God in Christ

work by Bushnell

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June 29, 2026

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Horace Bushnell's God in Christ (1849) challenged traditional views of the atonement, suggesting Christ's death was not merely a substitute for human punishment. Bushnell emphasized the symbolic and evocative nature of religious language when discussing God and faith. He also explored the Trinity and the divine-human relationship, viewing nature and the supernatural as parts of a unified "system of God". Bushnell's theological interpretations, which stood between Puritan orthodoxy and romantic impulses, were controversial but influential in American religious thought. His work contributed to a broader discussion on the nature of Christ and his work within Western theology.123

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Horace Bushnell
In God in Christ (1849), published in the year of his mystical experience that illumined the gospel for him, Bushnell challenged the traditional, substitutionary view of the atonement (i.e., that the death of Christ was the substitute for man’s punishment for sin) and considered problems of…
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In God in Christ (1849), published in the year of his mystical experience that illumined the gospel for him, Bushnell challenged the traditional, substitutionary view of the atonement (i.e., that the death of Christ was the substitute for man’s punishment for sin) and considered problems of…
Read More