Five Views on the Extent of the Atonement (Counterpoints)
Overview
For whom did Christ die? Who may be saved? are questions of perennial interest and importance for the Christian faith. In a familiar Counterpoints format, this book explores the question of the extent of Christ’s atonement, going beyond simple Reformed vs. non-Reformed understandings. This volume elevates the conversation to a broader plane, including contributors who represent the breadth of Christian tradition:
- Eastern Orthodox: Andrew Louth
- Roman Catholic: Matthew Levering
- Traditional Reformed: Michael Horton
- Wesleyan: Fred Sanders
- Barthian Universalism: Tom Greggs
This book serves not only as a single-volume resource for engaging the views on the extent of the atonement but also as a catalyst for understanding and advancing a balanced approach to this core Christian doctrine. The Counterpoints series provides a forum for comparison and critique of different views on issues important to Christians. Counterpoints books address two categories: Church Life and Bible and Theology. Complete your library with other books in the Counterpoints series.
- Provides an ecumenical dialogue on the nature and extent of the atonement
- Explores the complex theological forces at play surrounding the atonement
- Provides categories, questions, and strategies that enable readers to benefit from each chapter
- Eastern Orthodox View
- Responses
- Roman Catholic View
- Responses
- Traditional Reformed View
- Responses
- Wesleyan View
- Responses
- Christian Universalist View
- Responses
- Conclusion
Top Highlights
“However, polarization tends to promote defensive stands and overzealous offenses” (Page 18)
“for a war on this turf is a civil war of brother against sister, each wielding passages of Scripture against the other.” (Page 18)
“I have argued that a forensic notion of atonement is not prevalent in Eastern Orthodox theology” (Page 32)
“the extent of the atonement, which resides at the intersection of predestination and the cross” (Page 10)
“This—in what must seem like a—flight of linguistic fancy is not irrelevant to this essay” (Page 21)
- Andrew Louth
- Matthew Levering
- Michael Horton
- Fred Sanders
- Tom Greggs
- Title: Five Views on the Extent of the Atonement
- Authors: Andrew Louth, Matthew Levering, Michael Horton, Fred Sanders, and Tom Greggs
- Editor: Adam J. Johnson
- Series: Zondervan Counterpoints
- Publisher: Zondervan
- Publication Date: 2019
- Pages: 256
- Resource Type: Collected Essays
- Topic: Atonement
Andrew Louth is emeritus professor of patristic and Byzantine studies in the Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University. His research interests lie mostly in the history of theology in the Greek tradition and Russian and Romanian (Orthodox) theology. His books include Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition and Discerning the Mystery, as well as books on Dionysius the Areopagite, Maximus the Confessor, and John Damascene.
Matthew Levering is James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology at Mundelein Seminary, codirector of the Chicago Theological Initiative, and a longtime participant in Evangelicals and Catholics Together. Among his more than thirty-five published books are Engaging the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, Dying and the Virtues, and The Theology of Augustine.
Michael Horton is J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary, California. In addition to his work at the seminary, he is the founder and host of the White Horse Inn, a nationally syndicated, weekly radio talk show exploring issues of Reformation theology in American Christianity. Some of his most recent books include Rediscovering the Holy Spirit, Core Christianity, and The Christian Faith.
Fred Sanders is professor of theology in the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University. He is a systematic theologian who studies and teaches across the entire range of classic Christian doctrine but with a special focus on the doctrine of the Trinity. He has edited and published a number of books, including The Deep Things of God, The Triune God, and Wesley on the Christian Life.
Tom Greggs is Marischal Chair of Divinity at the University of Aberdeen. He is currently working on a three-volume series on Protestant ecclesiology. His principal publications include Theology against Religion, Barth, Origen, and Universal Salvation, and New Perspectives for Evangelical Theology.
Adam J. Johnson is associate professor of theology in the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University. He focuses on the doctrine of the atonement, exploring the many ways in which the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ effect the reconciliation of all things to God. He is the author and editor of several books on the atonement, including Atonement: A Guide for the Perplexed and the T&T Clark Companion to Atonement.