Beatific Satisfaction

This past decade has seen an increased interest in the nature of Jesus’ atonement. How does a Jewish man’s death from 2000 years ago atone for sin? In this paper, I attempt to provide a model that integrates the best insights from some of the major models put forth and philosophical reflections on the nature of justice. First, I employ Jonathan Edwards to argue that creation’s purpose is to communicate God’s beauty. To live justly is to live along the grain of God’s purposes—to make one’s life a communication (or display) of the beauty of God. I then defend this theory of justice and put forth my model. As I see it, Jesus offers up his life, death, and resurrection as aesthetic icons that uphold and restore the display of God’s beauty in creation. I proceed to show how this model captures the best of several other models. Key Terms: Beauty, Trinity, Atonement, Aesthetics, Justice