Atonement and Ethics in 1 John: A Peacemaking Hermeneutic

First John is a New Testament text that affirms God is love, but it also characterises alienated members of the community to which it was written in spiteful terms. Its central image of atonement has also been interpreted in ways that jar with an understanding of God as love. This thesis argues that the theme of love in 1 John is the interpretive key to understanding the nature and action of God on behalf of the world. First John should therefore be read as a peace-affirming and peacemaking text.