Penal substitutionary atonement may be the dominant Christian view on salvation and atonement today, but the Church has held a number of other ideas during its history. The Eastern Orthodox traditions view sin less as a crime to be punished and more as a sickness to be healed—a view I find compelling. Earlier Church ideas on salvation included such views as Christus Victor, which held that Christ’s death and Resurrection signaled God’s triumph over evil, and even “ransom atonement,” in which Jesus’ death paid a ransom to liberate humankind from Satan.
