The choir of atonement

Proclaiming the Scandal of the Cross: Contemporary Images of the Atonement Mark D. Baker, editor. Baker Academic 2006.

Proclaiming the Scandal of the Cross, says editor Mark Baker, who is associate professor of mission and theology at MB Biblical Seminary, was compiled as a result of feedback to his earlier book (co-authored with Joel Green), Recovering the Scandal of the Cross.

That earlier book was written to address the perceived imbalance of emphasis on the penal satisfaction model among other possible models of the atonement. It contended that penal satisfaction has “in some contexts muted the scandal of the cross, in other settings inappropriately scandalized people, and in still other circumstances made the saving significance of the cross and resurrection incomprehensible.”

This volume, then, responds to requests for practical examples of alternative and contemporary images of the atonement. Baker begins with a brief overview of Recovering the Scandal of the Cross. While helpful, the overview may not be sufficient for those who have not read the earlier book first.

Baker also addresses potential groups of readers, using the analogy of a choir. The differing models of the atonement are like the different voices, he says. Penal substitution is the model that has been prominent (singing solo). While some readers may want to ban it from the choir, others just want to hear more voices.

The rest of the book is a collection of writings from a range of contributors, including well-known writers such as C.S. Lewis, Frederic Mathewes-Green, Brian McLaren, Rowan Williams, and also lesser-known voices. Baker links them with an introduction and conclusion for each article. (He also contributes his own example, a beach parable told to a junior high school class.)

Diverse in both context and form, each example adds a voice to the choir. For example, I really appreciated the contribution by Grace Y. May, not only because of the insight it gives into American–Chinese culture, but because it is an excellent contextual example of shame and the cross.

Curtis Chang’s sermon introduces the metaphor of sin as a virus and is particularly powerful in the context of his own testimony. Baker comments in his summary of Chang, “Jesus willingly exposed himself fully to our infection so that he could ‘donate his body and blood to everyone else,’ dying in our place.”

I commend Baker for attempting to put a more practical face on his previous publication and found many of the essays both interesting and helpful. I appreciate (to use Baker’s analogy) the differing voices the choir has to offer.

I can also agree that penal substitution has perhaps sung a little too loudly at times. Nevertheless, for me, there remains a place in the choir for his/her voice. The constant negative reference to penal substitution in this book, which felt like a thrashing at times, while satisfying for some, may also (as it did for me) have the unintended result of diverting attention away from the book’s otherwise positive contribution.

Still, it is worth a read, especially if you are looking for fresh ways to talk about the atonement. But if “Penal” is a friend, beware!

Lance Christie is pastor at Sema Community Church, Calgary. Hailing from New Zealand, he holds a BA and MA in social anthropology and is particularly interested in the study of shame and honour.