Photograph: Boston’s Copley Library

201: Go Deeper Into the Bible

Sources of Atonement Theology: Scripture

Curious how Scripture teaches healing atonement? In medical substitution, Jesus substituted his faithfulness at completing the healing of human nature for the partial attempts of all those who came before him. Check out the links below.

Isaiah 53: What Did the Suffering Servant Suffer?

Temple Sacrifices and a Bloodthirsty God?

Circumcision and Atonement

Athanasius, the Father-Son Relationship, and the Nicene Creed

"My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?" Psalm 22 and Jesus' Cry

Human Being, Human Becoming

Divine Fire in Scripture

Debates

The Work of The Anástasis Center

We seek to help people experience Jesus by understanding God’s restorative justice and Jesus’ healing of human nature. See also our Atonement Library.

We write on the Bible and Hot Topics for people to use for their personal enrichment, day-to-day life, and ministry.

We design tools for evangelism, pastors and preachers, spiritual directors, children’s ministers and parents, counselors, and missionaries who seek to engage other cultures and belief systems.

We apply Christian ethics for US citizens, policymakers, and educators to engage the public square.

We recover insights from the early Christians to help Christians understand the tradition of Early and Eastern Christianity.

We engage with art and storytelling as well.

Consider Our Conference Material

Healing Atonement

2019 Conference Recordings

Healing. Restorative. Biblical. Patristic.

The earliest Christians believed Jesus died not to satisfy divine vengeance, but to conquer the corruption of sin within our human nature as a human being, and restore human nature in his resurrection. The Orthodox Christian tradition has maintained this understanding of Christ from ancient times. Explore with us the practical applications - as well as the biblical and historical foundations - of this medical view of atonement. See the 2019 Conference: Healing Atonement page for video recordings.

Step into a transformative exploration of relationship with God that challenges popular narratives of separation. This conference highlights how God's signal of love has always been accessible - we’re not left spiritually roaming. And Jesus solves the difficulties in our reception, making us more aligned with the Father – as John’s Gospel and Hebrews emphasize. We welcome those seeking to nurture Christ-centered communities grounded in God’s constant connection rather than fear of disconnection. We seek to connect modern attachment theory with early Christian atonement theology. Discover how this understanding shapes pastoral care, parenting, discipleship, outreach, and community formation.

For More Information

To listen to helpful podcasts on the implications of atonement and restorative justice, Mako was featured on:

Atonement and the Stone Table for Pints with Jack, May 13, 2023. A 35 minute video where Mako joined David Bates to talk about the death of Aslan the Lion in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We also engaged with The Magician’s Nephew and The Great Divorce. Mako argues that Aslan’s death represents a medical substitutionary atonement. of Early and Eastern Christianity It was a short summary of his longer paper, C.S. Lewis’ Theology of Atonement.

Healing Atonement and Restorative Justice for The New Evangelicals, Mar 14, 2022

Talking About Atonement for Can I Say This At Church? Feb 28, 2022
Non-Violent Atonement for InVerse Podcast, Sep 21, 2021
Can We Be Re-Traumatized by Our Theory of Atonement? for Being With: On Neuroscience, Spiritual Formation, and Faith, Apr 16, 2021
A Restorative God for Rethinking God with Tacos, Apr 10, 2020
Deconstructing and Reconstructing the Atonement for Gravity Leadership, Feb 11, 2020
Beyond Penal Substitution for Almost Heretical, Mar 14, 2018

Also, read Restorative vs. Retributive Justice and the Implications for Public Life. Journal of Urban Ministry, June 2020.

Join Us

We hope to foster and support a broad network of people who are interested in growing in Christ this way. Check out our Facebook group.

Read Atonement 202

See the Atonement 202 page to glance at how the earliest Christians believed in Jesus’ healing atonement.

Revisit Atonement 101 and 102

Revisit the Atonement 101 page to see the Definitions again. Or revisit the Atonement 102 page to reread the articles covering Why Care? Practical Implications.