Fundamental to the Christian faith is the idea that Jesus died for sins (1 Cor 15.3). But what does that mean?
We have looked at the Ransom and Substitution models and in this post we'll check out the Moral Influence Theory (MIT).
The MIT suggests that the purpose of Jesus life, death, and resurrection was to bring about positive moral change. To change the world by spreading love from one person to the next (cf. Mt 28.19; Jn 15.13).
This view was held by almost all early church writers including Clement, Ignatius, Origen, Irenaeus, and Augustine. It was reformulated in the 12th century by Peter Abelard in reaction to Anselm's Substitution theory.
This view was held by almost all early church writers including Clement, Ignatius, Origen, Irenaeus, and Augustine. It was reformulated in the 12th century by Peter Abelard in reaction to Anselm's Substitution theory.
It is a "subjective" model where Christ changes humanity vs. an "objective" model, like Substitutionary Atonement, where God is changed by Christ. In the MIT, God does not require Christ's death to satisfy divine justice and so no change in God is effected by the cross.
Instead in the MIT, God is primarily concerned with whether a person's inner character is good or evil. We are to follow Christ's example of selfless love (cf. 1 Pt 2.21), even if as with him, it costs us our lives.
The MIT has many strong points, including its recognition of the numerous passages in the NT that speak of God's final judgment according to moral conduct, as well as those that speak of the life change Jesus came to motivate (cf 1 Cor 3, Mt 25).
The MIT has many strong points, including its recognition of the numerous passages in the NT that speak of God's final judgment according to moral conduct, as well as those that speak of the life change Jesus came to motivate (cf 1 Cor 3, Mt 25).
It has been critiqued for not taking sin or God's wrath seriously enough, as well as promoting salvation by works.
The majority of the critiques, though, come from a lens that has been clouded by the Substitution model, where the focus is primarily on Jesus' death. Instead, the MIT focuses on the whole story, including the movement that was birthed out of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection and its trans-formative impact on the world.
As with all the models, the MIT should not be seen as the only way to view the Christ event, but rather another piece in the beautiful mosaic God created two-thousand years ago.
Next Post in the Series: the Christus Victor Model
3 comments:
Cool post man. I think atonement models are one large are of theology I really haven't wrestled with enough. I used to be an Evangelical (I think I'm recovering well lol) and Substitutionary Atonement seems to have been the assumed model, as I understand the various models. Which denominations hold to the MIT? ...Great, now I have to go read up on atonement models lol.
Thanks Tim! I think the Eastern Orthodox church may hold the MIT as well as many in the Episcopalian, Methodist, Presbyterian churches. I read something recently that made me think Seventh-Day Adventists may as well.
Please remember comments are to be used to discuss the issue. Thanks for your comments!
Post a Comment