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2.16.2006 

On the thought that "After the cross there is no more retribution." My good friend Seth wanted me to explain it a little bit. And I "think" what I am "thinking" on this might encourage more thinking. Deeper thinking. Thoughts? Ideas? Additions? Subtractions? At least how I am taken it, and "musing" on it . . . is that in the cross of Christ, something new happened in the way God relates to humanity. And how correspondingly, humanity should relate to humanity. That on the cross Christ absorbed violence and retribution, and how his voluntary action has set a pattern of voluntary action on our parts. To enter into the way of peace. God now desires to relate to humanity on terms of peace and not of war. Terms of justice and not judgement. Obviously this recasts a few things in a different light, i.e. hell, the Book of the Revelation, judgement. I'm not saying I'm there, nor agree with the statement. However, I've begun to think about the possibility of such a theory of the cross. This is not to say that there is no justice. But justice defined by Jesus and the Jewish tradition, is much different than our view of justice which is usually associated with retribution by means of violence. Where we view God as an angry old man with a shotgun. Instead of a suffering servant who enter into humanity to die "in our place" on the cross as a way of absorbing God's past, present, and future wrath. I think we tend to think of the cross dealing with God's past wrath. But I think there at least exists the possibility that on the cross, the present and future were dealt with as well.

So after our conversation on Sunday, I decided that if I was don miller and was writing blue like jazz, i'd refer to you as "josh the applied theologian" or "josh the applicable theologian".

as such, what i'm wondering about this (and i've been thinking about it since you posted this yesterday or whenever it was), is how would this play out practically, hands on? i.e. like in a small community of believers. i mean, do you see it as mainly something relating to my own personal spirituality, or how exactly does it influence, as you say, the way humanity relates to humanity? or how I pray for people? how i reflect jesus christ to those in my life?

i mean, i can construct several implications of this, but i'd really love to hear your thoughts since you've been letting this "read you" so to speak.

i think this can take you (in the figurative sense) to very hopeful places...

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