Christians everywhere believe that Christ died once for all upon the Cross as an atonement for our sins, even if they disagree on how to understand that great divine-human action. Roman Catholic teaching and practice has, for example, historically emphasized that the “dead yet made alive” Christ is now re-presented, and so re-offered in the eucharist. In contrast, Protestants tend to exert caution on this point, preferring instead to speak of the Cross as a definitively past event that nevertheless avails for us in the present. Yet, in this case, how might divine forgiveness be thought of as being “brought into the here and now” and applied to believers in the context of prayer and worship? Is the promise for Christians who gather together simply one of presence and even power, or does it involve forgiveness and cleansing as well? How might the practices and theology of the temple schematized in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament inform our thinking today? How do the classic theories of the Atonement “play out” in our own reality? And what might be the implications of these questions for holiness and living witness of the Church? We shall be joined by four speakers with long expertise in such matters to guide our thinking.
Speakers
- Gary Anderson (Notre Dame)
- Mark Boda (McMaster Divinity School)
- Adam Johnson (Biola)
- Matt Jenson (Biola)