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A GOSPEL ACCOUNT OF OUR FATHER
AND THE BLOOD ATONEMENT OF JESUS

Copyright © 1999 Michael Shanbour(1)
Used by Permission of the Author

Contents of this Document:
Introduction
I. Before God will forgive sins and grant eternal salvation to all, it was necessary that an innocent and sinless Jesus die on the cross as a sacrifical substitute to appease God's wrath and assure justice.
II. Was the purpose of Jesus' bestowal to die on the cross as an innocent sacrifice to satisfy a debt owed to God by Man's sins?
III. Was Christ's crucifixion necessary before we could have eternal life?
IV. Before the father forgives us our sins, was it necessary for Christ to die on the cross as a sacrifice?
V. Does the Father in heaven or Jesus desire sacrifices of innocent humans or animals?
VI. Does God's mercy require the death of an innocent sacrifice?
VII. What verses said by Jesus in the canonical gospels may allude to the premise that it was God's will that Christ be sacrificed on the cross for the sins of man?
Conclusion
End Notes


INTRODUCTION

Recently, I attended a bible study class at a couple's home here in Oklahoma City. Including myself, there were seven who attended this group. During this study, the moderator asked whether there was a subject that anybody would like to explore. Responding to this question, my girlfriend at the time, who was more of the "fundamental" bible persuasion, stated that "Michael has some interesting ideas regarding the Atonement Doctrine." Consequently, I was asked by the group what my particular views were regarding the blood atonement. To their negative astonishment, I proceeded to espouse my disbelief in such a perverse doctrine. In my discourse, I stated that this doctrine arose out of the old Jewish tradition of sacrifice(2) and was attached to the death of Christ through the letters of Paul and to a lesser extent other New Testament authors.(3) In fact, I went so far as to state that this doctrine was neither a pre-ordained plan of God, nor supported by the biblical words of Jesus as reflected in the canonical Gospels. As one would expect, the reaction by the group was adverse. After all, I was rejecting one of the fundamentals and the cornerstone of most Christian churches.(4) As a result, I was asked to prove my assertion within the confines of what they perceived being the word of God, the Holy Bible.

The following paper is the result of my research and constitutes a proof that the Blood Atonement did not have its origin in either God as revealed by the biblical Jesus or by Jesus Christ himself as reflected in the Bible. This paper was written not only for an audience whose belief is based on the assumption that the Bible is the only inspired "Word of God", but also for an audience who find it hard to reconcile an all loving and merciful God with one that would pre-ordain such a barbaric plan and thus alienate them from the "Biblical Jesus."

This paper will draw upon those New Testament books which contain the direct "words" of God and Jesus. These books are aptly called the canonical Gospels. The canonical Gospels consist of the books Matthew, Mark, Luke and John found in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. They were accepted and canonized(5) by the Bishop Council meetings in Carthage (393 A.D. - 419 A.D.) as the authentic words and deeds of Jesus.(6) For those who follow the "red letter" versions of the Bible, these are the books which contain the red letters constituting the words of Jesus Christ.(7) Although there are other ancient gospels (apocrypha) which claim to contain the words of Jesus Christ not found in these four books, these four are the only books which will be used in this paper because of the widespread belief by most Christians that these are the only books which contain the authentic words of Jesus Christ.(8) Whether that belief is valid or invalid is beyond the scope of this paper and as such will not be discussed. Moreover, the issue as to whether the other books of the New Testament are accurate interpretations of the words of Jesus or the religion of Jesus as revealed in the canonical gospels will not be addressed.(9) Therefore, the scope of this paper will address the Blood Atonement Doctrine as it directly relates to the words of the biblical Jesus Christ who, unlike the prophets of the Old Testament or the writers of the other New Testament books, is the bestowed Creator Son of the Heavenly Father.

Before a discussion of the Blood Atonement Doctrine can occur, some definition of such Doctrine should be constructed. There are many different theories and definitions of this doctrine.(10) For simplicity, this paper will work off of the following "substitutionary" definition of the Blood Atonement Doctrine:

I. BEFORE GOD WILL FORGIVE SINS AND GRANT ETERNAL SALVATION TO ALL,
IT WAS NECESSARY THAT AN INNOCENT AND SINLESS JESUS
DIE ON THE CROSS AS A SACRIFICIAL SUBSTITUTE
TO APPEASE GOD'S WRATH AND JUSTICE.

In order to address whether this doctrine is a valid precept of Jesus' Heavenly Kingdom contained within the actual biblical words of Jesus, more questions and answers are required. For example, to determine whether such doctrine is a pre-ordained plan of God, analyses of those passages where the Father or Jesus directly speak are necessary. As such, this paper is divided into seven (7) main categories of questions with additional sub-questions and answers.

Using the New International Version Bible,(11) these seven categories of questions will cover all of the canonical Gospel passages containing: 1. Jesus' words regarding who speaks for the Father; 2. Jesus' bestowal purpose; 3. the requirement for obtaining the Father's forgiveness; 4. the requisites for procuring eternal salvation; 5. Jesus' view regarding sacrifices; 6. Jesus' words pertaining to the Father's mercy; and 7. the canonical Gospel passages containing words of Jesus which may allude to the Blood Atonement. Since the four gospels often overlap each other, some verses containing the same occurrence may be shown.

HOW DO WE KNOW GOD'S PLAN?

Most advocates of the Blood Atonement believe that God pre-ordained the death of Christ on the cross to cleanse mankind of his/her sins of the past and the future.(12) Therefore, to determine whether such a plan existed, one needs to search in the scriptures and find where God mentioned this specific plan. As most would agree, there is no direct mention of such a plan directly from God in either the canonical Gospels or the rest of the New Testament. Consequently, this plan, if it exists, must occur in the words of His designated spokesperson. The following are passages containing all the verses where God the Father directly mentions who should speak for him:

WHO SPEAKS FOR THE HEAVENLY FATHER?:

ACCORDING TO GOD: