Cross Purposes: The Violent Grammar of Christian Atonement

Cross Purposes offers a rich historical and theological overview of the evolution of various atonement theories, using literature, art, and philosophy to provide a creative and provocative reading of Christian atonement. But Bartlett argues that a minority tradition of the compassion of Christ provides a possible way out of Christian violence. His study gives this tradition a dynamic new reading, showing how it undoes both divine and human violence and offers a powerfully transformative version of the atonement for the contemporary world.