Between Babel and Beast
(America and Empires in Biblical Perspective)

The Glory of Kings: A Festschrift for James B. Jordan

Fyodor Dostoevsky
(Christian Encounters Series)

Athanasius
(Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality)

The Four: A Survey of the Gospels

Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom

From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John

Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture

Jane Austen
(A Biography)

Solomon Among the Postmoderns

The Baptized Body

1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary

The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter

A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons

Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature

Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen

The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism

A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel

Against Christianity

From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution

Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy

Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper

A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament

Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature

Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays

Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life

The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church

« Previous Post | Next Post »
« Previous post in category | Next post in category »

Bible - NT - Hebrews Theology - Soteriology: Atonement

Did Jesus make atonement on the cross?  Not exactly, says David Moffitt in Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Supplements to Novum Testamentum).  According to the reviewer in Review of Biblical Literature, Moffitt appeals to the atonement rites of the Old Testament as proof:

He argues that “the heavenly holy of holies as the place where atonement was made, not on the cross at Jesus’ death. Against scholars who spiritualize or moralize Jesus’ body, blood, and self, which are presented in heaven, Moffitt contends that these terms  should be understood of Jesus’ ascended physical body. Based upon where atonement is  made in the Yom Kippur sacrifice, the holy of holies, Moffitt argues that it is a misunderstanding of sacrifice in Leviticus to place the moment of atonement as the moment of Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus had to be raised bodily and ascend to heaven in order to make atonement as the heavenly high priest. Moffitt examines the use of Ps 40:3–5, Isa 26:20, and Hab 2:3–4 in Heb 10 and concludes that Jesus was brought out of death because he “lived the kind of life that warranted resurrection” (253). Moffitt’s argument that Jesus’ atonement did not take place at the cross because in sacrifices of animals in Leviticus it is the manipulation of the blood of the sacrifice after the animal’s death that provides atonement, not the death itself, is very convincing.”