Description: 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.
Review Quotes: "...[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