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<blockquote data-quote="PloverWing" data-source="post: 77667146" data-attributes="member: 307356"><p>I agree that the early theologians were wrestling with the ideas of Atonement, Incarnation, and Trinity together, that these ideas are interwoven. All three ideas are present in an early form in the New Testament, but the evolution of all three ideas continued beyond the first century.</p><p></p><p>I will note, though, that the view of Atonement that you describe -- God "sacrificing Himself to Himself allowing Himself to forgive sin" -- is every bit as problematic as you think it is. It is not the only view of Atonement found in Christian theology, and (to the best of my knowledge) it was not the majority view in the first few centuries of the church.</p><p></p><p>Gustav Aulén's book <em>Christus Victor</em> outlines some of the early theories of the Atonement, if you want a little light reading. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Ah, now, the problem of how a person in the 21st century verifies the experiences of early Christians 2000 years ago -- that's a problem with no easy solutions. I am choosing to trust the witness of 1st- and 2nd-century Christians, and I admit that that trust could be misplaced.</p><p></p><p>For those earliest Christians, though, the experience came first, and the theories and explanations came afterwards. At least, that's what I'm seeing as I read their writings.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="PloverWing, post: 77667146, member: 307356"] I agree that the early theologians were wrestling with the ideas of Atonement, Incarnation, and Trinity together, that these ideas are interwoven. All three ideas are present in an early form in the New Testament, but the evolution of all three ideas continued beyond the first century. I will note, though, that the view of Atonement that you describe -- God "sacrificing Himself to Himself allowing Himself to forgive sin" -- is every bit as problematic as you think it is. It is not the only view of Atonement found in Christian theology, and (to the best of my knowledge) it was not the majority view in the first few centuries of the church. Gustav Aulén's book [I]Christus Victor[/I] outlines some of the early theories of the Atonement, if you want a little light reading. :) Ah, now, the problem of how a person in the 21st century verifies the experiences of early Christians 2000 years ago -- that's a problem with no easy solutions. I am choosing to trust the witness of 1st- and 2nd-century Christians, and I admit that that trust could be misplaced. For those earliest Christians, though, the experience came first, and the theories and explanations came afterwards. At least, that's what I'm seeing as I read their writings. [/QUOTE]
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