Robert J. Daly

Salvation Not Purchased

Theology

“Passionately rejecting those aspects of traditional atonement theory that implicitly turn God into a severe, sacrifice-demanding Father, and instead, pointing out the biblical evidence that reveals the original teaching of Jesus as emphasizing a generous and merciful loving God, Stephen Finlan’s remarkable slim volume, Salvation Not Purchased, must absolutely be read and reflected on by all who preach and presume to teach others how to preach the Christian doctrine of salvation.”

Saved from Sacrifice

Theology

“Saved from Sacrifice provides what, for example, Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ is disappointingly unaware of — a theology of the cross. Heim saves us from having to think of God as a cruel sacrifice-demander; saves us from the terrible consequences of thinking that God wanted his Son to suffer terribly; reminds us that the passion is not what God the Father did to Jesus but is what we did to Jesus; and saves us from the terrible 'theological' consequences of thinking that God actually wanted, willed, or demanded the violent things that were done to Jesus. If, for example, God does violence in order to achieve a good end (our salvation), should not we, in imitation of God, also be willing to use violence to achieve what we see as good? Saved from Sacrifice saves us from such a profoundly distorted view of God and Christianity, and it challenges us to refocus our attention on a more authentically Christian view of the transforming mystery of the cross of Christ. This is one of the most important and profoundly needed books to appear in our day. Its unveiling of the inherently un-Christian nature of all violence is desperately needed in our contemporary world.”