THE CROSS IN SALVATION

The Cross in Salvation

The Cross in Salvation

Introduction

Dr. Robert Goetz, being a renowned theologist and chairman of ethics at Elmhurst College, presented many differing views of his understanding of the divine plan, and in this paper, I will be analyzing certain aspects of his article that appeared in Christian Century in 1990. Although Mark's Gospel indicates that before crossing over, Jesus cried to the heavens, “ My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”, this is examined in depth along with other parts of the scripture by Goetz who initiates a debate over whether or not this cry to God is faith being tested and broken over the anguish that Jesus faced while tied to the cross.

Discussion

With the above words, the debate implies that Jesus may not have meant them, since one is prone to cry out when in pain and since Jesus was an ordinary man, nothing else can be expected. In Goetz's article, there are comments made that refer to God's participation in this plan of Jesus on the cross, and it deals in depth with the question of whether divinity had a larger part to play in the statement uttered above by Jesus, but it may be said that the understanding that Goetz has of the divine plan is split between faith and humanity and the divine plan. He implies through his understanding that the debates who are convinced that Jesus did not imply loss of faith at the cross are not clearly understanding the point since Jesus seems merely to be quoting the first thing out of Scripture that he could think of. The meaning behind the words can even be seen as pious. The uttered words are, quite understandably, taken out of context by unsuspecting analysts but there is a deeper meaning ...