Dead Missionaries & Christ-Crucified
“Maybe a move we could all make would be to consider what it is about a specific belief that has connected deeply to something we feel about ourselves; to consider how it might serve us as an answer to a world we have already experienced. ”
The Context:
This is in response to a comment made to me recently concerning missionary John Allen Chau. The comment claimed that the reason for Chau’s death was that the world is generally angry at Jesus’ exclusivity. Put bluntly, the world is mad that a certain belief about atonement must be adhered in order to go to heaven; to reverse a holy wrath of sorts held by God towards individuals. The remedy within the comment was that Christ crucified and resurrected must be preached, advocating John Chau’s correctness to preach to an isolated tribe.
My particular response here is about a certain theory of Christ crucified; namely, penal-substitution. It is not meant to condemn John Chau or any individual that may hold any belief of atonement. The intent here is only that we think about what we believe, and ponder why we believe it.
Follow me here:
About Christ crucified. The belief that God will send an individual to hell stems from all sorts of theologies made by theologians of old reaching back into the very complex scriptures of the ancient Hebrew people. The goal is to find an explanation to how and why God would be justified to punish creation in hell. Because without a good reason for eternal torment, there would be no support to uphold that Christ died on the cross to make right some type of inherent wrong with humanity; penal substitution wouldn’t find traction. The theologian must first explain God’s relation to humanity in order to make proper the fires of hell as punishment; they can then in turn, assert a particular thought regarding the crucifixion as correct interpretation.
Do not forget: every reason given for Christ’s crucifixion came from the mind of a person; a theologian. Theologians interpret. And, I might add, interpretation does not equal absolute truth. Feel free to believe whatever theories suit you best. But, do try to bear the fact that theories are born from the minds of humans. The Penal-Substitution Theory of the atonement was formulated by the 16th century Reformers as an extension of Anselm's Satisfaction theory. John Calvin, in particular, taught that everyone inherits the guilt of original sin from Adam and Eve at birth. This causes humanity to be “perverted and corrupted in all the parts of our nature, we are, merely on account of such corruption, deservedly condemned by God.”
This concept didn’t fly down on the wings of angels – rather, on the wings of reason and uncertainty with what an ancient text is trying to say about Jesus as a God-Man - or something like that, if anything like that – as it met their then-modern minds.
That Penal-substitution is a human interpretation is fact. That fact doesn’t automatically eradicate the good that can be found by deeply involving oneself in the belief of an atonement theory, but it should act to expand the mystery of God to you, the mystery that is alive within you. This is not intended to make you panic and grow angry or fearful because someone does not believe the same things about Christ crucified that you do. It isn’t hard to see why the belief is not for everyone; please use this opportunity to practice grace, rather than being defensive, if this comment makes your heart race. The world that might not agree with you, loves you, no matter what theology you take up.
I ask that we all own up to the facts that involve why we believe what we choose to believe. Maybe a more honest move, one that we could all make, would be to consider what it is about a specific belief that has connected deeply to something we feel about ourselves; to consider how it might serve us as an answer to a world we have already experienced.
I emphasize the have of experience for this reason: many ideas have a hold of us, we don’t have a hold of them. A human tends to have more ideas that have been given to them from someone else than they have ideas born of their own creation. Ideas that have a hold on you often prevail as those answers and explanations we regurgitate habitually off the tongue. They are our reasonings about life, but they typically have not been proven in our own experience of life. If we can dwell in the barren honesty of it, they are unvalidated opinions, borrowed from the mind of a particular theologian. We choose to believe them, since we do not actually know them. There is a faith involved, to this extent.
While nobody (except those classified as near-death-experiencers perhaps, which are fascinating to study, by the way) has literally been able to verify for themselves a claim made about God, what can be verified is whether a set of theories about God has served to relieve, aid, or process the pains and sorrows life delivers.
Example: Maybe you are not proud in the least at your past decisions, maybe the way you treated others was very harmful, maybe you have seen the not so glorious parts of war and death that follows war, and maybe you are riddled by anxiety and guilt at the weight of what you have experienced. Maybe it jars your very spirit to think of existing in world where people kill and deceive and exploit and let die. Maybe you feel guilty for your actions, maybe you hate yourself to a heavy degree for any contribution you feel you added to the lesser things of existence: the vile things, the darker things in this world of hurt and suffering.
This is within your experience. Those feelings are valid. An atonement theory might fit nicely; it might help you navigate a valid experience that is truly yours. It might in fact heal you, beginning with your mind. To find a reason for the pain and suffering inside humanity; the violence of humanity towards itself. To be told, in an inferred way, there is a reason for all this pain, and to consider the suffering Christ, may give hope and solidarity needed to process the suffering experienced in you. To be told, with certainty, that your slate is wiped clean in the eyes of God, what a gift of the mind; what peace of mind this can bring. This can be very freeing for a conscious that is suffocated in guilt, confusion, and personal hate. A prisoner bound to these thoughts can be set free - absolutely.
I suggest that our chosen beliefs serve us best as they confront real experiences within us.
You cannot know an atonement theory as “truth”; it will always remain a theory. But, you can find true healing when belief is applied to what you have experienced.
So let’s think clearly and with a sound mind. I offer these perceptions in peace, and only ask that they be considered and evaluated in private, within yourself, even if only for a moment. Try not to view this as an attack on personal belief; it is not. I’m not here to call some people right and others wrong; it is an honest assessment I am sharing from within myself. As such, it is only an invitation to consider and truly investigate ourselves, our experiences in this life, and why we have chosen to believe what we do.
Peace to all & believe with intentionality,
Rachel Nelson
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/ptr/departments/theologyandreligion/research/postgraduateresearch/profiles/nelson-rachel.aspx