Welcome to Defenders, the teaching class of Dr. William Lane Craig. Today, the Doctrine of Christ, part 16.

For more information and resources from Dr. Craig, go to reasonable faith.org.

Today we come to the moral influence theory of the atonement. This theory of the atonement is most often associated

with the 12th century logician and theologian Peter Abelard. Now you may have heard of

Abelard in a different connection with this because of the

famous love affair between Elouise and Abelard. As a young priest, Abelard was hired by a family

to tutor their young teenage daughter, Elis.

And he seduced her, more or less forced himself upon her sexually.

But she fell in love with him.

And they began this love affair that finally culminated in marriage. But her father, to say the least,

was not pleased about Abalard's seducing their daughter. And so he hired a gang of thugs

to break into Abelard's residence one night, and they castrated him in bed. Whereupon A. Louise was then consigned to a nunnery

for the rest of her life, and Abalard went on to become a very famous theologian and philosopher.

So, the moral influence theory of the atonement.

Now, according to atonement theories of this type,

Christ achieved our reconciliation with God,

not by ransoming us from the devil or by satisfying God's justice,

but rather by moving our hearts to contrition and love as we contemplate Christ's voluntarily suffering on our behalf so horrible and tortuous a death.

So on this theory, nothing actually happened between God and man that afternoon on Galgotha

when Jesus was crucified. No sins were punished, no debt was paid.

The entire power of the cross to make atonement lies in it serving as an example which then produces a subjective response in us as we contemplate

Christ voluntarily laying down his life for us.

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