Imagining Redemption

David Kelsey offers a groundbreaking discussion of Christian redemption.

Through the story of a series of horrendous events and situations that befell a young boy, Sam, and his family, Kelsey explores the issue of redemption, asking, “What can it possibly mean to say that in Jesus Christ God ‘redeems’ such situations and events?” And to answer the question, he interweaves the story of Sam and his family with biblical narrative, theology, and the metaphorical application of secular uses of the words “redeem” and “redemption.”

Kelsey suggests three ways in which to imagine redemption, suggesting (1) how Jesus’ ministry, considered as God’s making a promise to the likes of Sam and his family, may be seen as “making up for” the world’s bad performance; (2) how Jesus’ passion and crucifixion can be redemptive in the sense of redeeming their personal identities from their bondage to distorting powers; and (3) Jesus’ resurrection can be seen as making good on a promise in a way that redeems Sam and his family from vicious cycles in their interactions that turn their lives into living deaths.