Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking
action to correct previous
wrongdoing
A wrong (from Old English – 'crooked') is an act that is illegal or immoral. Legal wrongs are usually quite clearly defined in the law of a state and/or jurisdiction. They can be divided into civil wrongs and crimes (or ''criminal offenses'') ...
on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other expression of feelings of
remorse. From the
Middle English ''attone'' or ''atoon'' ("agreed", literally "at one"), now meaning to be "at one", in harmony, with someone. Atonement "is closely associated to
forgiveness
Forgiveness, in a psychological sense, is the intentional and voluntary process by which one who may initially feel victimized or wronged, goes through a change in feelings and attitude regarding a given offender, and overcomes the impact of th ...
,
reconciliation,
sorrow
Sorrow may refer to:
* Sorrow (emotion)
* ''Sorrow'' (Van Gogh), an 1882 drawing by Vincent van Gogh
* "Sorrow" (Bad Religion song), 2001
* "Sorrow" (The McCoys song), also covered by The Merseys and David Bowie
* "Sorrow" (Pink Floyd song), ...
,
remorse,
repentance
Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better.
In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...
,
reparation, and
guilt".
[Ruth Williams, "Atonement", in David A. Leeming, Kathryn Madden, Stanton Marlan, ''Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion: L-Z'' (2009), p. 83.] It can be seen as a necessary step on a path to
redemption
Redemption may refer to:
Religion
* Redemption (theology), an element of salvation to express deliverance from sin
* Redemptive suffering, a Roman Catholic belief that suffering can partially remit punishment for sins if offered to Jesus
* Pi ...
.
[Linda Radzik, ''Making Amends: Atonement in Morality, Law, and Politics'' (2009).]
In law and society
In the
legal systems, the concept of atonement plays an important role with respect to
criminal justice, where it is considered one of the primary goals of criminal rehabilitation.
In religion and behavior
In religion, atonement is "a spiritual concept which has been studied since time immemorial in Biblical and
Kabbalistic
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
texts",
while "
ories of atonement are ubiquitous in religious discourse and the language of atonement fundamentally reveals a redemptive turn".
Concepts in religion include:
*
Atonement in Judaism - the process of causing a transgression to be forgiven or pardoned. In
Rabbinic Judaism, people achieve atonement through
repentance
Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better.
In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...
, sometimes followed by some combination of
confession, restitution, tribulations (unpleasant life experiences), the experience of dying, or other factors.
** Another aspect of atonement is the occurrence of
Yom Kippur (the day itself, as distinct from the Temple service performed on it), also known as "the Day of Atonement", which is a biblical/Jewish observance.
*
Atonement in Christianity, in western
Christian theology
Christian theology is the theology of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theology, theologian ...
, describes beliefs that human beings can be reconciled to
God through
Christ's sacrificial suffering and
death. Atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of
sin in general and
original sin
Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 (t ...
in particular through the suffering, death and
resurrection of Jesus,
[atonement](_blank)
CollinsDictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 11th Edition. Retrieved October 03, 2012: '2. (often capital) ''Christian theol''
a. the reconciliation of man with God through the life, sufferings, and sacrificial death of Christ
b. the sufferings and death of Christ'. Throughout the centuries, Christians have used different metaphors and given differing explanations of atonement to express how 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 humanity have been forgiven, enabling the reconciliation between God and
his creation. Within Christianity there are, historically, three
[Christus Victor: An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of Atonement, ]Gustaf Aulen
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to:
*Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film
* ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...
, 1931 or four 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 Aulén's nomenclature, theories, it being argued that these were the traditional understandings of the early
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
);
**
Satisfaction theory developed by
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury, OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also called ( it, Anselmo d'Aosta, link=no) after his birthplace and (french: Anselme du Bec, link=no) after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of th ...
(called by Aulén the "scholastic" view);
**
Moral influence theory, a concept that had been developed by the time of
Enlightenment
Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to:
Age of Enlightenment
* Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
, which Aulén called the "subjective" or "humanistic" view and considered to have been anticipated—as a critique of the satisfaction view—by
Peter Abelard
Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...
.
** Other theories include
recapitulation theory, the "shared atonement" theory and
scapegoat
In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...
theory.
** Additional views include the
governmental view,
penal substitution view, and
substitutionary atonement
Substitutionary atonement, also called vicarious atonement, is a central concept within Christian theology which asserts that Jesus died "for us", as propagated by the Western classic and objective paradigms of atonement in Christianity, which ...
* The
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930.
A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...
celebrates a
Day of Atonement which the Nation established during the
Million Man March in
Washington, DC on October 16, 1995. It is described as a day on which
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
black men would refrain from
crime,
drug addiction, and family
abuse
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
.
Concepts of atonement also exist in other religious views. For example, in
Native American and
Mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
cultures of the Americas, "
nce sin and guilt are among the principal causes of illness and maladjustment... confession, atonement, and absolution are frequent rituals used in treatment. In some cases, atonement is accomplished through prayer or penance; in others, it may involve cleansing the body, accomplished by brushing the body with branches of rosemary or by sprinkling it with holy water".
Concepts of
universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a t ...
atonement can transcend all religions, as in
unlimited atonement, the doctrine that the atonement is unlimited in extent, and
universal reconciliation, the doctrine that all will eventually come to
salvation.
Twelve-step programs include an atonement or "making amends" phase (steps 8 and 9). Tobby Fried asserts that this associates with restoring what she calls "integrity".
[
]
See also
*
Absolution
References
External links
{{Wikiquote
A Critique of Penal Substitution Atonement Theory and Its Influence on the American Death Penalty
Religious practices