Saving Power: theories of atonement and forms of the church
Peter SchmiechenEerdmans, 2005, £19.99
ISBN 0-8028-2985-6
This is a solid and inspiring theological book opening up a doctrine which is at the heart of our faith and which provokes so many other questions concerning the goodness and justice of God. It is refreshing to have a book which gets away from the present obsessions with sexual ethics and ecclesial trivia and which brings us back to the amazing grace of God in the saving work of Christ. As Walter Brueggemann remarks ”[it is] an important resource for the church seeking to find its way back to the saving truth that is larger than all our pet projects.”
There have been a series of debates and conferences in the last year about various views of the atonement, and which is ‘right’. Schmiechen is not interested in defending any particular model, but tries to draw truth and inspiration from the ten theories he outlines: from Augustine, Calvin, Hodge and penal substitution, to Irenaeus, Gutiérrez and liberation theology. En route he engages with feminist, womanist and postcolonialist theologians. He does all of this with an attractive and engaging style, informed by an obviously broad and deep appreciation of the subject.
The sub-title, ‘theories of atonement and forms of the church’, indicates that this book is not only stimulating theology, but also committed to understanding the ecclesial implications of that theology. Schmiechen’s use of history demonstrates to us that understanding the atonement is not purely a matter of academic interest. Theology forms the church as much as the church formulates theology. He brings this out as he explores the cultural reasons that some theories have appealed to particular groups in particular ages, and he also examines some of the present divides between conservatives and liberals and how they might be healed by a better understanding of the limits of their respective interpretations.
Schmiechen does a brilliant summing up of the ten theories in the penultimate chapter (a good place to start!) that makes you want to go back to some of the sections you hurried over. He shows, for instance, the danger of theories that depend too much on either guiding principle: that of unconditional love or that of the demands of divine justice.
We are too often tempted to put theories of the atonement into the area of divine mystery, or on the other hand to be too dogmatic and prescriptive. But here is an account which nurtures and challenges our faith as it deepens our sense of love, worship and fealty.
Church Times
