Pictures of Atonement: A New Testament Study
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
Slave markets, temple courts, prophetic lawsuits, diplomatic treaties, imperial victory processions, dying and rising deities. These and more are the pictures painted by the New Testament writers as they search for language to describe their life-changing experiences of God through Jesus. Some of these pictures might still resonate with us; many do not. Pictures of Atonement surveys the six most important metaphors of atonement used in the New Testament with a view to, not explaining away the pictures, but being able to see them with fresh eyes. This is now the final volume in a trilogy of books that have looked at the atonement, first from the angle of reason and tradition (Atonement Theories), then from experience (Old Rugged Cross), and now from the viewpoint of New Testament theology.
- Places a special interest in the role of metaphor
- Aims to contribute to the new hermeneutic that has been gaining increasing traction since Stephen Fowl's seminal work of 1997
- Takes interest in the motifs of incarnation and participation identified during the first two phases of the Atonement Project
- The Possibilities of a Pentecost Standpoint
- Victory
- Redemption
- Dying and Rising with Christ
- Sacrifice
- Justification
- Reconciliation
Given its central significance for Christian faith, the absence of any formal doctrine of the atonement set forth in the classic early creeds of the church has always been puzzling. Perhaps its strange omission is expressly inviting our continuing reflection, in every generation, not simply from a theological perspective but also from a missional perspective—how the gospel speaks into our present world. In the concluding volume of his atonement trilogy, Ben Pugh offers a compelling and comprehensive contribution to those reflections. Pictures of Atonement engages with the entire landscape of atonement thought, with each piece of the biblical mosaic finding its place. While its theological contribution is deep, this is no mere theoretical work; the concerns of the gospel share front and center stage. Pictures of Atonement is highly recommended as a work that academics and thinking practitioners alike will find enormously helpful in making sense of this crucial doctrine.
—Stephen Burnhope, author of Atonement and the New Perspective