Review: The Mosaic of the Atonement

In The Mosaic of the Atonement: An Integrated Approach to Christ’s Work (Zondervan Academic, 2019), Joshua McNall seeks to rescue atonement theology from evangelical abuse. McNall submits that typical soteriological methods can either treat one atonement theory as superior to the other, creating a hierarchy, or collapse and reduce them all together, creating a diluted puddle. He attempts to reconcile these extremes by presenting an integrated approach to the atonement, viewing it through the “mosaic” of Christ. Using the metaphor of a body, McNall draws on classical views of the atonement: the feet (recapitulation), the heart (penal substitution), the head (Christus Victor), and the hands (moral influence). Brought together, one can discover a more beautiful vision for what Christ’s work has accomplished.

This book is an excellent evangelical introduction to soteriology and atonement. It is readable yet profound. Although his metaphors may become confusing at times (after all, if he suggests that atonement theories should not be likened to situational golf clubs, a la McKnight, then why does he advance a similar approach?), McNall is willing to swim in the deep trenches of Christian theology—spanning twenty centuries—and bring the relevance of atonement into the contemporary church. Graphics, stories, and cultural connections make this book more engaging. This would be an excellent text for intermediate theology courses or for interested clergy and laypeople.

(A complimentary review copy was given in exchange for an honest review.)

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