Augsburg Fortress

What does it mean to be saved, and how can we make sense of the Christian claim that Christ died for our sins?

That is the work of soteriology, the classic discipline of theology that inquires into the "saving work" of Christ and asks the what, why, and how of redemption as understood by Christians. In this careful survey and insightful analysis of two thousand years of Christian refl ection on salvation, theologian David Brondos lays bare the rich, diverse, and even competing understandings of salvation, their social context and development, and their strengths and weaknesses. Concentrating on thirteen of the most important fi gures in that long arc – from its biblical roots to its most controverted contemporary expressions – Brondos unfolds the thought of each theologian as articulating a distinctive story of salvation or atonement.

An excellent learning tool, Brondos's succinct and helpful text is augmented with a helpful time line, illustrations, glossary, suggestions for further reading, and questions for discussion and refl ection. His work illumines how Christians through the ages have understood Jesus, salvation, and human reconciliation with God.

The thirteen figures include Isaiah, Luke, Paul, Irenaeus, Gregory of Nyssa, Anselm, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Albrecht Ritschl, Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, Jon Sobrino, and Rosemary Radford Ruether.