In this second part of their atonement series, hosts Anthony Parrott and Tonetta Landis-Aina dive deeper into healthier frameworks for understanding the cross, moving beyond problematic theologies toward more life-giving perspectives. They explore concepts like the harrowing of hell, Christus Victor, and René Girard's scapegoat theory while emphasizing how the cross reveals God's radical solidarity with the marginalized.

• Challenges to Christian nationalism
• Power displayed through weakness
• The cross as counter-imperial statement

• Connection between crucifixion and American lynching history
• James Cone's The Cross and the Lynching Tree
• Understanding the cross through the lens of racial violence and solidarity with victims

• Translation issues with "atonement" (at-one-ment)
• Being saved from misconceptions about God's wrath, not from God's wrath itself

• Co-suffering love (not coercive suffering)
• Local, contextual discipleship
• Christ suffered ahead of us, not instead of us

• Jesus' descent to free the dead
• Death as prison that cannot hold God
• Early church imagery of chains breaking under the cross

• Christ's victory over sin, death, and evil
• Both spiritual and physical dimensions
• The church as continuation of Christ's victory through acts of love and justice

• Mimetic desire and rivalry
• The cross as revelation (not blessing) of the scapegoat mechanism
• Breaking cycles of accusation and violence

• The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone
• Sacred Self-Care by Dr. Shaniqua Walker-Barnes
• The Wood Between the Worlds by Brian Zahnd
• The Day the Revolution Began by N.T. Wright
• Crucifixion by Martin Hengel
• The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky
• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

• René Girard (French philosopher, mimetic theory)
• Dr. Shaniqua Walker-Barnes
• Brian Zahnd
• N.T. Wright
• Martin Hengel
• James Cone
• Brian Blount (Black New Testament scholar)
• Douglas Campbell
• Scot McKnight
• Jennifer Bashaw (on scapegoating)
• Chris Green (theologian)
• David Bentley Hart

• John 12:20-25 - Jesus on his coming death
• Ephesians 4:8-10 - descent to lower regions
• 1 Peter 3:18-20 - proclamation to imprisoned spirits
• Hebrews 2 - freedom from fear of death
• 1 John 3:8 - destroying the works of the devil
• Colossians 2 - leading powers in parade

• Alexamenos graffiti (Roman graffiti mocking Christians)
• Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference
• Birmingham church bombing
• Lynching Memorial (Equal Justice Initiative)

• "The cross is foolishness and we are faithful to foolishness"
• "Death cannot digest divinity"
• "Christ suffered ahead of us, not instead of us"
• "We are slowly bending the arc of history towards justice"
• "The crucifixion of Christ was not a defeat that was overturned by resurrection. Rather, it was a victory revealed in resurrection"

Instagram: @PastorParrott and @TonettaLandis

Podcast Instagram: @loam.fm

Email for questions: podcast@loam.fm

The hosts welcome questions for a potential Q&A episode. Send your questions to podcast@loam.fm to participate in future discussions about gospel, faith, and social justice.