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Great Thinkers in the History of the Church (no. 3)
But the holy Man hath his Church about him every where, even in himself; for he always standeth and walketh, sitteth and lyeth down in his Church. He liveth in the true Christian Church; yea, in the Temple of Christ. The Holy Ghost preacheth to him out of every Creature. Whatsoever he looketh upon, he seeth a Preacher of God therein.
—Jacob Boehme, b. 1575, “Regeneration, or the New Birth,” http://www.passtheword.org/Jacob-Boehme/ .
Comments
Following is a very influential theory of how God, through Christ, brings us into loving relationship with God. St. Anselm (b. 1033) was an outstanding Christian philosopher and theologian. He offered this theory, called the Satisfaction theory, a theory I was raised on in childhood and youth within fundamentalism.
God cannot be reconciled to us until something is done to make payment, or reparation, for our insulting the divine dignity. Payment must be made for our sins. By his perfect obedience and sacrifice, Jesus fulfilled the requirement. His death was payment to please the justice of God. Jesus made it possible for God to accept us. Jesus changed the mind of God toward us.
Scripturally, this theory is unbiblical, and it results from a literalistic reading of certain passages. Likewise, it contradicts the teaching on the Holy Trinity. “What Jesus does is not done over against God; his work is God’s work, for he himself is God-with-us,” writes Shirley C. Guthrie, Jr., a Reformed theologian (Christian Doctrine, Rev. Ed.). This means that Jesus could not have a different attitude toward us than the Father, thus, working to change the attitude of the Father about us. The Father could not need satisfaction, while the Son did not need satisfaction. Jesus could not say by word and act “I love you and want to be near you,” while the Father was in a posture of “I am upset with you and cannot be near you until someone satisfies my dignity and justice.” Such places contradiction in the Trinity, and the Father and Son, with the Holy Spirit, always act in agreement, for they are One-in-Three.
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Contrast these passages with the theory of satisfaction. Romans 5.8: But God has made clear his love to us, in that, when we were still sinners, Christ gave his life for us (BBE, emphasis added). And, I John 4.9: In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him (ESV, emphasis added).
The satisfaction theory of atonement parallels ancient pagan teachings, not the Triune God embodied in Jesus Christ. Sacrifice in paganism was enacted to satisfy and persuade the deity. Jesus did not seek to satisfy or persuade God in a pagan manner. Rather, part of the radical nature of the life and teaching of Jesus is that God is seeking to persuade us.
Jesus did not live, die, and resurrect among us to obtain for us the love of God. Jesus Christ, in life, death, and resurrection, then and now, expresses that God already loves us and never could do other than love us. Because of unconditional Love, God “wanted to stand with us in the loneliness and alienation we bring on ourselves when we separate ourselves from God and other people” (Guthrie, Jr.).
Reflection
1. What is the difference between love and tolerance?
2. Have you ever loved someone so much who did not love you that you went out of your way to express that love, even risking that the loving would not be responded to by acknowledgement?
3. Do Christians ever become like ancient pagan religions by trying to “purchase” the love and forgiveness of God? How do they do that?
4. What is Grace? How do you see relationship between the Grace of God and the Love of God?
Spiritual Exercise
1. Keep spending at least twenty to thirty minutes daily in Silence, resting in the Lord of Love.
2. Write a poem on the Love of God for you.
3. Explore the website www.sacredspace.ie offered by the Irish Jesuits and do some of the meditation exercises offered at the site.
Consider, if you are not already, sponsoring a child through Compassion International. You can find out more about Compassion International by going to www.compassion.net to read about sponsoring, in the name of Jesus, children living in poverty. Thanks! Brian K. Wilcox
To contact Brian, write briankwilcox@comcast.net .
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