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Chairman of German Bishops’ Conference denies Fundamental Catholic Doctrine. The Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference and archbishop of Freiburg, Robert Zollitsch, believes that Christ’s crucifixion …More
Chairman of German Bishops’ Conference denies Fundamental Catholic Doctrine.
The Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference and archbishop of Freiburg, Robert Zollitsch, believes that Christ’s crucifixion is just a psychological support for those who suffer.
On Holy Saturday, the archbishop denied the Expiatory Death of Christ in an interview with the German TV station 'Hessischer Rundfunk'.
Christ "did not die for the sins of the people as if God had needed a sacrificial offering or something like a scapegoat" - the archbishop said.
According to him the dying Christ simply expressed "solidarity" with the suffering of the people even to death.
This way, Christ showed, the archbishop said, that even suffering and pain have been taken up by God.
According to Zollitsch "this is the great perspective, the tremendous solidarity," that Christ went so far that he suffered all "with" me.
The journalist asked Zollitsch: "You would now no longer describe it in such a way that God gave his own son …More
chonak
To the contrary:
There is a significant difference between "not ... because" and "not ... as if".
(not-A-as-if-B) implies that both A and B are false.
(not (A because B)) allows A to be true, it denies that B is the reason for A.
The bishop's words "... nicht deswegen..." indicate that he was not denying that Christ died for the sins of men, but rejecting a specific explanation of the atonement.More
To the contrary:

There is a significant difference between "not ... because" and "not ... as if".

(not-A-as-if-B) implies that both A and B are false.

(not (A because B)) allows A to be true, it denies that B is the reason for A.

The bishop's words "... nicht deswegen..." indicate that he was not denying that Christ died for the sins of men, but rejecting a specific explanation of the atonement.