Instead of Atonement: The Bibles Salvation Story and Our Hope for Wholeness
''Against the assumption that Torah and the Prophets display a God of retribution, Grimsrud shows both picture God as merciful. Rather than dying because God demanded retribution for sin, Jesus died because the powers that opposed him--law, temple, empire--demanded retribution for breaking their rules. Many such challenges to the presumed biblical view of retribution make Instead of Atonement a welcome addition to recent arguments rejecting the prevailing acceptance of divine violence.''--J. Denny Weaver, author ofThe Nonviolent Atonement''In the last quarter century, the theology and ethics of retributive justice have come under long-overdue critical scrutiny. Practical experiments in peacemaking and restorative justice are challenging conventional wisdom, animating social imagination, and inspiring radical revisions of traditional atonement soteriology. Ted Grimsrud--one of our most reliable first-world theologians--provides the most concise, readable, and compelling summary to date of the biblical case for the 'turn to restorative justice.' This book will help empower a revolutionary reclamation of a healing Christian faith for our violent times.''--Ched Myers, author ofBinding the Strong Man--Wipf and Stock Publishers