Relational Atonement

Because creation and fall are theological terms that express the centrality of relation to God’s nature, atonement, as the theological expression of the solution to the Fall’s negative consequences and creation’s positive intents, must similarly express the centrality of relation to God’s nature. Yet while atonement is aimed at right relation, many accounts of its working are not consistently relational. Through engaging Latter-day Saint scripture and contemporary theological discourse, this chapter investigates the portrayal of God’s relational nature in the raising of Lazarus, and explores what that nature means for accounts of creation, fall, and atonement. While no new account of atonement will be provided, groundwork for such an account will be laid.