Penal Substitutionary Atonement vs Christus Victor

[davew9804]

I ran across this article on 7minutes.net "This Easter will you worship Jesus or Molech?"  https://7minutes.net/blog/jesus-molech-a...t-theories

I am interested in thoughts on this author's take on East vs West.

THANKS!!  -  Dave

[Ed Hurst]

Interesting find, Dave. It's accurate enough about modern West versus East, particularly after the Great Schism (which he mentions). However, neither view is quite how we approach it. For us, the key has always been the covenants. We most certainly reject PSA, as noted in my blog post today. But we aren't too keen on the idea that it's just a matter of illness, either. The problem for the author is that he sees "wrath" in terms of the Western viewpoint he claims to eschew. The wrath of God is not like he describes it. It does require atonement, but that was never just external sacrifices; it was always the sacrifice of self (Romans 12:1ff).

Christ's sacrifice was substitutionary, but not in the sense of Western punitive mythology. His death shortened the path so that, we no longer have to submit to the Covenant first, and then absorb all the implications over a period of years until self-death comes after a long-fought battle against self. That kept the door closed to anyone who wasn't consciously under the Covenant. Now the door has been flung open and we can experience self-death spontaneously via the direct invasion of the Holy Spirit. This comes up-front, instead of after working through it all. We are now free to do that working things out afterward.

That's how I explain it, at least.

[davew9804]

Appreciate your input Ed... Helpful to have another's viewpoint.

[Ed Hurst]

I'll expand on this in my blog post for Sunday.