God's Just Vengeance Crime, Violence and the Rhetoric of Salvation [Hardcover]

This 1996 book examines the relationship between the theologies of atonement and penal strategies.Christian theology was potent in Western society until the nineteenth century, and the so-called satisfaction theory of the atonement interacted and reacted with penal practice. This book examines the relationship between the theologies of atonement and penal strategies.Christian theology was potent in Western society until the nineteenth century, and the so-called satisfaction theory of the atonement interacted and reacted with penal practice. This book examines the relationship between the theologies of atonement and penal strategies.This book examines the relationship between the theologies of atonement and penal strategies. Christian theology was potent in Western society until the nineteenth century, and the so-called satisfaction theory of the atonement interacted and reacted with penal practice. Gorringe argues that atonement theology created a structure of affect that favored retributive policies. He reviews theory and practice in the twentieth century, and makes concrete proposals for both theology and criminal and societal violence.1. Religion and retribution; Part I. The Cultural Formation of Atonement: Biblical Sources: 2. Blood which makes atonement; 3. Accounting for the cross; Part II. Making Satisfaction: Atonement and Penalty 10901890: 4. The ladder of all high designs; 5. The wounds of Christ; 6. Three angry letters in a book; 7. The moral government of the universe; 8. The age of atonement; Part III. Contemporary Directions in Atonement and Penal Theory: 9. The gospel and retribution; 10. Forgiveness, crime and community. ...[an] extraordinarily learned volume....unusually perceptive and even profound. It should be read and studied carefully by everyone involved in the administration of criminal justice. Law Books In Review ...the author convincingly demonstrates how an atonement model invariably leads to a retributivist strategy based on puls¬