Every now and then I try and watch some films or read some books that I wouldn’t normally read… sometimes just to get a better understanding of what “popular culture” is liking at the present time, or specifically to be illustrations for talks. One such film is Atonement, staring Kiera Knightley and James McAvoy… originally it’s a novel by Ian McEwan.
Apparently it’s not the kind of film that a guy should be watching on his own… I should be watching Die Hard, or Dark Knight… but research is a good excuse. So anyway, this is genuine research as I prepare to preach on Leviticus 16 – The Day of Atonement… to be thinking about the question of atonement and how the world understands it.
Here’s my thoughts on how atonement is portrayed in this film:
- Atonement is purely human – reconciling people with people
- The culprit takes the initiative the make atonement with the victim
- The motivation to make atonement is guilt
- Atonement is costless
- Atonement is rewriting the story, to make yourself feel better
I was hoping in watching this film to pick up a good illustration that pictures what atonement is… but it’s not really atonement at all, at least not that which we find in the Bible… atonement in the Bible is between man and God, it’s God’s initiative, his motivation is love, it costs him his Son, and he does it for his glory!
