second in the role of sinner, but are united in seeking the downfall of the Devil's system of sin, death, and Law that enslaves humanity. This view, Aulén maintains, keeps from the errors of penance systems emphasizing Law and man, and reveals the unity within the Trinity's redemptive plan and the freedom of the forgiveness shown to us by God through Christ. The Incarnation Unlike the satisfaction doctrine view of the atonement (the "Latin" view) which is rooted in the idea of Christ paying the penalty of sin to satisfy the demands of justice, the classic view of the Early church (Christus Victor) is rooted in the incarnation and how Christ entered into human misery and wickedness and thus redeemed it. Aulén argues that the Christus Victor view of the atonement is not so much a rational systematic theory as it is a drama, a passion story of God triumphing over the Powers and liberating humanity from the bondage of sin. As Gustav Aulén writes: "The work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil. Development of the Christus Victor view after Aulén The Christus Victor theory is becoming increasingly popular with both paleo-orthodox evangelicals because of its connection to the early Church fathers, and with liberal Christians and peace churches such as the Anabaptist Mennonites because of its subversive nature, seeing the death of Jesus as an exposure of the cruelty and evil present in the worldly powers that rejected and killed him, and the resurrection as a triumph over these powers. As Marcus Borg writes, The Mennonite theologian J. Denny Weaver, in his book The Nonviolent Atonement and again recently in his essay "The Nonviolent Atonement: Human Violence, Discipleship and God", traces the further development of the Christus Victor theory (or as he calls it "Narrative Christus Victor") into the liberation theology of South America, as well as feminist and black theologies of liberation. References Citations Sources External links The Christus Victor View of Atonement by Greg Boyd Healing the Gospel by Derek Flood Penal Substitution vs. Christus Victor Atonement in Christianity