Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Master's Theses Graduate Research 2015 Rita Nakashima Brock, Rebecca Ann Parker, and Governmental Atonement Theology Andrew John Blosser Andrews University, [email protected] This research is a product of the graduate program inReligion, MA: Theologyat Andrews University.Find out moreabout the program. Follow this and additional works at:https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/theses Part of theReligious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Blosser, Andrew John, "Rita Nakashima Brock, Rebecca Ann Parker, and Governmental Atonement Theology" (2015).Master's Theses. 70. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/theses/70 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses . Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author’s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. ABSTRACT RITA NAKASHIMA BROCK, REBECCA ANN PARKER, AND GOVERNMENTAL ATONEMENT THEOLOGY by Andrew Blosser Adviser: Denis Fortin ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Thesis Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: RITA NAKASHIMA BROCK, REBECCA ANN PARKER, AND GOVERNMENTAL ATONEMENT THEOLOGY Name of the researcher: Andrew Blosser Name and degree of the faculty adviser: Denis Fortin, Ph.D. Date completed: March 2015 The writings of Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Parker have perspicaciously highlighted challenges that atonement theology faces in its interface with the experiences of abused women and children. These thinkers have alerted the theological community to the fact that an atonement model which commends or valorizes the divinely-mandated suffering of an innocent victim (Jesus) can nefariously encourage domestic abuse victims to accept their own abuse, as if it were God’s will. Brock and Parker therefore recommend abandoning language which attaches any salvific significance to the Cross in atonement. This thesis explores and recommends an alternative form of theological language—called “governmental atonement theology”—which may ameliorate the problems noted by Brock and Parker. This study briefly examines the history and evolution of the governmental view from its early moorings in the theology of Hugo Grotius, up to its contemporary adaptation by René Girard. The focus then shifts to selected biblical expressions of the governmental view. Finally, this thesis demonstrates ways in which the governmental view can present the Cross as a saving event for abuse victims, while not implicating God in abuse. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary RITA NAKASHIMA BROCK, REBECCA ANN PARKER, AND GOVERNMENTAL ATONEMENT THEOLOGY A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Andrew Blosser 2015 © Copyright by Andrew Blosser 2015 All Rights Reserved RITA NAKASHIMA BROCK, REBECCA ANN PARKER, AND GOVERNMENTAL ATONEMENT THEOLOGY A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts by Andrew Blosser APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: _________________________ Denis Fortin, Ph.D., Adviser _________________________ Martin Hanna, Ph.D. _________________________ ______________________ Ante Jerončić, Ph.D. Date approved TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 Background to the Problem ............................................................................. 1 Problem ............................................................................................................ 5 Purpose ............................................................................................................ 6 Limitations ....................................................................................................... 7 Methodology .................................................................................................... 8 2. THE ATONEMENT THEOLOGY OF RITA NAKASHIMA BROCK AND REBECCA ANN PARKER .................................................................................... 9 Prolegomena in Brief ....................................................................................... 9 Beginning with the Victim .......................................................................... 9 Re-Evaluation of Atonement Christology ................................................ 14 A Process Understanding of Divine Action .............................................. 19 Rejection of Sacrifice ................................................................................ 25 Evaluation ...................................................................................................... 28 Ambiguity on the Necessity of Christian Atonement ............................... 32 Historical Distortions ................................................................................ 33 Failure to Address the Problem of Relationship to God ........................... 34 Localization of the Meaning of Atonement .............................................. 35 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 39 3. HUGO GROTIUS, ELLEN WHITE, AND RENÉ GIRARD: A FRAMEWORK OF GOVERNMENTAL ATONEMENT THEOLOGY ...................................... 41 Introduction .................................................................................................... 41 Hugo Grotius ................................................................................................. 42 Christ’s Death a Punishment ..................................................................... 44 The Divine Governor ................................................................................ 46 The Nature of God’s Justice ..................................................................... 48 Ellen White .................................................................................................... 51 A Moral Government of Love .................................................................. 52 White’s Variegated View of Atonement................................................... 56 René Girard .................................................................................................... 65 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 73 iii 4. GOVERNMENTAL ATONEMENT THEOLOGY FOR VICTIMS .............. 75 Introduction .................................................................................................... 75 Christological Identification .......................................................................... 76 Identification=Victimization? ................................................................... 78 “The Crucified Woman” ........................................................................... 83 Did Jesus Choose Abuse? ......................................................................... 85 Forensic Justice for Victims .......................................................................... 87 The Cross as Divine Judgment on Abusers .............................................. 89 The Cross Creates God’s “Right to Forgive” ........................................... 92 Biblical Depictions of the Right to Forgive .............................................. 93 A Court Scene with the Moral Governor ................................................ 103 Victims Empowered to Be Forgivers .......................................................... 106 Should Victims Forgive Abusers? .......................................................... 107 Two Objections to Forgiveness as Empowerment.................................. 111 How Can Victims Forgive? .................................................................... 116 The Effects of Victims’ Inclusion into Christ ......................................... 118 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 129 4. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ................................................................... 130 Summary ...................................................................................................... 130 Conclusions and Recommendations for Further Research .......................... 131 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 135 iv