In this substantial study Darrin W. Snyder Belousek offers a
comprehensive and critical examination of penal substitution, the most
widely accepted evangelical Protestant theory of atonement, and presents
a biblically grounded, theologically orthodox alternative.
Attending to all of the relevant biblical texts and engaging with the
full spectrum of scholarship, Belousek systematically develops a
biblical theory of atonement that centers on restorative — rather than
retributive — justice. He also shows how Christian thinking on
atonement correlates with major global concerns such as economic
justice, capital punishment, "the war on terror," and ethnic and
religious conflicts. Thorough and clearly structured, this book
demonstrates how a return to biblical cruciformity can radically
transform Christian mission, social justice, and peacemaking.