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Atonement Metaphors -- A Contest

Posted Feb 7, 10:30 AM | 1 comments | by Steve Knight | Link

by Tony Jones, national coordinator:

Have you heard the one about the father who operates a railroad drawbridge and sends his young son to manually fix the tracks, only to watch his son be crushed by the oncoming train? Or the one about the judge who condemned the prisoner to death only to disrobe and go to the electric chair in the prisoner’s stead? Or maybe you’ve see the drawing with God on one side of a chasm called “sin,” a stick-figure man on the other, and a cross as the bridge between the two.

These metaphors for the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross are powerful, and they capture the imagination. But these metaphors and images — the ones that many of us grew up with — are predominantly reflective of one theory of the atonement, called “penal substitution.” As far as atonement theories go, penal substitution is important, to be sure, and it commands a lot of respect these days, particularly among Western, Reformed theologians. But it’s merely one of several theories of the atonement that have held sway over the Christian imagination for the past 2,000 years. In Scot McKnight’s superb book, A Community Called Atonement, he likened the many historical theories of the atonement to the many clubs in a golf bag — each useful in a different situation.

This fall, I sat down with Mark Baker, a professor of Mission and Theology at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno. Mark co-authored the book, Recovering the Scandal of the Cross, and edited, Proclaiming the Scandal of the Cross. We got to talking about why one theory of the atonement seems to be dominant in evangelicalism today and how important these powerful metaphors are in capturing the imaginations of Christians. But where are the metaphors for the Christus Victor theory? For Ransom-Captive? For the identificationary theory (a la Jurgen Moltmann) or the sacramental theory or the scapegoat theory or the sacrificial theory?

We decided it would be fun to propose a contest to the highly creative Emergent Villagers out there, and Lent seems like the perfect time to do it. So we’ve collected an august panel of judges (who will remain anonymous), and we’re asking you to get creative:


  • Think about the saving power of the cross and the resurrection.

  • Maybe read one or two of the books mentioned above, or others, on the atonement. And try the Bible — it’s full of great stuff!

  • Develop a written, graphic, video, or song depiction of your metaphor.

  • Submit it by March 7 (that’s one month from today) to atonementmetaphors@gmail.com.

    • We’ll announce the top three runners-up and the winner of the contest on Good Friday, March 21. The winner will get … well, probably the winner will get quoted in some sermons that evening! I’ll send you a couple books, too.

    For more detailed guidelines from Mark, please click here.

    Finally, let me close with this quote from an author who has done his best to describe his understanding of the atonement. Listen to how he introduces his book: “We will see something of what it cost Jesus to bring about our salvation and something of the meaning of the atonement. I do not claim that at the end we will know exactly how atonement works. Through more than nineteen centuries the church has been working at that problem and it still has not come up with an agreed solution.” from Leon Morris, The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance. (HT: Stephen Shields)

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    Welcome to the Reader's Forum

    1Bruce Hamill Feb 10, 09:50 AM

    Have you guys read Mark Heim’s ‘Saved from Sacrifice’. I rate it the most significant contribution to current debates

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