Christus Victor

Christus Victor is a Christian theological concept about atonement, or the reconciliation of God and sinful humanity. According to the theory, humanity was caught in the devil’s evil power because of the original sin of the first humans. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, he defeated this evil and restored humankind to a good relationship with God. The concept has its origins in the early days of the church and was popularized in more contemporary times in a 1931 book. While other theories of atonement have gained acceptance since then, Christus Victor remains popular with more liberal Christian groups.

Background

Christians, or the followers of Jesus Christ, believe that because God is all good, humankind has separated itself from God by sin. This sin happened when the first people disobeyed God and ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. After that, people were not able to receive all of the good things God had planned for them, including eternal life. For this to happen, it was necessary to fix the relationship between God and humans. In other words, there needed to be atonement and reconciliation with God.

According to the holy texts of both the Jewish and Christian faiths, the ancient Jews were taught to sacrifice to make up for sinful behavior. While some cultures of the time used human sacrifice, the followers of Judaism were taught to sacrifice by designating an animal, such as a bull or lamb, to carry the sins of the people. The animal was then killed, along with the sins it carried. This concept was demonstrated in the Bible’s Book of Genesis. After initially asking the patriarch Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, God stopped Abraham from carrying out the act and provided a ram for the sacrifice instead (Genesis 22:13). In this way, God made it clear that it was possible for one sacrifice to stand in for another. Christians believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became incarnate, or took on human form, so that he could be this substitute sacrifice. When he was crucified, or executed by being nailed on a cross, Christ became the atonement for humankind’s sin.

While Christians agree that humankind’s atonement for sin was necessary and that Christ’s death was the means by which that atonement happened, there are several classic theories as to how this happened. The main theories include the following:

Moral influence theory: Humans discover how much God loves them and are inspired to stop sinning.

Satisfaction theory: God’s balance of judgment required death to compensate for the sin of humankind, which was fulfilled by the death of Jesus.

Ransom theory: The devil required the death of humankind, and Christ’s death served as ransom for humanity.

Overview

Christus Victor means “Christ victorious” and refers to Christ’s victory over evil. The term comes from the title of the 1931 book by Swedish bishop and Lutheran theologian Gustaf Aulén. In Christus Victor: An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of Atonement, Aulén examines the three main theories of atonement with an emphasis on a version of the theory that Christ died as a ransom for humanity. He called this version the Christus Victor theory.

The Christus Victor theory was part of the earliest theology of the Christian church. The second-century Christian scholar and theologian Origen of Alexandria was the first to propose the theory that God and Satan were at war, and that Satan was holding humanity hostage. The concept of war hostages was common in the ancient world and made sense to people of the time. A ransom needed to be paid, so Christ’s death on the cross served as payment in full for that ransom. This became known as the ransom theory.

The ransom theory explains why Christ came to earth in human form and why he died in such a sacrificial way. It was the most popular theory of atonement throughout the first one thousand years of Christianity. The theory depicted humanity as a prize in the divine battle between good and evil, between God and Satan.

However, the theory was subject to criticism beginning in the Middle Ages (fifth through fifteenth centuries). Theologians challenged the premise that God would need to pay a ransom to the devil. Some also felt it appeared the devil won by being paid a ransom and that it made Satan too important in the salvation of humankind. One of the theory’s prime critics, St. Anselm the Archbishop of Canterbury, disputed it on the grounds that since Satan himself had rebelled against God and been expelled from heaven, he could never be owed a ransom, even in war. For a number of centuries, the other main theories gained more prominence as better explanations for atonement and reconciliation between God and humanity.

In 1931, Aulén published his book with a new emphasis on the ransom theory in a slightly revised form. According to the Christus Victor theory, while Christ’s death paid the ransom and seemingly let Satan win, Christ was still victorious. Although Satan wanted him dead, Christ did not stay dead. Christian theology teaches that after dying and descending for three days into the underworld territory of the devil and all the souls of those who had died in sin, Christ rose from the dead. The Christus Victor theory states that this resurrection and Christ’s subsequent triumphant return to heaven made Christ victorious over Satan and sin.

Aulén also suggested an alternate view of the ransom transaction. Instead of being a businesslike transaction like a payment of a debt, Aulén viewed the ransom paid by Christ as being more like a rescue that freed humanity from the bondage of sin. Aulén’s Christus Victor theory gained popularity throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, especially with more liberal Christian groups. These groups emphasize Jesus’ death as a victory over the evil that holds humans captive, focusing on the social justice and liberation aspects of the theory of atonement rather than individual guilt.

Bibliography

“Atonement Theories.” Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church, www.hrlcsj.org/docs/GeneralWritings/4AtonementTheories.pdf. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.

“Christus Victor.” Theopedia, www.theopedia.com/christus-victor. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.

Galli, Mark. “The Problem with Christus Victor.” Christianity Today, 7 Apr. 2011, www.christianitytoday.com/2011/04/christusvicarious. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.

“Gustaf Aulen.” Theopedia, www.theopedia.com/gustaf-aulen. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.

Kolb, Robert. "Christus Victor." Gospel Coalition, www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/christus-victor. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.

Leake, Mike. “What Is Atonement and Why Is It Necessary?” Crosswalk, 8 June 2018, www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/what-is-atonement-and-why-is-it-necessary.html. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.

“The Need for Atonement.” Ligonier Ministries, www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/need-atonement. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.

Thompson, Marianne Meye. “Christus Victor: The Salvation of God and the Cross of Christ.” Fuller Studio, fullerstudio.fuller.edu/christus-victor-the-salvation-of-god-and-the-cross-of-christ. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.