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The Promise of Peace: A Unified Theory of Atonement
The Promise of Peace A Unified Theory of Atonement Author:Alan Spence The book seeks to push behind the many different metaphors or models of salvation to find a grand unified theory that will ground and interpret them all. This theory is held to take the form of a mediatorial interpretation of the atonement, that is one in which Christ is held to have become as we are, so that he might on our behalf make... more » peace with God. The erosion of this classic view is explained in part by a number of developments that have taken place in theological thought during the past two hundred years. These include the emergence of a christology in which Christ's divinity is identified with his saving ministry; a new interpretation of Pauline theology in which issues of justification are held to be secondary to those of participation; a return to the more dualistic world-view of the Church Fathers; an ambivalence with the concept of divine judgement; and a culture of relativism in which a unified or coherent account of the atonement not only no longer seems possible, but is generally not even considered desirable. The book achieves its purpose by engaging critically with these various theological ideas. It is as much a clearing of the undergrowth from the foundations of soteriology as it is the construction of a coherent account of Christ Jesus as the one mediator between us and God. The book goes on to consider the relation of faith in the proclaimed gospel to the redemptive action of Christ in the atonement.« less