I uploaded "I Desire Mercy and Not Sacrifice" today. You can just go to Christian-history.org and click "What's New" on the top left, and you will find links to all my recent articles.

This one is a long one, surely over 6,000 words, but the article touches on the atonement in an important way. It also mentions, I think for the first time on my site, the use of "grace" and "faith" in the patronage system that was central to both Roman and Greek society. Paul did not pull those words out of a hat!

It also talks about the Greek word "aphesis," which is often translated "forgiveness" or "remission," which hides the fact that "aphesis" was the word used to translate both "Jubilee" (Lev. 25) and the 7-year "release" (Deut. 15) in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint).

"Aphesis" is a big and important word, and is used in some of the most crucial verses of the New Testament. It is used twice in Jesus' description of his mission in Luke 4:18, and Paul uses it in his overarching description of redemption in Ephesians 1:7 and Colossians 1:14.