Atonement: Metaphors

Comments on Sabbath School Study Lesson 9, Metaphors of Salvation.

Why didn’t God just give us a single model that fully explains the Atonement and salvation? Wouldn’t that have saved a lot of trouble and controversy?

Rather what we have are multiple metaphors. Since the reality is that there is no single, comprehensive, complete model of the Atonement and salvation, there must be some reason, hopefully good, for it. There must be a reason why God allowed the different metaphors to be found and developed.

The Study Guide mentions a few: Redemption, Reconciliation, Justification, Expiation, Demonstration. The Good Word site lists a few more: Cleansing, Lost & Found, Love.

Could it be that for different people, different cultures, different experiences, different historical periods, there was and is a metaphor (or perhaps a few metaphors) that work better in understanding the Atonement than some others? Could this be yet another example of how God meets people where they are?

I think it is important to keep in mind that metaphors are just that: metaphors. No single metaphor is a complete, systematic explanation all by itself. I also believe that not every element or detail of a metaphor is applicable to the subject it is trying to explain. I think that attempts to apply non-applicable elements may only result in problems and errors entering into the attempted explanation.

Plenty of paper and ink have been spent over the years arguing for and against one metaphor or another. I think the important point from this week’s lesson is that there is more than one correct way to understand the Atonement; to not be too dogmatic about there being only one, right way to understand the Atonement; to be more charitable to those who don’t find “my” way of seeing the atonement as the “right” one; and to hold on loosely to the metaphors, because after all, they are just metaphors and not the reality.