The Nature of Christ’s Atonement. A Defence of Penal Substitution Theory

Abstract

Anselm's work Cur Deus Homo was the first serious attempt to set forth a comprehensive and systematic doctrine of atonement. Critisism of the penal satisfaction theory of Christ's death was first launched in the seventeenth century by the followers of Socinus. Since then it has also been severely attacked, among others, by enlightenment theologians, liberal Protestant theologians, feminist theologians, and postmodern theologians. The difference between the penal substitutionary doctrine of atonement and other theories of atonement exists therein that it provides a Scriptural- founded model that succeeds in unifying the different metaphors of Scripture by using the sacrificial and legal images as the objective core. The sacrificial and substitutionary feature of Christ's death is both a mystery and gift and therefore falls in a certain sense beyond our conceptual grasp. Keywords:Anselm's work Cur Deus Homo; Christ's atonement; penal substitution theory