Kinnear, Malcolm Andrew

English

From around 1845 to 1920 the nature of the atonement was an
important topic in Scottish theology. Study of the New Testament doctrine
of the atonement was central to this, and the refinement and application
of its techniques played a significant part in the debate. This thesis offers
an historical and critical investigation of the issues.

In an initial period the debate was in the hands of amateur scholars,
John McLeod Campbell and John Young; earlier, Edward Irving and
Thomas Erskine had also questioned the Calvinist theory. The debate was
taken up by professional academic teachers, who were for the most part
New Testament scholars. George Smeaton, William Milligan, Marcus
Dods, Andrew Bruce, and James Denney are prominent examples of this
second group.

The penal substitutionary theory was subjected to rigorous
investigation. Among the alternatives proposed, the idea of an atoning
confession, or of an active mental acknowledgement of God's judgement
upon sin was the most widely proposed. The death of Christ was often
seen as a model death to sin or to self. Some writers moved towards the
idea of Christ's atoning death as changing the believer, rather than as
something that acted on God. Theories of eternal atonement,, and of a
heavenly sacrifice were introduced. The conquest of Satan was a theme
that was given attention. There was a consensus of opinion that union
with Christ ought to receive more recognition in atonement theology.
Despite awareness of the complexity of the biblical teaching, the essential
unity of the New Testament teaching on atonement was upheld.
There was some attempt to draw on the experiences of the thinking
person, and to select the best insights from philosophy. There was
interesting use of the revival experience to illustrate theological truth.
On the whole, the debate produced useful results for an understanding
of atonement

Edinburgh Research Archive

Scottish New Testament scholarship and the atonement c.1845-1920

https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/1842/6799/2/Kinnear1996_redact.pdf

Scottish New Testament Scholarship and the Atonement c1845-1920

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