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‘His death belongs to them’: an Edwardsean participatory model of atonement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2017

JONATHAN HILL
JONATHAN HILL*
Affiliation:
Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK
*
e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The Participatory Model of Atonement (PMA) offers an alternative view of Christian salvation, drawing on Pauline theology. It conceives of sin as a contagion which can usually be escaped only by dying. By ‘participating’ in Christ's death, the believer can escape its effects without having to die. This notion of ‘participation’ is obscure. I consider a possible way of clarifying it using metaphysical ideas taken from Jonathan Edwards. ‘Participation’ might involve becoming similar to Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit, to such a degree that a person might be called identical (in some sense) with Christ.

Type
Original Article
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 54 , Issue 2 , June 2018 , pp. 175 - 199
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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