Atonement for a Sinless Society: Second Edition

by Alan Mann

Overview

"Sin isn't relevant anymore." Alan Mann takes seriously this oft-heard assertion and instead goes in search of the real plight at the heart of contemporary Western society. What he finds there is a personal, pervasive, and self-diminishing dis-ease impacting the lives of millions of people--shame. With this insight, Atonement for a Sinless Society seeks a fresh encounter with the biblical narrative, building a more meaningful understanding of the story of Jesus and his disciples for the world in which we live; bringing the Christian understanding of atonement into the twenty-first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498206624
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	10/16/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	146
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Alan Mann is a writer and author based in the UK. He has worked in education and for several leading Christian organizations. His works include A Permanent Becoming (2008) and, with Steve Chalke MBE, The Lost Message of Jesus (2003) and Different Eyes (2010).

Table of Contents

(More) Musings and Methodology 1

Part 1 The Stories We Tell

1 A Narrative-Shift towards Innocence 13

2 Recognizing Shame 24

3 Shame and Atonement: Some Issues to Consider 34

Part 2 The Function of Narrative

4 Narrative Now 47

5 Narrative Possibilities 56

6 Narrative, and Christian Soteriology 66

Part 3 The Intent of Jesus in the Gospels

7 Jesus Narrates His Intent: A Story of Coherence 79

8 Judas and the Disciples: Stories of Incoherence 89

9 From "Death" to Life: The Hope of Human Coherence 97

Part 4 Indwelling the Counter Narrative

10 A Rite of Identification 109

11 A Confrontation with Self 117

12 An Act of Communion 124

The End of the Beginning: Some Closing Thoughts 131

Bibliography 135

Editorial Reviews

"A creative and well-researched presentation of faith thinking. Anyone who desires to communicate the gospel to a contemporary audience will find this both a challenging and a rewarding read."Graham Mc Farlane, Vice Principal Academic, London School of Theology"In spite of the centrality of the cross to biblical faith, old formulations and cultural formulations today cloud its significance. Alan Mann's voice is needed and welcome. In these pages, we find a moving narrative of atonement, from a penetrating analysis of the world we inhabit to the resolution of the human experience of chronic shame in the invitation of the Eucharist."Joel B. Green, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Fuller Theological Seminary"Instead of ramping up older theories and seeking to impose them on a conscience no longer amenable to them, Mann starts afresh with the concept of shame in our world and shows how a reframed story can lead yet again to the magical moment of history: the cross of Jesus Christ."Scot Mc Knight, Professor of New Testament, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary"The greatest strenght of Mann's work is his cultural awareness. ... [It] would be stimulating for academics and armchair theologians due to the questions it raises at it strives for integration between our culture's conscience and Christian proclamation."-Benjamin G. White, Religion and Theology, Vol. 24, Issue 2, April 2017"[Mann's] basic premises offer fresh ways of thinking about atonement. ... This book provides much food for thought, and also resonates as an approach to the atonement for twenty-first century people."-Derek Tovey, Stimulus, Vol 23, Issue 3"Mann has his finger on the postmodern (ultramodern) pulse, and pushes traditionalists beyond the notion that the Bible has a single, unambiguous theology of the cross and atonement. For those interested in taking a step in a slightly different direction concerning atonement, this book will do that for sure."- Robert W. Canoy, Review and Expositor, 113, pp 562-564

From the Publisher