The Conceptual History of Reconciliation

By Risto Saarinen, Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Helsinki

The Latin concept of reconciliatio retains its Greco-Roman connections with peace and "polis-diplomacy" until late medieval times. The Bible translations of the Reformation (Luther's Versöhnung and Tyndale's atonement) change the paradigm, making this concept an umbrella name depicting the entire work of Christ. As a philosophical concept of rational modernity, Versöhnung becomes prominent through Hegel. The so-called "theories of atonement" in modern theology struggle with this complex history. Recent popularity of reconciliation as key term of peace work is also related to it.