COVENANT-APOCALYPTIC SOTERIOLOGY: N. T. WRIGHT’S APOCALYPTIC JESUS IN CONVERSATION WITH THE LIBERATIONIST CRITIQUE OF ATONEMENT

Author

Joseph SmithFollow

Defense Date

11-4-2022

Graduation Date

Fall 12-16-2022

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Theology

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

William M. Wright IV, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Anna Floerke Scheid, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Radu Bordeianu, Ph.D.

Keywords

N. T. Wright, eschatology, apocalyptic, soteriology, liberation theology

Abstract

This dissertation develops a theory of atonement in accordance with N. T. Wright’s covenant-apocalyptic interpretation of the ministry and message of the historical Jesus. A covenant-apocalyptic atonement theory, in opposition to the trajectory of contemporary soteriology, prioritizes divine causality in the means of salvation, because, as is generally expected from an apocalyptic hermeneutic, it peers behind systems of violence and oppression to the intangible powers that underlie them. Unlike other strands of apocalyptic theology, though, a covenant-apocalyptic soteriology can stand up to a liberationist critique of the escapism and the divine sadism of a certain popular form of Christian soteriology, because it understands salvation as an intrahistorical reality and acknowledges the religio-political causes of Jesus’ execution.

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Smith, J. (2022). COVENANT-APOCALYPTIC SOTERIOLOGY: N. T. WRIGHT’S APOCALYPTIC JESUS IN CONVERSATION WITH THE LIBERATIONIST CRITIQUE OF ATONEMENT (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/2073