ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF ATONEMENT: FORGIVENESS, JUSTICE AND MORAL REPAIRS IN NIGERIA
Keywords:
Atonement, Christianity, Ethics, Forgiveness, Justice, Moral RepairsAbstract
The study aimed to assess the ethical implications of atonement with a focus on forgiveness, justice, and moral repairs in Nigerian context. To achieve the aim of this study, four objectives were raised to guide the study. Various conceptual and empirical studies were reviewed to understand the empirical underpinning of the study. Methodologically, the study utilized empirical research to enable the comparative analysis across religious traditions, assessing beliefs and practices regarding atonement From the analysis carried out, the study revealed that atonement has changed over time and varies among religions like Christianity emphasizes Jesus’ sacrifice, while Islam focuses on personal accountability, atonement plays an essential role in communities by promoting forgiveness and moral behavior as it helps individuals handle wrongdoing and fosters social cohesion, showing that collective practices surrounding atonement can strengthen relationships and atonement is used in real life, such as in conflict resolution and rehabilitation programs for offenders as these applications demonstrate how acknowledging wrongdoing and seeking to make amends can lead to healing and improved relations within communities.
References
1Brooks, Roy L. Atonement and Forgiveness: A New Model for Black Reparations. University of California Press, 2024. https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520343405/atonement-and-forgiveness
2Craig, William L. "The Atonement." Think Biblically, Biola University, 18 Apr. 2019. https://publicchristianity.org/article/atonement-as-justice-in-western-law-and-christian-thought/]
3Rossner, Meredith. "Restorative justice, anger, and the transformative energy of forgiveness." The International Journal of Restorative Justice, 2019. https://www.antoniocasella.eu/restorative/Rossner_2019.pdf
4Rutledge, Jonathan. Forgiveness and Atonement: Christ's Restorative Sacrifice. ResearchGate, 15 Aug. 2024. DOI:10.4324/9780367754778
5Boaheng, Isaac. "Sacrifice and Atonement: An African Christian Perspective." ResearchGate, 12 Aug. 2024 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382863892_Sacrifice_and_Atonement_An_African_Christian_Perspective
6Johnson, Adam J. Atonement: A Guide for the Perplexed. Journal of Analytic Theology, 2024, 10.12978/jat.2016-4.100413221406a
7Ha, Sam Neulsaem. "Toward a More Trinitarian Understanding of Atonement: The Role of the Holy Spirit in Calvin’s Atonement Theology." Journal of Pentecostal Theology, vol. 33, no. 1, 2024, pp. 18-32, https://doi.org/10.1163/17455251-bja10059
8Fincham, Fritz. "Divine forgiveness moderates the relationship between self-forgiveness and well-being". Journal of Psychology and Theology, 2019
9McClure, Kevin M. "Anselm and the God of Classical Theism." The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 2023. https://cf.sbts.edu/equip/uploads/2024/05/SBJT-27.3-Complete.pdf
10Peck, Amos. "What Qualifies as Orthodoxy regarding the Atonement? Five Elements from the First Seven Ecumenical Councils." The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 2023.
11Varner, William. "Jesus Died Only for His Sheep: A Syllogism for Definite Atonement." The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 2023
12Lewis, Aaron. "Passover and Passion: Atonement in the Thought of Gregory the Theologian." The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 2023. https://cf.sbts.edu/equip/uploads/2024/05/SBJT-27.3-Complete.pdf
13Crisp, Oliver. “Methodological Issues in Approaching the Atonement.” In T&T Clark Companion to Atonement, edited by Adam J. Johnson, 313-334. New York, NY: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017
14Darwall, Stephen. The Second-Person Standpoint: Morality, Respect, and Accountability. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2016.
15Eberhart, Christian. The Sacrifice of Jesus: Understanding Atonement Biblically. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2019.
16Warda, Wahaj. "(Un)reliable Narrative in Ian McEwan's Atonement." World Journal of English Language, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v14n2p16
17Adefope, André. "Establishing Recapitulation as a Unique and Fully-Fledged Atonement Model. Evangelical Quarterly: An International Review of Bible and Theology 95.1 (2024): 54-74. https://doi.org/10.1163/27725472-09501004 Web.
18Bell, Macalester. “Forgiving Someone for Who They Are (And Not Just What They’ve Done).” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 77, no. 3 (2018): 625-658
19Begal, Manshi. "Effect of Forgiveness on Need for Closure." International Journal of Health Sciences and Research, vol. 14, no. 5, May 2024. https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20240515
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors are permitted to post their work online in institutional/disciplinary repositories or on their own websites. Pre-print versions posted online should include a citation and link to the final published version in Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication as soon as the issue is available; post-print versions (including the final publisher's PDF) should include a citation and link to the journal's website.
