The History of Christian Thought: The Reformation Part 2

John Calvin’s ideas about Christ’s atonement would also change the whole Church. For Irenaeus, it was Christ’s life that would bring about salvation by living a holy life to cleanse the sinful human lives. Anselm thought that Christ’s death was a gift given to God so that humanity did not need to be punished. Since Calvin lived in a world with a different legal system, his idea would be that Christ took humanity’s place on the cross, and that He died for our sins.

Like Anselm and the other medieval theologians, then, Calvin’s understanding of the atonement is centered on the death of Christ, rather than his life, as it was for Irenaeus and the church fathers. Calvin does stress that Christ’s resurrection is as important as his death, but more emphasis is laid on the latter – and this has been the case in Reformed tradition ever since.

It is important to recognize that Calvin’s doctrine of the atonement was a development of what had come before him. Today Christians all over the world, and in every denomination and tradition, believe that Christ was punished in their place. Many are even unaware that any alternative Christian doctrine of the atonement has ever existed. This may be partly due to the fact that the legal system in which Calvin was trained has largely remained in place in the Western world, so the doctrine is easily understandable in a way that Irenaeus’ or Anselm’s is not. ~ Jonathan Hill, the History of Christian Thought

Calvin’s view of the atonement, though can be easily understood by modern Christians, is not without its own problems. For example, if the punishment for sin is eternal torment in Hell, then if Jesus were to take humanity’s place, shouldn’t Jesus be tormenting in Hell for eternity? How then can we say that Jesus took our place when the suffering Jesus endured on the cross is incomparable to the suffering certain people will endure in Hell for eternity?

I think that it is after the Reformation where the balance of the Church was tipped in favor of Christ’s death, to put it in a crude way. After that, we Christians became so engrossed with Christ’s death, that we have pushed His life below it. Jesus’ death became more important than his life. Believing that Jesus died for our sins and saving souls to go to Heaven became more important than how we lived our lives in the world. Is it possible that Jesus’ life was as important as His death? Do we need a balance here?