PREFACE THIS book is not meant to present a theory of the Atonement. On the contrary, it is meant to teach that there is no theory broad or deep enough to embrace or explain the fact. A sinful world cannot possibly know all that is needed to reconcile it with a holy God. Sin itself, in its root and in its relations, contains a mystery. So does love. But the Atonement is the work of God's love in its bearing upon man's sin. Therefore it must include more than we can explain. What Christ did to take away the sin of the world was precisely all that was needed, — neither more nor less. What we know of this need is what we know about the Atonement. One man sees one segment of the circle more clearly. Another man sees another segment. No man sees the whole circle. But if each one sees his little arc of experience in right relation to the centre, he sees it as part of the truth. The false theories of the Atonement are those which claim to be final and exclusive. That claim breaks the line of curvature and conceals the true centre. The saving work of Jesus Christ for man as a sinner, that is what the Atonement means to us. I think it surpasses all explanations of it, just as life is more than biology. THE BRICK CHURCH MANSE, NEW YORK CITY, February 28, 1899. HENRY VAN DYKE. IV. CHRIST'S MISSION TO THE INNER LIFE 2. The Picture of Jesus in the Soul. |