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Atonement (‘at-one-ment’), originally a legal term for the reconciliation of two parties, has been annexed almost exclusively for theological use. In Buddhism and Judaism, atonement is thought to be initiated by the divine party, acting out of compassion and love, and despite the alienation caused by human sin and weakness. Christians believe that reconciliation between God and humankind took place through the sacrificial life and death of Jesus Christ. Humankind being too far sunk in sin and misery, and too restricted by the limitations of the human condition, to initiate reconcilation from the human side, the death of Christ was necessary to transform human awareness, to jolt humankind out of the consequences of sin, to vanquish death and to assuage God\'s wrath. EMJ KMcL
Further reading Leonard Hodgson, The Doctrine of Atonement. |
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