Category: Salvation

The Moral Influence Theory and Consequentialism

6/22/2022

Photo by Watha Suteesopon on Scop.io

There is perhaps nothing more central to Christian doctrine than the atonement of Jesus. Jesus is the resurrection, our promise and guarantee that we will one day be raised to new life. Paul declared that if Jesus is not raised from the dead, then we have no hope. John tells us that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and we know that this sacrifice is vital for our peace with God. Whether a Christian adheres to a Christus Victor model of the atonement, a ransom model, or a Penal Substitutionary model, most Christians believe that the atonement of the Christ procured some actual thing - pardon of sin, peace with God, liberation from Satan, etc.

My goal in this short essay is not to deny the idea that Jesus procured some immediate thing with his atonement. However, I do want to push back against what I believe is an extremely harmful notion many hold in regard to the death of Jesus - the notion that his death absolutely had to procure something in order to be worthwhile. Some Christians understandably want to protect the importance of Jesus and his work, and they believe that a theology such as the Moral Influence Theory of the atonement undermines the work of Jesus. This MIT declares that Jesus didn't owe Satan or God anything, but died only as a positive example for future Christians. Such a notion is abhorrent to many Christians today who believe that the MIT would take away the power, importance, and necessity of Jesus's work.

While I don't adhere to the Moral Influence Theory alone, I do think that moral influence is an extremely important part of the work of Jesus. Unfortunately, because so many Christians want to protect one facet of the atonement which they think is central, they are willing to pendulum swing and deny the importance of the moral example Jesus was setting for us in his work of cross. It is my goal in the rest of this piece convince you of the importance of holding moral influence as one vital facet of your atonement theology.

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God's Impossible World

1/15/2020

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We all live in the real world, but at some point in time, we venture into possible worlds. Maybe you're a lover whose excursion into the alternate universe takes you to a place where you ended up getting married to your high school sweetheart instead of breaking up. Or maybe you're an adventurer who ponders the possible future where you journey to a faraway, remote, undiscovered planet. Or maybe you like to throw off all semblance of realism and you place yourself in a world where dragons or wizards exist. I don't know which world you love to enter, as there are an infinite amount to choose from. But I know I can tell you a world in which you will never, nor can ever enter, even in your imagination - the impossible world.

I can guarantee you that you have never - even in your imagination - visited a world where there are square circles or married bachelors. While one could conceive of a world in which dragons existed, since there is nothing in our world indicating that these creatures are logically impossible, we cannot imagine a world where square circles exist. Each, by definition, excludes the other. Philosophers love thinking about impossible worlds, though they can never enter them. This is because impossible worlds are an extremely useful tool we can use to test out the viability of an idea. Running an idea through this test doesn't prove the idea is true, only that it could be true. However, if an idea fails this test, we can remove it from the realm of possibilities and learn important information from it. So let's explore some worlds together by addressing a question I had recently: Is there a possible world where fallen humanity exists, but Jesus does not die for them?

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Stalkers and Mistresses

5/1/2018

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The secular world often refers to Christianity as a religion, probably because it is. But many Christians don't seem to like being pigeonholed that way. Since Christianity is an exclusive religion, Christians feel the need to set themselves apart from "religion." I often hear Christians respond to such phrasing with disdain. "Christianity isn't a religion," they say. "It's a relationship." The response is a well meaning quip intended to rebut the modern notion that religion is merely a personal, mental and emotional system intended to help one make their way through life. There are hundreds of religions to choose from, and Christianity is just another. But Christians feel that Christianity is so much more than that and they want the world to know it. As I think about the popular Christian response to Christianity as religion, I am finding that it becomes more unappealing to me. Much of my dislike for the response probably lies in the way some Christians make the remark. The response is often accompanied by a self-righteous tone, and is frequently directed towards "sinners" and unbelievers in what seems to be more of a smug retort by the Christian who is upset at being stereotyped. Rather than the response being a theological or apologetic rationale for why one should be a Christian, it's just a pointed response. When used with such a demeaning tone, I find the quip absolutely unappealing. Even when used appropriately, however, I'm finding that I just don't like the way Christians respond. It's not because saying that Christianity is a relationship is inaccurate, but rather that it's not precise. It conveys a true idea, but it often fails to take the unbeliever or the Christian to the proper conclusion, and may actually do more harm than good.

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Am I a True Christian?

1/1/2017

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Nearly every American who is globally minded has gone through a stage of self-deprication, simply because they're American. As an American, understanding how the rest of the world views you means that if you meet someone from another country, you are obliged to talk about how bad the United States is. Whether it's putting down the educational system, ignorance, bigotry, social and financial inequality, leadership, or anything else - globally minded Americans feel the need to preempt the insults by acknowledging their own frustration at the issues in their homeland.

Self-deprication, however, does nothing to make a globally minded American any different than one who doesn't care to look beyond themselves and their immediate community. It doesn't fix the problems Americans have with geographical ignorance, ingrained biases, or financial inequality. Self-deprication simply acknowledges some sort of deficiency, while it says nothing about whether or not that deficiency is being fixed. It's like a fat comedian making fat jokes while drinking a 60 oz. soda and eating donuts and pizza, or like a chain smoker laughing at their impending lung cancer while smoking a cigarette.

There is a similar trend of self-deprication within Christianity. We Christians are often very quick to judge "religion" and "Pharisees," yet so slow to do anything about these faults in our communities and in ourselves. In the past few years, I have thought more and more about this, because there are some pretty huge implications. If the fat comedian talks about how bad being fat is and how good being skinny would be, yet does nothing about it - he's not really skinny, nor will he ever be. If the chain smoker talks about how good quitting would be, and how bad smoking is, yet does nothing about it - he's not really clean, nor will he ever be. And if the Christian talks about how "religion" isn't really Christianity, and how they need to embrace Christ rather than simple tradition and rules, yet doesn't truly follow Christ - it seems to me that logic would say they're not really a Christian.

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The Moral Influence Theory and Consequentialism

God's Impossible World

Stalkers and Mistresses

Am I a True Christian?

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