Four Theories Of Atonement

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Pages: 1

In the early years of the Christian Church, much of the doctrinal concepts were laid out and established through various ecumenical counsels such as Nicaea and Constantinople. Church Dogma, such as the trinity and divinity of Christ were wildly debated and formal decisions were made and written out to ensure that they would become core concepts in the church. Surprisingly, atonement was not an issue that raised much debate in the early years of the church. Without this concrete belief being hammered out by the church forefathers, it became a doctrine that has changed and evolved throughout time. This paper will review four different theories of atonement: Christus Victor, Satisfaction, Exemplar and Penal Substitution. Within each model,