Wednesday, May 1, 2019

The Optional Atonement

In the D&D game that I run at Comics and Collectibles, the party is currently on the hunt for a spell called Atonement, which they were told can magically compel an evil being to turn good.

Fortunately, the real Atonement, Christ's Atonement, doesn't work that way. God doesn't use compulsion. He encourages and urges us to make the right choices, and He offers us rewards for righteousness and warns us of the consequences of unrighteousness, but He only rarely offers people the ultimatum of "repent of perish," and He never, ever, actually forces anyone to repent. He would never force us to make a Wisdom Saving Throw to maintain control over our actions and keep our Alignment. He respects our agency too much to do anything like that.

I'm thankful for the Atonement, but I'm also thankful that we don't have to accept it. I'm glad that God respects us enough to make our own choices, even if those choices have dire consequence. Don't get me wrong; I'm glad that God loves us enough to encourage us to be righteous, but I'm also glad that He loves us enough to leave the choice up to us. I value my freedom. I'm glad that God values it, too.

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