Hour 1: Atonement

Through his death on the cross, Christ atoned for sin and so reconciled people to God. New Testament authors drew upon a range of metaphors and motifs to describe this salvific act, and down through history Christian thinkers have tried to articulate various theories to explain the atonement. While Christ’s sacrifice serves as a central tenet of the Christian faith, the mechanism of atonement—exactly how Christ effects our salvation—remains controversial and ambiguous to many Christians. Today our guest, a noted biblical scholar, with address the rich tapestry of the Old Testament imagery upon which the first Christians drew to explain how the sinless Christ saved his people from the guilt of their sins.