After arguing that Anselmian interpretations of the atonement (i.e. penal substitution) are unsalvageable and incompatible with the inescapable love of God, Eleonore Stump says the purpose of the atonement was to bring about a state of mutual indwelling between God and man. For love seeks not only the good of the beloved but union with them, and our sinful state causes us to resist God’s grace. The atonement, then — specifically, Christ suffering and crucifixion – disarms us, causes us to stop resisting. It is then that God can get in, because we witness first hand the radical transcend love of God through the passion of Christ, we become (or at least can become) susceptible to the infusion of grace.
In other words, the problem of dis-union is not on the side of God but on the side of man. For there is nothing about God that stops Him from forgiving us and accepting our friendship. The problem is with us, which means the solution must be one that overcomes our sinful tendency to pursue false or inferior goods to God. Because not even an omnipotent God can unilaterally override our fallible liberty in every instance, less God fails to respect the being of the creatures he’s made, and this is against God’s ordained wisdom. Thus, the atonement is the best or most befitting way for God to move us freely toward our ultimate end through an utterly unexpected expression of love.
Chik-Fil-A, Predestination, and Human Freedom with Fr. Gregory Pine