It only needs that the son should recognize
the righteousness and goodness of his father, and should wish to go
back. That is the doctrine of Jesus as taught in this wonderfully sweet
and beautiful parable.
Now what are the theories of atonement as outlined in the popular
theology? For the first thousand years of Christian history one of the
strangest conceptions possessed the ecclesiastical mind that has ever
been dreamed of. It was held literally that through the sin of Adam the
human race had become the rightful subjects of Satan, that they
belonged to him. He was their king, their emperor, their ruler, and had
a right to them in this world and the next. And so some diplomatic
negotiations must be entered into with the Devil, in order to deliver a
certain part of these his subjects, and open the way for them to be
saved. So the Church Fathers taught that Satan recognized in Christ his
old adversary in heaven, and he entered into a bargain with God that,
if he could have Christ delivered over to him, in exchange for that he
would give up his right to so many of the souls of men as were to be
saved as the result of this compact. So the work of the atonement used
to be preached as being this sort of bargain entered into with Satan.
But note what quaint, naive ideas possessed the minds of people at that
time. Satan did not know that Jesus possessed a divine nature, and
that, consequently, he could not beholden of death; and so, when he
entered into this bargain, he was cheated, he found out to his dismay
that he had lost not only humanity, but Christ also, had been defrauded
of them both.
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