Christ died for the wrath of Man, not the wrath of God.
Substitutionary Atonement- the notion that Jesus was the sinless sacrifice offered by God to Himself to atone for our sins- was only fully worked out by Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury in the 11th century. Prior to that, one mediaeval understanding was that God was like our feudal overlord, and after we gave false allegiance to the devil God bought our vassalage back. Substitution became central in Reformation theology, as the basis of “Radical grace”: God has abolished the system of requirements for righteousness. We have nothing to bring to God: God comes to us. Unfortunately, it became the centre of a new system of requirements: you must believe to be saved from Hell. This is valuable for a church which seeks authority over its members: they have the keys to the Kingdom. Only through them can you be Saved.
Instead, Jesus proclaims the truth to the Jews, throughout Galilee and ending in the capital, Jerusalem. This truth challenges the basis of human domination, by the aristocrats of Judea and by the Roman Empire, and is a threat to those in power. Jesus refuses to buckle under to the Domination system, but also refuses to resist: not only does he not call forth an army of angels to rescue him, he does not call on the crowd who welcomed him– surely a different crowd from that which called for his blood.
Violence begets violence. Jesus offers us a pattern and example for breaking the cycle of violence. If Jesus had resisted, he would have contributed to the cycle of repression and rebellion, violence and death. Jesus confronts human fear and the desire for control, and shows us the more excellent way of Love. Matthew reports that this is recognised by the Roman Empire, as symbolised by the Centurion: “Truly this man was God’s son“. Before the time of Christ, God revealed that sacrifice was not the way: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”.
For Paul, the Crucifixion is central to the Faith: “We proclaim Christ crucified“. The rulers of the world are doomed to perish before God’s wisdom of Love. Christ died for us, showing the depth of God’s love. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.
The root of the word “sacrifice” is to make sacred. Jesus’ death has become sacred for us. Jesus, our Passover lamb, is our food, as it was for the Jews. We take Love into ourselves.
Post for Ken, mostly from Marcus J Borg.
Clare Flourish 
I grew up in the certainty Easter was a holiday designed to celebrate Me, as I was born on Maundy Thursday 😛
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What changed your mind?
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Ha! Lovely comments. Thank you for this, Clare. xx 🙂
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I will have a look at Anselm. I am sure he puts it more beautifully and more subtly than the meme below.
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Thank you Clare. I will make a more detailed comment when time allows. Thank you for sharing.
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Welcome, Ken. It is lovely to have you here. Good comes out of the Bigot.
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Christianity thrived for 1500 years without defining a precise mechanism for individual salvation, but was satisfied with proposing various approaches: Redemption (buying back), Adoption, Recapitulation, Divinization… Even St. Anselm’s thought is more of a meditation than a strict doctrinal formula. Given the depth of the mystery, that is probably the best we can hope for.
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I thought substitutionary atonement was orthodoxy, and anything else ridiculously liberal. Looking at the Creed, again, I see:
who for us men and for our salvation came down from Heaven,
And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary,
And was made man,
And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried
And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures.
As you say, it does not specify any particular understanding of “for us”. I see Anselm’s work is on Kindle, and also available here. I may read it. I am glad to see we do not give the antitheists such a wide target.
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