"It was for the purpose of restoring fellowship between an incorruptible and Life-giving God and that of corrupt and death-tainted humanity; it was to “re-connect” (literally “religion”) man with God. You can certainly see in many of our fathers an understanding and even emphasis with regards to the fact that Christ died “for our sins,” in the sense that He died in order to remove (expiate) our sins and create in us a clean heart (cf. Psalm 50, a “process” that is begun in Baptism and renewed through Confession and the reception of the Eucharist “for the remission of sins”). While the idea of Christ being our “substitute” is certainly present in various places, it is not necessarily a chief emphasis among the fathers. Point of fact, Christ did not suffer so that we wouldn’t have to; He died so that we could also handle suffering along with him, unto the resurrection of life."
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 21:49:52 +0000