Biafran Atonement Day scheduled for 3-4th October 2014

Biafran Atonement Day scheduled for 3-4th October 2014

OUR ATONEMENT COMES UP 3RD AND 4TH OF OCTOBER IT'S A MUST FOR EVERY BIAFRAN MAY CHUKWUABIAM BLESS YOU AS YOU OBSERVE IT.

In Christian theology, atonement describes how human beings can be reconciled to God.[1] In western Christian theology the atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus,[2] which made possible the reconciliation between God and his creation. Within Christianity there are, historically, three[3] or four[4] main theories for how such atonement might work:
Ransom theory/Christus Victor (which are different, but generally considered together as Patristic or "classical", to use Gustaf Aulen's nomenclature, theories, it being argued that these were the traditional understandings of the early Church Fathers);
Moral influence theory, which Aulen considered to be developed by Peter Abelard (called by him the "idealistic" view);
Satisfaction theory developed by Anselm of Canterbury (called by Aulen the "scholastic" view);
The penal substitution theory (which is a refinement of the Anselmian satisfaction theory developed by the Protestant Reformers, especially John Calvin, and is often treated together with the satisfaction view, giving rise to the "four main types" of atonement theories - classical or patristic, scholastic, and idealistic - spoken of by Aulen).[3]
Other theories include recapitulation theory, the "shared atonement" theory[5] and scapegoat theory.

The English word 'atonement' originally meant "at-one-ment", i.e. being "at one", in harmony, with someone.[6] It is used to describe the saving work that God did through Christ to reconcile the world to himself, and also of the state of a person having been reconciled to God.[2][7] Throughout the centuries, Christians have used different metaphors and given differing explanations of the atonement to express how the atonement might work. Churches and denominations may vary in which metaphor or explanation they consider most accurately fits into their theological perspective; however all Christians emphasize that Jesus is the Saviour of the world and through his death the sins of mankind have been forgiven.[8] The four most well known theories are briefly described below:

The earliest explanation for how the atonement works is nowadays often called the moral influence theory. In this view the core of Christianity is positive moral change, and the purpose of everything Jesus did was to lead humans toward that moral change. He is understood to have accomplished this variously through his teachings, example, founding of the Church, and the inspiring power of his martyrdom and resurrection. This view was universally taught by the Church Fathers in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD,[9][10][11] along with what is called by Aulen the classical or patristic view, which can be variously interpreted as Ransom or Recapitulation, or under the general heading of "Christus Victor".[12] The moral influence theory also enjoyed popularity during the Middle Ages and is most often associated in that period with Peter Abelard. Since the Reformation it has been advocated by many theologians such as Immanuel Kant, Hastings Rashdall and Paul Tillich. It remains the most popular view of atonement among theologically liberal Christians. It also forms the basis for René Girard’s "mimetic desire" theory (not to be confused with meme theory).

Chronologically, the second explanation, first clearly enunciated by Irenaeus,[13] is the "ransom" or "Christus Victor" theory. "Christus victor" and "ransom" are slightly different from each other: in the ransom metaphor Jesus liberates mankind from slavery to sin and Satan and thus death by giving his own life as a ransom sacrifice. (Matthew 20:28) Victory over Satan consists of swapping the life of the perfect (Jesus), for the lives of the imperfect (mankind). The "Christus Victor" theory sees Jesus not used as a ransom but rather defeating Satan in a spiritual battle and thus freeing enslaved mankind by defeating the captor.