only a sinless saviour could atone for the sinner.
believers benefit from that substitutionary atonement spiritually by being forgiven and reconciled, and physically by their own resurrection to eternal life in the future.

Pete, I hear people rattle off stuff like that in classes I teach; but then I ask, what does that really mean? Can you translate all that into what you experience in real life? More than that, is this something that you believe and that really makes a difference to you, or is it something that somebody else told you? It seems to me that you're looking at redemption as a mathematical equation. I prefer taking the wisdom of the ages and applying it to real life - and real life is not an equation.

The concept of "substitutionary atonement" is an extrapolation from scripture, not the actual text. There are many different ways of understanding scripture, and it is just one of many ways of understanding the death of Jesus on the cross. I try to form my interpretation based on my own life experience. Yes, there was redemption in that death, but what does that mean in real terms?

In real life, I think it often happens that ordinary people atone for the misdeeds of others - they make peace, and they repair the wrong that has been done. Why must atonement be made by a sinless person? I think a lot of people believe that that sin creates a debt that must be repaid, that we owe God something because we have sinned, and we mere humans are incapable of doing anything able to repay that debt.

But sin is something that does actual harm, not just something that breaks a rule or creates a debt. Good people are called to right the wrongs of this world - whether they are responsible for the wrongs or not. And atonement for sin - is the righting of wrongs.

-Joe-