Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking
action to correct previous
wrongdoing 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
Remorse is a distressing emotion experienced by an individual who regrets actions which they have done in the past that they deem to be shameful, hurtful, or wrong. Remorse is closely allied to guilt and self-directed resentment. When a perso ...
. From the
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old Englis ...
''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 t ...
,
reconciliation,
sorrow,
remorse
Remorse is a distressing emotion experienced by an individual who regrets actions which they have done in the past that they deem to be shameful, hurtful, or wrong. Remorse is closely allied to guilt and self-directed resentment. When a perso ...
,
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.
[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
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...
, 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
Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonia ...
, 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
Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...
(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 Christianity, salvation (also called deliverance or redemption) is the "saving fhuman beings from sin and its consequences, which include death and separation from God" by Christ's death and resurrection, and the justification following ...
, in western
Christian theology
Christian theology is the theology of 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 theologians use biblical exeg ...
, describes beliefs that human beings can be reconciled to
God through
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
's sacrificial suffering and
death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
. 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 ...
in particular through the suffering, death and
resurrection of Jesus
The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...
,
[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
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
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, 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, 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 des ...
.
** 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
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morg ...
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
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...
,
drug addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...
, 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 European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...
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
Unlimited atonement (sometimes called general atonement or universal atonement) is a doctrine in Protestant Christianity that is normally associated with Amyraldism (four-point Calvinism), as well as Arminianism and other non-Calvinist tradition ...
, the doctrine that the atonement is unlimited in extent, and
universal reconciliation, the doctrine that all will eventually come to
salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...
.
Twelve-step program
Twelve-step programs are international mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions. Developed in the 1930s, the first twelve-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), aided its memb ...
s 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