[size=150]A Bloodthirsty God? The Problem of Divine Violence in Traditional Atonement Theories and the Search for a Non-violent Alternative[/size]
by Ravi Holy (MA dissertation)
A Bloodthirsty God by Ravi Holy.pdf (399 KB)
Ravi Holy"]Stephen Finlan observes that āWhat is most noticeable about the literature on atonement written in the last 150 years is the intense concern with problems that the authors (and presumably the readers) have with the traditional doctrines of atonementā. Anthony Bartlett agrees, but suggests that the biggest problem for all these writers is āthe issue of [divine] violenceā, the idea that āGod demanded a bloody victimā¦ to pay for human sinā. This, says J. Denny Weaver (whose work ārepresents the best known rejection of traditional atonement formulaeā, according to Bartlett) āis the element most offensive to the radical critics of traditional satisfaction atonementā.
As we will see, the āproblem of divine violenceā is perhaps most acute in the particular form of satisfaction atonement known as āpenal substitutionā ā the idea that Jesus was receiving the punishment due to sinful human beings. However, as both Weaver and Mark Heim say, any theory in which Jesus had to die in order to āsatisfyā God ā whether satisfying his justice, restoring His honour or placating his wrath ā involves us in the problem of ādivinely sanctioned violenceā. Thus, while our discussion will sometimes focus on the penal theory, it should be borne in mind that the problem is āsubstitutionary atonementā or satisfaction atonement or in general. We begin by looking at āthe problemā in more detail.