Metaphors of Atonement in Watchman Nee and Witness Lee — Pacific Systematic Theology Colloquium

At the Pacific Systematic Theology Colloquium, whose 2026 theme was “Atonement Understood,” I presented a study of atonement in Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, read through the clusters of biblical metaphors by which they describe reconciliation, with deification as its goal.

The paper

“Metaphors in Watchman Nee and Witness Lee’s Doctrine of Atonement with Deification as Telos: Towards a Constructive Chinese Theology of Reconciliation for the Third Millennium.”

Summary

The paper investigates the often-neglected doctrine of atonement in Watchman Nee (1903–1972) and Witness Lee (1905–1997). Drawing on their collected works, Truth Lessons, The Conclusion of the New Testament, and the Recovery Version, it analyzes how they articulate atonement and reconciliation through overlapping biblical and theological metaphors—victory, satisfaction, sacrifice, recapitulation, and others—with deification as the telos, toward a constructive Chinese theology of reconciliation for the third millennium.

Event

• Event: Pacific Systematic Theology Colloquium — 2026 theme “Atonement Understood”
• Host: Gateway Seminary
• Venue: Ontario, California, USA
• Dates: April 10–11, 2026