The Cross in Context: Reconsidering Biblical Metaphors for Atonement

In this dense analysis, pseudonymous author W. (Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes), a theologian in residence at the missionary organization Global Training Network, unpacks what scriptural metaphors for atonement reveal about the practice. Atonement, W. posits, binds Christian followers with God, noting that the negated form of the Hebrew word [em]ht’, [/em] often used to refer to sinning, denotes a repaired relationship. Breaking down biblical metaphors for atonement, W. explains that passages describing the sacrifice of animals use blood as a metaphor for purification and imply that atonement involves seeking God’s favor by cleansing oneself of sin. The author suggests that Jesus appeased God’s wrath and died “for sinners such that they do not have to die,” pointing to a passage in Leviticus in which a goat is metaphorically saddled with the sins of the community and sent into the wilderness as evidence that those who take on the sins of others receive lighter punishment from God than the sinner would have received. W.’s thorough scriptural analyses demonstrate considerable depth of thought, but he occasionally crosses the line from scrupulous to pedantic, and readers may find some of his close readings unpersuasive (his assertion of shame’s importance to atonement rests on some imaginative interpretations). Still, this will provide Christian scholars with food for thought. (Nov.)