William Henry Bennett, 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (1911)
“ Others hold that the effect of the atoning death of Christ is not to propitiate God, but to reconcile man to God; it manifests righteousness, and thus reveals the heinousness of sin; it also reveals the love of God, and conveys the assurance of His willingness to forgive or receive the sinner; thus it moves men to repentance and faith, and effects their salvation ”
William Henry Bennett, 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (1911)
“ At present the belief in an objective atonement is still widely held; whether in the form of penal theories—the old forensic view that the death of Christ atones by paying the penalty of man’s sin—or in the form of governmental theories; that the Passion fulfilled a necessity of divine government by expressing and vindicating God’s righteousness. But there is also a widespread inclination to minimize, ignore or deny the objective aspect of the atonement, the effect of the death of Christ on God’s attitude towards men ”
William Henry Bennett, 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (1911)
“ The Old Testament has no theory of sacrifice; in connexion with sin the sacrifice was popularly regarded as payment of penalty or compensation. Lev. xvii. 11 suggests a mystic or symbolic explanation by its statement “the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your lives: [6] for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life.” The Old Testament nowhere explains why this importance is attached to the blood, but the passage is often held to mean that the life of the victim represented the forfeited life of the offerer. ”
