Notes for the WJEC Eduqas Christianity course for year 1. These are in depth notes that have enough points to get full marks. This is for the new specification, and so are hard to find elsewhere.
William Tyndale first coined atonement from two words ‘at one’, and so atonement means ‘to set
at one’ or ‘to reconcile’.
In Christianity, atonement is the process by which men and women are reconciled with God,
through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
Reconciliation was necessary because all people sin. Genesis 3 tells how sin first came into this
world when the devil successfully tempted Adam and Eve.
As we are all ‘seminally present in the loins of Adam’, all humans have ‘original sin’ and it
separates us from God.
There are lots of theories to describe atonement, but most use the two terms expiation and
propitiation.
Expiation: What Christ did on the cross - he paid the penalty for human sin.
Propitiation: the result of what Christ did on the cross - he averted God’s wrath.
Early models (sacrifice and ransom)
In the Old Testament, it was common practice to sacrifice to restore a broken relationship
between people and God.
In Leviticus, a priest symbolically lays the sins of the community upon a goat, which is then cast
into the wilderness.
The Epistle to the Hebrews is the most extensive New Testament treatment of Jesus’ death as
a sacrifice. It states that through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, human sin was taken away ‘once
for all’. Jesus’ death was thus a complete expiation, a final atonement for sin.
Early Christian theologians, such as Augustine, believed that as humans had nothing pure
enough to be sacrificed, God provided the sacrifice for them, as he did with the goat in the story
of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis.
However, it could be argued that sacrificing his son, for as a sacrifice to restore an arbitrary
sense of justice isn’t omnibenevolent.
A variant of the sacrificial model is the ransom model. The Gospels indicate that Jesus himself
thought of his death as a payment to save humankind.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller henryrayner. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $3.88. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
