Abstraction and Atonement Theory

Atonement theories abound. Christus Victor says Jesus triumphed over Satan; sacrificial theories say that Jesus offered Himself as a vicarious sacrifice; recently, a number of theologians have emphasized the corporate, ecclesial dimensions of the atonement.

All true. We don’t need to choose among them.

Revelation 12:11 makes that plain: “They overcame [the dragon] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witness.”

It’s all there: Victory over Satan (“overcame” the dragon); sacrifice (“blood of the Lamb”); and, very strongly, ecclesial participation in the atonement (“they overcame” the dragon “because of the word of their witness”).

Any single theory abstracts from this knotted complex of themes. Abstraction is an important heuristic trick, but if the abstracted isn’t reintegrated, then it can only distort.