‘At the very center of the Christian faith is Jesus . . . Unfortunately, Western Christianity has been so conditioned . . . It has concentrated on the salvation of the individual soul but has frequently disregarded God’s purpose to create a new humanity marked by sacrificial love and justice for the poor . . . In the classical theories of the atonement, the work of Christ was unrelated to God’s intention to create a new humanity . . .
The reconciling work of Christ creates a reconciling community where all the barriers that divide humankind break down. [We must] look at the cross, not merely as the source of individual salvation, but as the place wherein begins the renewal of creation — the new heavens and the new earth that God has promised and that the messianic community anticipates.’
~ Rene Padilla
