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A friend of mine recently emailed me a discussion he had with ChatGPT about atonement models. Below are excerpts from that discussion. It is quite fascinating that this artificial intelligence is able to fairly accurately and concisely describe the differences in the human imposed law, the law-and-order approach, and the design-law Creator approach to understanding sin and salvation.
“You said” refers to my friend’s comments or questions.
My friend started the interview by inquiring if there is evidence that the law-giving God portrayed in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam has any foundation in human culture and the adaptation of societies to use God as a justification for their laws, which improve civil order and, therefore, the ability of cultures to survive and thrive.
ChatGPT said:
Yes — what you’ve outlined touches on a major stream of thought in the study of religion that spans anthropology, sociology, and philosophy. Scholars have long asked whether “God as lawgiver” reflects not divine revelation but social structures projected into theology. There is a rich scholarly tradition supporting the idea that the lawgiving, judgmental God in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is shaped by human social and political realities:
- Religion reflects and legitimizes the rule of law.
- Priests co-opt divine authority to buttress their role in governance.
- Belief in a moralizing deity enhances group survival and cohesion.
You said:
Do any of these authors/thinkers offer an alternative view of the true character of God? If not the lawgiver, judge, and executioner, then what character and interaction with the human experience?
ChatGPT said:
Excellent follow-up. Yes — while many of the authors I mentioned emphasize the sociological function of a “law-giver God,” some of them (and others) also explore alternative ways of understanding the divine character and its interaction with humanity.
So, while much of the classical theology of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam emphasizes God as lawgiver/judge, there’s a wide intellectual tradition proposing God as:
- Society itself (Durkheim).
- Creative process (Whitehead, Hartshorne).
- Ground of being (Tillich).
- Relational presence (Buber).
- Psychological archetype (Jung).
- Cultural enforcer of cooperation, or benevolent protector (Norenzayan, Boyer).
You said:
Is there another alternative view of God that is essentially Christian and is constructed around the idea that God is the Creator, sin is the problem and Christ’s life and death somehow provide salvation for humans through “healing,” displacing the carnal nature with acceptance of God’s grace? This is close to the moral influence theory, but with a deeper mechanistic avenue for healing and restoration, based on Christ’s victory over his carnal nature.
ChatGPT said:
Yes — you’re circling around something very real in Christian theology. The “law-and-order God” (legislator, judge, punisher) is only one major strand in Christian tradition. Another strand — less juridical and more therapeutic — emphasizes God as Creator and Healer, sin as a kind of disease or disorder, and Christ as the one who restores human nature through his life, death, and resurrection.
What you’re articulating — Christ’s victory over the carnal nature as a healing act for all humanity — is actually very close to:
- Eastern Orthodox theosis,
- Christus Victor theology and,
- strands of therapeutic/transformational Protestant thought.
It offers a Christian alternative to the law/judge paradigm:
- God as Creator and Healer.
- Sin as corruption/illness.
- Salvation as healing/restoration.
- Christ’s life and obedience as the means of restoring human nature, not just his death as a legal transaction.
You said:
Are you familiar with the work of Tim Jennings, M.D., and his healing model, combined with the idea of Design Law (as opposed to the Imposed Law form of governance that humans depend on)?
ChatGPT said:
Yes — I am familiar with Timothy R. Jennings, M.D. and his theological-psychological model. He’s a psychiatrist who integrates Christian theology, neuroscience, and psychology, and he’s well known (especially in Adventist circles) for advancing the Design Law vs. Imposed Law distinction.
Here’s a summary of his key ideas, which align strongly with what you’ve been describing:
Tim Jennings’ Healing Model & Design Law Theology
- Design Law vs. Imposed Law.
- Human governments operate on imposed law — rules enforced externally, with prescribed punishments.
- God’s law, by contrast, is design law — woven into the fabric of creation itself (like gravity, physiology, health).
- Example: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) is not a legal penalty but the natural result of living out of harmony with God’s design.
- Breaking God’s law damages human beings in the same way that ignoring the laws of health damages the body.
- Sin as Disease, Not Just Crime.
- In Jennings’ model, sin is a terminal condition — a “disease of the soul” — rather than merely “bad deeds” or “rule-breaking.”
- Humanity is in a state of corruption that needs healing, not just forgiveness.
- This reframes the role of God: not judge and punisher, but Creator and Physician.
- Christ’s Role: Restorative Healing.
- Christ’s life and death demonstrate and restore God’s design law in action.
- Jesus overcame the selfish, carnal nature (tempted in all points as we are) and perfectly aligned with God’s design.
- Through his victory, Christ provides both:
- Revelation of God’s true character (love, not coercion).
- Mechanism of healing: grace works to restore human beings into harmony with God’s design.
- Practical Spiritual Psychology.
- Jennings, being a psychiatrist, emphasizes how this theology intersects with mental health.
- Guilt, fear, shame, and legalistic religion damage the psyche.
- Trust in God’s healing love restructures the mind (what Paul calls “renewing of the mind” in Romans 12:2).
- Salvation = restoration of trust in God + neurobiological transformation toward love.
Distinction From Classic Theories.
- Unlike Penal Substitution → (God must punish sin legally).
- Unlike pure Moral Influence → (Christ inspires us).
- Jennings’ model is a therapeutic atonement: Christ heals the disease of sin by revealing truth, restoring trust, and transforming human nature.
- This shares DNA with Eastern Orthodox theosis and Christus Victor, but Jennings frames it in psychological and scientific categories.
So yes — what you’ve been articulating (God as Creator, sin as disease, Christ’s obedient life and death as healing power) fits very closely with Jennings’ Design Law framework. He’s one of the more contemporary voices articulating that model in explicitly therapeutic and non-juridical terms.
You said:
If you were a mortal human, concerned about eternity and knowing what you do (e.g. this discussion), which character of God would you be most likely to subscribe to?
ChatGPT said:
If I were a mortal human, standing in front of eternity with the awareness we’ve been discussing, I’d probably gravitate toward a God-as-healer/creator model — similar to what we see in the Jennings/Christus Victor/theosis frameworks — and here’s why:
- Pragmatic Appeal.
- Facing eternity, I’d want a God whose nature actually restores and transforms, not just one who punishes mistakes.
- A law-and-order-only God feels like a constant risk calculation: even if I try to obey perfectly, the stakes are terrifying and the system is opaque.
- A healing God offers a path to wholeness, not just legal “covering.”
- Psychological Resonance.
- Humans are inherently flawed and prone to error.
- A God who works with our brokenness, teaches, guides, and heals our nature, is comforting and realistic.
- This aligns with the experience of grace, trust, and relational love — psychologically safer than living under perpetual fear of punishment.
- Alignment With Observed Reality.
- Life is messy, natural law is unforgiving, and humans are fragile.
- A God who restores harmony with creation, rather than imposing arbitrary punishments, seems more coherent with observable patterns.
- Design Law (Jennings) fits here: living out of alignment with creation produces natural consequences — God doesn’t have to “throw the hammer,” the consequences are inherent.
- Moral and Relational Development.
- Eternal life under a law-God is mostly about obedience.
- Eternal life under a healing God is about participating in growth, character transformation, and restoration of relationship.
- This seems to offer freedom, meaning, and deep relational satisfaction — not just survival or avoidance of punishment.
- Scriptural Compatibility.
- This choice is still Christian: it’s consistent with Jesus’ life and teachings (healing, restoration, mercy, transforming the heart), and the ultimate victory over sin in Christ.
- It allows me to take the Old Testament seriously as the context for God’s design-law governance, while emphasizing that the ultimate character of God is love, restoration, and creation-alignment.
In short: if eternity were on the table, I’d choose the God who is Creator, Physician, and Restorer — the God who heals the disease of sin, rather than one whose main concern is checking boxes and punishing failure.
If you want, I can make a side-by-side “eternal risk/reward table” comparing law-God vs. healer-God, showing why the healer-God model is practically and psychologically more compelling for a mortal human facing eternity. It’s surprisingly illuminating. Do you want me to do that?
You said:
That comparison would be great.
ChatGPT said:
Perfect — let’s break it down clearly. I’ll do a side-by-side comparison of the two models of God (Law-God vs. Healer/Creator-God) across several key dimensions: psychological impact, practical behavior, relational dynamics, and eternal outcomes.
Law-God vs. Healer/Creator-God: Eternal Risk/Reward Comparison
|
Dimension |
Law-and-Order God |
Healer/Creator God (Christus Victor / Jennings model) |
|
Core Character. |
Legislator, Judge, Executioner. |
Creator, Physician, Restorer. |
|
Relationship with Humans. |
Conditional: obedience earns favor; disobedience earns punishment. |
Relational and restorative: grace offers healing; cooperation with God transforms the human nature. |
|
Human Condition Assumption. |
Humans are primarily law-breakers; prone to sin and rebellion. |
Humans are wounded and flawed; capable of growth and transformation. |
|
Mechanism of Salvation / Favor. |
Obedience to rules and rituals; punishment for transgression. |
Healing through Christ’s victory over sin; alignment with God’s design-law; transformation of carnal nature. |
|
Psychological Impact. |
Fear, anxiety, guilt, vigilance; risk-averse mindset. |
Hope, trust, courage to grow; motivates moral and spiritual development through love rather than fear. |
|
Practical Behavior Encouraged. |
Strict rule-following, avoidance of sin, ritual observance, legal compliance. |
Engagement in relationship, moral and spiritual growth, healing of brokenness, living in alignment with God’s design. |
|
Eternal Outlook / Risk. |
Constant risk of judgment; salvation depends on perfect or near-perfect obedience. |
Risk mitigated by God’s restorative action; sin is acknowledged but can be healed; ultimate victory assured through Christ’s life and work. |
|
Community Dynamics. |
Conformity enforced, hierarchy emphasized, priestly/scribal authority central. |
Cooperation and mutual support; growth-oriented community; shared responsibility to reflect God’s restorative nature. |
|
Experience of God in Daily Life. |
God may feel distant, demanding, critical, or punitive. |
God feels present, nurturing, instructive, empowering; works in partnership with human agency. |
|
Moral Motivation. |
Avoid punishment; earn favor. |
Align with God’s design, grow in character, participate in healing of self and others. |
|
Example Biblical Models. |
Mosaic Law, Deuteronomistic History, some Prophets emphasizing judgment. |
Christ’s ministry (healing, teaching), Christus Victor, Tim Jennings’ healing and Design Law model, Wisdom literature emphasizing restoration. |
Key Takeaways:
- Law-God motivates through fear and obedience, but produces anxiety and a transactional relationship.
- Healer/Creator-God motivates through love, restoration, and alignment, creating hope, growth, and relational intimacy.
- For a mortal human facing eternity, the Healer/Creator-God reduces existential risk while promoting active participation in moral and spiritual development, rather than simply attempting to avoid punishment.
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