they would not have crucified the lord of glory
The atonement has been a big topic of discussion lately among several blogs I read (I've trid to link to one sample post from each blog, but I'm sure I've missed at least one blog). I don't really have anything to add to the conversation; I'm still trying to absorb all the ideas and piece the puzzle together.
The fact that I've been thinking over all this is probably the reason the following passage jumped out at me in my daily Bible reading:
But we speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.- 1 Corinthians 2:7-8
Let's suppose, hypothetically, that things had happened differently: Upon hearing Jesus' teaching, the high priest Caiaphas suddenly realized that he was in the very presence of God. Or Pilate, upon examining Jesus, decided that he should set Jesus free no matter the personal political cost to himself. What if they hadn't crucified the Lord of glory?
These two verses are just a side note in Paul's discussion of the wisdom of God, but he seems to have considered it a genuine possibility that the rulers of the age could have recognized Jesus for who he was, and changed the course of events on that fateful Passover week.
If Jesus hadn't been crucified, how much different would our theology be? Did God have an alternate plan for our atonement just in case Jesus failed to get himself killed?
Did the atonement really rest on the dicey possibility that those in power would not recognize Jesus? Or is there possibly something about power that it necessarily renders those who have it unable to see God at work?
Now I know even less than I did before.
posted by BruceA @ 8:02 PM
7 comments
links to this post
7 Comments:
Man, your post brings up more questions than answers in my mind. I love that! My pastor likes to talk about how symbolic the crucifixion of Jesus really was. Not that it didn't happen but that the literal blood of Jesus did not save anyone so much as it reflects God's saving grace symbolically. He says he's writing a book about this... after he retires.
I once took a young man about to leave for seminary to lunch. He explained to me how he had so many questions and he was excited that he was now going to get the answers.
I said, "I don't know how it will be for you, but I left seminary with more questions than when I entered, and today I have more questions than when I graduated."
He looked so crestfallen I really was sorry I'd said it!
Thanks for the link. I have written something like 40 more posts on the atonement since the one from over a year ago which you linked to, so happy reading if you feel like it!
I don't think God had an alternative plan. He didn't need one because he knew that his first plan would work. Only if you hold a rather extreme "open theism" view, that God doesn't know the future at all, would you dispute that. There are of course a lot of issues here about the relationship of free will and predestination. But one must say that if anything at all was predestined, the cross was.
You left out one option - what if Jesus had taken some of the options he had to avoid the cross? The temptation in the desert. The garden.
Was the cross inevitable? Great question.
Of course, only God knows the answer.
Some will say that based on the nature of God, he had to know. And based on the nature of Christ, he would never have refused the cross.
But I don't think we 'know' the nature of God any more than we know anything else. We have faith in God, but our theologies and theories do not box God in.
Did the atonement really rest on the dicey possibility that those in power would not recognize Jesus? Or is there possibly something about power that it necessarily renders those who have it unable to see God at work?
An interesting book to read is G.B. Caird's Principalities and powers. and it raises the question whether it is a matter of those who have power, or does the power have them? Do they possess power, or are they possessed by it?
Thank you to everyone who has shared their thoughts. I'm still working through this, and I appreciate everyone's insight.
warhammer gold warhammer money warhammer accounts tibia money tibia gold tibia item runescape accounts buy runescape accounts runescape money runescape gold runescape gp runescape power leveling runescape powerleveling cheap rs2 powerleveling runescape equipment buy rs equipment runescape runes cheap rs2 runes runescape logs cheap rs2 logs runescape items buy runescape items runescape quest point rs2 quest point cheap runescape questpoint runescape gold runescape items runescape power leveling runescape money runescape gold buy runescape gold buy runescape money runescape items runescape accounts runescape gp runescape accounts runescape money runescape power leveling runescape powerleveling tibia gold dofus kamas buy dofus kamas wow power leveling wow powerleveling runescape questpoint rs2 questpoint Warcraft PowerLeveling Warcraft Power Leveling World of Warcraft PowerLeveling World of Warcraft Power Leveling Hellgate money Hellgate gold buy runescape logs buy rs2 items cheap runescape items Hellgate London gold Guild Wars Gold buy Guild Wars Gold runescape items rs2 accounts cheap rs2 equipments lotro gold buy lotro gold buy runescape money buy runescape gold buy runescape runes lotro gold buy lotro gold runescape money runescape gold cheap rs2 powerleveling eve isk eve online isk buy runescape power leveling rs2 power leveling tibia gold tibia item runescape accounts Fiesta Silver Fiesta Gold Scions of Fate Gold Hellgate Palladium Hellgate London Palladium SOF Gold Age Of Conan Gold AOC Gold ArchLord gold tibia money tibia gold runescape accounts runescape gold cheap rs2 powerleveling buy ArchLord gold DDO Plat Dungeons and Dragons Online Plat
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home