| Summary: | The patristic era represents the formative period of Christian theology. As such,
this period witnessed remarkable theological immaturity and complexity. One
theological issue that attracted much attention in this period was atonement.
Patristic scholars, in an attempt to build on the apostolic tradition, expressed
varied interpretations of Christ’s death on the cross. Among the different patristic
interpretations, Iranaeus’ recapitulation and Origen’s ransom theories of atonement
became the most outstanding. The recapitulation theory emphasizes the restoration
of the human race to their divine-given status. The ransom theory, on the other hand,
stresses the transactional dimension of the atonement which resulted in the defeat
of Satan. This paper critically examines these two theories using data gathered from
books, journal articles, and dissertations, among other sources. The paper concluded
that, though the recapitulation and ransom interpretations of the atonement are
ancient theories, they are still relevant to the overall contemporary understanding
of Christian soteriology. The findings from the paper will not only contribute to
modern soteriological discourses but will also help readers to avoid some pitfalls
that characterize the two interpretations discussed.
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