The Actuality of Atonement: A Study of Metaphor, Rationality and the Christian Tradition

Colin Gunton explores both the Christian doctrine of Atonement and the nature of theological language. Taking the crisis of rationalism as his starting point, he considers the nature of metaphor. He argues that metaphor, far from being and abuse of language, is crucial to rational engagement with the world. Professor Gunton reassesses the doctrine and the language in which it is expressed in the light of modern scholarly developments. He explains how the traditional metaphors of Atonement, drawn from the battlefield, the altar and the law courts, all express something of the meaning of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus - and he also examines how these metaphors relate to human life in today's world.