Book Review: Ables, Travis: The Body of the Cross: Holy Victims and the Invention of the Atonement

Authors

Chelsea J. King, Sacred Heart UniversityFollow

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

3-2022

Abstract

The history of interpreting the cross in Christian discourse is riddled with misunderstandings, ambiguities, and oftentimes, a conflation of terms. By now, many theologians understand that penal substitution is distinct and separate from “satisfaction” or “sacrifice,” but the question remains: How exactly did the concept of penal substitution arise? Travis E. Ables’s The Body of the Cross: Holy Victims and the Invention of the Atonement offers a remarkably astute and thorough answer to this question.

Comments

Review of the book:

Ables, T. A. (2022). The body of the cross: Holy victims and the invention of the atonement. Fordham University Press.

ISBN 9780823298006

DOI

10.1177/00405639221078114d

Recommended Citation

King, C. J. (2022). [Review of the book The body of the cross: Holy victims and the invention of the atonement, by T. A. Ables]. Theological Studies, 83(1), 163-164. Doi:10.1177/00405639221078114d