still needs to be unpacked. And I'll try and offer some unpacking in that follow up post I mentioned. -CryptoLutheran [/QUOTE]
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