Substitutionary Atonement

Substitutionary atonement, the idea that Jesus died because His father required the penalty of sin be paid. This idea stems from a misunderstanding of the sacrificial system. People see the lamb slain for the sins of Israel and extrapolate that it is because God required blood to save. That is false. The sacrificial system was put in place during a time and a culture when people relied heavily on symbolism and system. Why do you think idol worship was so essential back in that day? People knew the gods weren't the idols, but they relied so heavily on symbol that they worshiped the idols to understand who God was. The sacrificial system was set up by God, for a people inside a specific culture and time. It pointed toward the ultimate love of God for his creation. It is a revelation of character, not the atonement for sin. Without the shedding of blood, no one then would have understood the character of their God. God, as He often does, chose to relate to humanity inside their culture and in ways they could understand. This is how God has always operated. 

The sacrifice of Israel was so much different compared to the animal sacrifices of those days. It was humane, it was reverent, it was not the slaying of animals for the pleasure of their God, it was a symbol that actually represented their God, the animal was a symbol for God Himself. You know how crazy that would have seemed to the nations around them? What kind of God would represent himself as an animal dying for the sake of humanity? That is a huge distinction between killing an animal to appease the wrath of God, vs. killing an animal to symbolize the love of God. It is the same today. Without the death of Jesus on the cross, no one would understand the real character of God. No one would be saved because no one would understand what type of God they were actually choosing. The death of Jesus is not, and never was to appease the wrath of God against sin. It was to reveal to humanity the ultimate love and character of God, that He desired an intimate relationship with his creation. The God of non-existence, the creator of everything desires relationship with you. That is the story of atonement, that we were meant to be at one with a loving God.