T & T Clark Companion to Atonement

Atonement has a central place in Christian theology and doctrine. In addition to providing general popular meanings (for reconciliation), theologically, it addresses God’s acts of dealing with human problems, above all alienation and sin. It highlights the ways in which God, through and in Jesus Christ, expiates or propitiates this sinfulness through the incarnation and death and resurrection. The common phrase here is that this is a ransom for sinners, redeeming all creatures (animal and human) in creation and assuring them of eventual unity with God. Setting aside the numerous objections the secular world would (and does) bring to the...