The actuality of the topic of atonement is manifest. In the past two years some interesting books on this subject have been published in Dutch, English and German. Moreover, the second European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz has dealt with the same topic. In this note the author reviews a few recent publications on atonement.

(1982). J. S. DREY EN F. SCHLEIERMACHER AAN HET BEGIN VAN DE FUNDAMENTELE THEOLOGIE OORSPRONGEN EN ONTWIKKELINGEN. Bijdragen: Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 251-288.

This article reviews Kuitert’s most recent book. Kuitert is a Reformed Dutch theologian, who has written a series of controversial books on faith, Christian doctrine and Jesus Christ. His last book is on religion. This article is interested in the image of God in Kuitert’s book. Who is Kuitert’s God? In the first place, Kuitert spends much time analysing the indispensable and inexhaustible capacity of human religious imagination. He distinguishes between the merely human image of God: God as an enlarged (...) human being, and God as religious projection on the one hand and, on the other hand, the image of God which has its roots in “the other side” and which has priority over human imagination. In the second part of his book, Kuitert presents God as the power that can make and break. By this, he means God as the all invading creative power and God as fate. Apart from this image of God as Creator, Kuitert stresses the fact that God makes himself felt by his Word. This Word by which God appeals to the faithful is, according to Kuitert, not to be understood in a Barthian sense, nor in the sense which liberation theology understands, although God speaks his word and makes his appeal to the faithful through the needy people who cross their paths. The particularity of Kuitert’s image of God is, finally, illustrated by the investigation of his doctrine of reconciliation. Human responsibility and guilt and the appeal by the needy corresponds to a God of forgiveness and reconciliation. The article concludes with some general remarks by which the author makes it clear that to him, notwithstanding his critical demythologisation, Kuitert remains true to his protestant heritage. (shrink)

The doctrine of atonement is one of the cornerstones of Christian belief. At the same time it has been heavily attacked by the Enlightenment. In this article, the status quaestionis is described in the Anglo-Saxon theology of atonement, two centuries after the Enlightenment made its claim for a more rational approach of Christian Doctrine, particularly regarding the metaphors used in the doctrine of atonement. In the second part of the article, recent contributions to this debate, such as books of Vernon (...) White, Paul Fiddes, Mary Grey, Michael Winter, and especially Colin Gunton, are discussed. Their approaches attempt to rehabilitate atonement. Special attention is paid to the altered view of the metaphors in the doctrine of atonement, including victory, judgement, and sacrifice. (shrink)

This article is about reconciliation, not only in the biblical and classical sense of the term, but also as an answer to tensions in our multicultural society. First the many meanings of the word reconciliation are explored. The core meaning is the restoration of a troubled relationship. In the first part of the article the interaction between God and his people resulting in reconciliation, as described in Holy Scripture, is picted and reviewed in the light of the divine priority in (...) biblical covenant and the autonomy of modern man. In the second part, an attempt is made to apply insights into biblical reconciliation to conflicts between people in modern, terror stricken society. Is it realistic to expect, that theological discussions on reconciliation can have a bearing on the solution of conflicts in our days? The terms substitute and mediator, that play an important role in classical theological reconciliation theories, are analyzed in view of their applicability in present-day conflicts. (shrink)

Series: Studies in Theology and Religion (STAR), Am 15. April 1799 beendete Friedrich Schleiermacher seine "Reden über die Religion". Die rhetorisch und stilistisch sehr geschickt verfasste (und anonym veröffentlichte) Erstlingsschrift des später berühmten Predigers, Universitätsprofessors und Schriftstellers hat bis heute ihre Anziehungkraft behalten. Aus Anlass der Zweihundertjahrfeier hat die Niederländische Forschungsgesellschaft für Theologie und Religionswissenschaften (NOSTER) zusammen mit der Theologischen Fakultät Tilburg einen Studientag veranstaltet. Zwei Ziele wurden dabei verfolgt: erstens die Situierung der "Reden" in ihrer Entstehungszeit und in der (...) heutigen Zeit sowie zweitens die systematisch-theologische Vertiefung zentraler Themen der "Reden", Schleiermachers Verständnis der Religion in der 2. Rede und seine Christologie in der 5. Rede. Dieser Band enthält die Beiträge zu dieser Tagung und ein Protokoll der spannungsreichen Diskussion, verfasst von Nico Schreurs (Tilburg), das auf viele Forschungsergebnisse und Forschungsdesiderate hinweist. Die Beiträge stammen von Günter Meckenstock, Herausgeber der Kritischen Schleiermacherausgabe und renommierter Kenner der historischen Lage um 1800, Ad Willems, Übersetzer der "Reden" ins Niederländische, Christian Albrecht (Tübingen, jetzt Bochum) und Claus-Dieter Osthövener (Halle an der Saale). Inhalt Die Aufnahme der "Reden" in Schleiermachers Zeitgenossenschaft Günter Meckenstock Zur Aktualität von Schleiermachers "Reden" aus dem Jahre 1799: Ein kontextueller Deutungsversuch Ad Willems Die Ermöglichung von Korrelativität: Religion als "Anschauung und Gefühl" in Schleiermachers zweiter Rede Christian Albrecht Die Christologie der "Reden" Claus-Dieter Osthövener Religion als Ausdruck des gestimmten Gefühls: Schleiermachers. Sicht der religiösen Erfahrung in den "Reden" Wessel Stoker "... etwas ausser und über der Menschheit... " Schleiermachers Religionsbegriff in den "Reden". Postmodernismus avant la lettre? Dick Boer Die Präsenz Spinozas in Schleiermachers "Reden" Rinse Reeling Brouwer Von einer romantischen hin zu einer transzendental-philosophischen Bewusstseinstheorie Jacques Laurent Das Tilburger Symposium über Schleiermachers "Reden" Protokoll der Diskussion Nico Schreurs NAMENREGISTER. (shrink)