Final Thoughts
E ach of these theories seem right in some ways and wrong in others. Just like trying to flatten a geography of a glob onto a flat map, our attempts to explain the atonement are bound to introduce distortions. Reality is always more complex than our models can capture. Changing the medium always distorts the message. The best strategy is the same one the early church took with the Gospels. Don't put one over the other. Reflect on each of them if you want to give due respect to the reality that inspired each of them. I've been having my own thoughts about the atonement. I'm beginning to see the crucifixion of Jesus as something more than God intervening at a certain point in history. I'm beginning to see it as the expression of an eternal truth. God's timeless willingness to forgive humanity. Revelation 13:8 refers to Christ as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." When Jesus died on the cross, it wasn't a stand alone event. It was the v