Download Atonement Law and Justice The Cross in Historical and Cultural Contexts Adonis Vidu Books

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Product details Paperback 304 pages Publisher Baker Academic; 1 edition (August 19, 2014) Language English ISBN-10 0801039193

Atonement Law and Justice The Cross in Historical and Cultural Contexts Adonis Vidu Books Reviews

• Atonement, Law and Justice The Cross in Historical and Cultural Contexts by Adonis Vidu is a dense work that seeks to explore how atonement theory has been understood throughout various cultures. What Vidu especially seeks to demonstrate is how understanding of the role of law and punishment in society affected a theology of the cross and vice versa.
  
  Vidu accomplishes this by going through the thinking of the Patristics, Medieval theologians, Reformation theologians, Modern (or Enlightment) thinkers, and Postmodern thinkers. He normally highlights the thinking of the most influential thinkers and draws parallels to thinking about the role of judges, punishment and retribution in society at that time.
  
  He concludes at the end of this massive study that the doctrine of divine simplicity is needed in order to recapture the heart of penal substitution. Since all of God's attributes are perfectly aligned (balanced? I am not sure a good word for this), we must not construe God as either more or less loving at the cross.
  
  In one of my favorite quotes from the book, Vidu states "First, simplicity dictates that no matter what solution we come to on the issue of hell, we must not construe God as less loving, more just than loving, Second, theologically, the doctrine of simplicity helps us to say that, although God is fully present in all the majesty of his attributes, in each divine action, given the contingencies of the circumstances of those actions, certain traits are more easily recognizable by human selves." (Loc. 5411)
  
  There lies the heart of this book. Vidu seeks to reestablish the doctrine of penal substitution by reminding the reader of a very old doctrine, the doctrine of simplicity. I love that! I love how Vidu draws his massive study together and places it squarely here. I couldn't agree more. Again and again, Vidu demonstrates how by simply reminding ourselves how God is balanced in all he does, we can regain a healthy understanding of the atonement.
  
  However, I cannot recommend this work for everyone. It is a tough, tough read. It is nuanced, and one must have a firm grasp on atonement theory as well as legal theory. I am rusty on legal theory throughout history so this made the work extremely trying to read. It is heavily footnoted and thorough. It reads like a dissertation.
  
  Keep in mind, however, that as far as a historical work on the atonement goes, I think this is a winner. His chapters on the Pastristic thinkers and Reformation thinkers were great. It is a necessary work for those engaged in historical theology to read. For the pastor (or those with limited time), read the last chapter where Vidu essentially recaps his entire book and begins constructing his argument. It is a great chapter and boils the whole work down well.
  
  *Thanks to Baker Academic for providing a free review copy of this work in exchange for a fair review.*
• Adonis Vidu has no need to argue in his work, Atonement, Law, and Justice The Cross in Historical and Cultural Contexts, which atonement model is the most accurate. Rather, his purpose is to trace a path of model development next to evolving systems of justice, from the ancient world to the modern. Vidu matter of factly states, "the history of atonement thinking could be read as an ongoing conversation with the history of thinking about justice and the law." (xiv) His book does not simply fill a gap, but may in fact help us understand atonement modeling as a contextual paradigm, perhaps loosening our tight grip on particular expressions.
  
  Atonement, Law, and Justice has 6 chapters, with the first 4 examining the development of atonement and justice since before the Christian-era. Chapter 5 examines the atonement via various modern lens with the final chapter acting the the author's view. Chapter 1 examines the development of justice and law in Patristic thought, although Vidu is smart in bringing in Homer, Plato, and other familiar pre-Christian influencers first. Nothing develops in a vacuum, not even Christian theology. As such, we encounter philosophy, before we are led to Augustinian theology (which is based on philosophy!). To be quite clear, our usual notions of the atonement as retributive justice are called into question — if we are to be consistent with the cognitive environment of the New Testament writers. For the ancients, justice is order, but not necessarily equity. Thus, the gods were unrestrained in achieving that order, with little or no expectation between the deities and humans. Law was second, if not third. For the modern (American) reader, the notion of an executive pardon (refusing to punish a law-breaker) may be the best image here. It wasn't until the Romans borrowed Stoicism that justice existed outside of social order, becoming an internal virtue.
  
  This move from justice-as-order to justice-as-equity fed directly into early Christian thought. After all, once justice becomes a virtue, then one can assign it to God. This then separates justice from non-justice, good from evil, and law from disorder, leading us into the rollercoaster of atonement models and justification theology. Where once the divine could contain deceit, evil, etc... the doctrine of divine simplicity started to take hold, giving way to a higher refrain of justice only complete in God. Because of this, we move from the ransom theories to a satisfaction model. Before I go too far into summarizing this chapter, allow me to simply suggest that this chapter is a hallmark in not only the study of Augustinian theology, but in early Christendom. In the end, Augustine's move towards anchoring the sacrifice of Christ to a divine justice sets the stage for medieval atonement models.
  
  Is God tied to or bound by law? That seems to be the discussion between Anselm and Abelard in the late medieval ages. More than that, however, is the shift (Vidu calls it a revolution) from law-as-specific to context, to a universal notion of law and legal remedies. Because of this universality in viewpoint, Anselm is able to offer his satisfaction theory, which precludes free grace. In other words, a wrong required a penalty. Abelard, on the other hand, moves away from original sin, but into a realm of what is desirable. Vidu shows that these two men and the third, Aquinas, are very much products of their time. Here especially, Vidu slows down and gives us a great depth of understanding as to how changing notions of law, justice, and universality shape the various atonement models during this time. Likewise, we are introduced to John Duns Scotus (p79 — 87) and left to wonder if the notion of atonement, as developed as it was by European developments in law and justice, did not contribute to the development of our Western society, ending with the separation of Church and State. I suspect that this portion of Vidu's thesis is at least a remarkably important read in understanding Western Christianity, Christian civilization, and how our doctrines have shaped our current political realities. I cannot stress this enough — I desire more from Vidu on this subject, and would have sacrifice more time and pages to read more from our author on Don Scotus.
  
  We are now ready to be reformed, which is the subject of chapter 3. Here, Vidu takes us through Luther and Calvin, who existed in Duns Scotus' now secular shadow — where law was autonomous. If anyone has read anything from the New Perspective on Paul theologians (E.P. Sanders, James Dunn, or N.T. Wright), you will become immediately familiar with Vidu's take here. Because the notion of the Law and what authority it has has been transformed in European society of the time, the same thing shapes Protestant theology. Luther and Calvin cannot be divorced from their time, but like several others before them, are shaped by it.
  
  Up until recently, legality and morality were thought to be the same. In our current world, we know better. Which is, perhaps, why so many Christians challenge the very idea of atonement. Secular law is decided by the State whereas, for the most part, moral law is still divine (or at least above the State). Names like Kant and Schleiermacher come to the forefront. Ritschl as well. And each, leading the way in the liberal Protestant tradition and thought, removes the exchange in atonement, making it subjective (according to Vidu). This is the sum of chapter 4.
  
  Chapter 5 turns to post-modern thought, tackling the changing of terms and ideas from historic Christian lexicons to psychologist-influenced trends. His first engagement with a modern theology is with Andrew Sung Park, a seminary professor of mine at United Theological Seminary. Park incorporates Han into the equation, something Vidu takes to task. I should not like to decide who is correct here. From here, Vidu tackles feminist and postcolonial views on sin and atonement. Theologians and thought leaders such as Foucault, Derrida, and Girard are given special treatment by Vidu. He treats each one well, giving them their voice — and then attempts to demolish their arguments. It is up to the readers to decide if he succeeds. Their arguments are met from the positive angle in chapter 6, where Vidu begins to shape his view on atonement, law, and justice.
  
  There are few deficits in Vidu's work. He does not take into account Jewish thoughts on justice and law. I would like to have seen how the rabbis fit into these paradigms. Further, there are no counters to the hegemonic West. Augustine is left without Cassian and Aquinas has no Gregory Palamas. I realize he is not writing an encyclopedia or multi-volume set; however, in getting into the cultural contexts, which themselves stand as comparisons one to another, a bit of the East should have been mentioned.
  
  I started this book with a distaste in my mouth. I do not believe in penal substitutionary atonement — although the atonement takes center stage in my theology. However, while I am not convinced that PSA is correct, I am convinced Vidu has provided the Church a rather important book in discerning the doctrine of atonement and allowing that it has developed. Also, I think he has called us to be mindful of our context and the way we approach issues of Christian thought. Finally, especially in chapter 5, Vidu gives us reason to suspect the liberal Protestant tradition along with post-modern thought may in fact be bankrupt when it comes to their stances on the atonement. It is expertly researched, meticulously crafted, and properly presented.