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Atonement

Athanasius won out over Arius (during Council of Nicea)---it was a political thing.
Arius had a very different view of atonement--and of Jesus. Arius would certainly have called himself a Christian. Also having the masses on a guilt trip (which includes fear) helps empires/governments to have the upper hand---control.
Good book to read: When Jesus became Christ. (on amazon)


That sounds like a really good book - I'm going to have to see if I can find a copy of it somewhere :)
 

anthony55

Member
Deliverance from unbelief ! -



Unbelief is one of the sins that the elect world is saved from, thats the significance of this portion jn 16:8-9.

The Holy Spirit convicts the elect unbeliever of sin and gives them faith.

Paul is an example, he was an elect who in unbelief rejected Jesus christ and persecuted His followers, being blinded by the god of this world, but when it pleased God, He revealed in Him Jesus christ and he became a believer.

1 tim 1:


12And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

13Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

14And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith [to believe] and love which is in Christ Jesus.

15This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Being saved experimentally is being delivered from unbelief .

16Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

The Fact is, no one Jesus christ died to save, can ever die in unbelief, that would defeat one of the main purposes of His death accomplishments.
 

Katzpur

Not your average Mormon
This is probably mostly for Christians, Jews, and former members of those religions, or those interested in those religions.

What does atonement mean to you? Is it something accomplished, or something to strive for?
To me "atonement" refers to Christ's sacrifice to pay the price for our sins so that we might be "at one" with God again without having to suffer the punishment for those sins ourselves. It doesn't mean that all we have to do is say, "Lord, I believe," and then go on living any way we want to. We are to be obedient to our Father in Heaven's commandments, repenting whenever we fall short, and striving to become better on a daily basis. But it is through the Atonement that we can rest assured that when we do our best to be faithful servants, our sins will be blotted out and we can return to God in a pure state.
 

Storm

ThrUU the Looking Glass
This is probably mostly for Christians, Jews, and former members of those religions, or those interested in those religions.

What does atonement mean to you? Is it something accomplished, or something to strive for?
Atonement means making up for wrongs done. For instance, if I steal from you, I can atone by repaying you.

It cannot be done via third parties. IOW, if I wrong you, God cannot atone for me, nor can I atone to God. It's between you and me.

Some wrongs cannot be atoned for. For instance, nothing will ever set right child abuse.

The third point is, I believe, the genesis of religious concepts of atonement. When nothing you can do is enough, a decent person tries anyway. This leads to traditions like Catholic confession (not that it's entirely that simple) and acts of attrition. Failing the ability to atone in truth, we seek forgiveness from God.

It should be noted that atonement and forgiveness are not the same thing. The wronged party can and may well forgive with no atonement.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
This is probably mostly for Christians, Jews, and former members of those religions, or those interested in those religions.

What does atonement mean to you? Is it something accomplished, or something to strive for?

Atonement is a common concept of some branches of SD as well. Look up 'kavadi' and you'll see what I mean.
 
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