184 Jesus, Prophet ofIslam
In the writings contained in the Racovian Catechism, Socianus
struck at the very root of what had become orthodox Christianity
by denying the doctrine of Atonement. Although he was ignorant
of the fact thatJesus was neither crucified nor resurrected, and that
therefore the doctrine is entirely without any foundation anyway,
Socianus was able to establish the absurdity of the doctrine on other
grounds.
Briefly speaking, the doctrine of Atonement preaches that man
is bom in a state of sin because of the first wrong action of Adam,
and that Jesus, by his (supposed) crucifixion, atones for this state
of sin and for all the persona! wrong actions of all those who take
baptism and follow him. According to orthodox Christianity, the
Church is a religious fellowship, a society of divine origin which
was founded by Christ through his atoning work for men. Only
within its communion, it says, and by its office, can sinful men and
women find their way to God. The Church - that is, the priesthood
of the Church - is therefore considered to have more importance
than and to take priority over the individual believer.
Socianus denied all this. He was sure that a person coald have
direct access to God without the need for any intermediaries, In
order to attain salvation, he wrote, not baptism, but 'right reason'
was needed, and it was not necessary to blindly follow the Church.
By denying this doctrine, Socianus brought the whole authority of
the Church and its raison d'eire into question. It was largely be
cause of this that both the Catholics and Protestants joined forces
with such fervour to fight Socianism. Socianus refuted the doc
trine of atonement, interalia, on the following grounds:
• Christ was not in a position to offer an infinite sacri
fice for sin since Christ, according to the Gospel nar
ration, suffered only for a short time.• Even the most intense suffering for a limited period
on earth is nothing compared with the etemal suffer
ing in Hell to which man is liable.• Ifit is argued that Christ's suffering was greater be
cause he is an infinite being, then it must also be ac
cepted that his ability to endure such suffering was
correspondingly infinite. Thus even the suffering of
an infinite being cannot atone for eternal suffering.http://www.islamicbulletin.com