Customer Reviews

The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance

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There are some books that do such a wonderful job covering a single biblical concept that you wonder, why would anyone else want to write on the topic? I believe Bible scholar Leon Morris has accomplished such a fete with his book on atonement. Although not a skim-through kind of book that might appeal to all Christian laypeople, it is not difficult to read this book word by word and come away with a far greater appreciation of how God worked in both the Old and New Testaments when it comes to the atonement of God. (Trust me, he could have been much more technical and have lost many average readers, but thankfully he doesn't.) He fully describes the words associated with the atonement, including Passover, redemption, reconciliation, and justification. Salvation is such a rich idea, it's a shame many Christians go through life not fully understanding the gift that they've been given.

The Atonement - Its meaning and significance is one of the best books ever written on this subject. Much more readable then his work The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross which covers the same material in a much more scholarly manner, this work will open up for you the treasures of the cross of Christ. There is nothing more central to Christianity than the death of Christ - what does it mean. His chapters deal with - covenant, sacrifice, the day of atonement, the passover, redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, and justification. These are Biblical themes that are just not taught on in today's seeker friendly churches - to the hurt of all who truly believe on Christ. Though readable, this work is not short on material. Great work for a Bible class, Bible study, Sunday school class or home Bible study. Also a great gift for your pastor if he doesn't already have this book. Give it to him as a gift and some of it will certainly end up in his sermons. If you are looking for additional material on this subject see John Murray's Redemption Accomplished and Applied. Together these two works rock and will give the reader significant understanding of these vital Christian doctrines. Enjoy!

I have a very short list of books that I'd put in the must-read category for every Christian, and this book is on it. Of course, there are many excellent books and many important books, but what sets The Atonement apart from many other worthwhile books is that I can recommend it to you and know that no matter who you are, you'll learn something valuable from it, and at the same time, you won't find it too difficult. It isn't pablum, but you won't need to keep a theological dictionary (or even a regular dictionary) nearby to use as you read. And it's short enough for those of you who do a page count first and automatically turn down anything over 250 pages. Yep, this book represents the best of all worlds: dense, but not difficult, and it doesn't drone on.

Leon Morris is more well-known for his scholarly tome The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. It wouldn't be far wrong to think of The Atonement as the average person's version of The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. It explains the terms associated with the atonement, words you've probably heard, like "justification" and "sacrifice" and "propitiation," but maybe never understood completely. And of course, understanding the meaning and significance of what was accomplished for us on the cross is one of the most important things for every Christian believer.

A well written and documented explanation of atonement; one not usually taught or discussed in daily Bible classes or readings. Should be a must read for today's Christian.

I find the word very confusing, it's so long. But it's basically at-one ment, i.e. becoming one, and I hear further it's by means of substitution. This book is the best book I've seen to explain all the big words on the subject, even though I still find this book hard to follow sometimes. Hey, are we talking becoming whole and complete and so forth by integrating all of our emotions and so forth? I think so, and this RELIABLE scholar is dedicating a lot of his life to making it easier for the rest of us to comprehend this message.

This book is horrible at treating the factor of history. This is only a theological treatise about Christ's work of salvation. If we look at the Bible (both in the Old Testament and the New Testament), historical context is important. Prof. Morris should talk a little bit more about the Jewish guilt in killing Christ and what consequences that has. Prof. Morris denies the whole prophetic tradition in ignoring this important element. Thus, this book is neither wholly biblically-centered or beneficial to the long-term goals of the Christian church in light of the Word of God.