Gustav Aulen was a Lutheran theologian, and this Macmillan Company book is his influential and contested historical study of three main types of Christian atonement theology, arguing that a victory motif, Christ's triumph over the powers of sin and death, represents a unified classic view running through the patristic period. Its strength is real influence, the book reshaped twentieth century theological discussion of the atonement and remains widely cited for the position it stakes out. Its limit is equally well documented, subsequent patristics scholarship has argued Aulen flattened a considerably more varied body of patristic material into a single unified narrative that the sources do not fully support, so the book is cited here for its influential position with that scholarly dispute noted alongside it.
Facts
Citation
AuthorGustaf Aulen
PublisherThe Macmillan Company
The English translation first appeared in 1931 (Swedish original 1930); this is a later Macmillan printing. Publication Year1931
URLhttps://archive.org/details/christusvictorhi0000auln
Source TypeScholarly work
Assessment
Reliability Tier2
Published by the Macmillan Company as Gustaf Aulen's classic historical study of atonement theology; a widely used and influential early twentieth century scholarly work rather than a modern peer reviewed university press monograph, hence the middle tier. NotesInfluential and contested. Aulen presented the victory motif as the unified classic patristic view; patristics scholarship has since argued he flattened a more varied body of material. Cited for the position, with the dispute noted.
Claims Backed By This Source (33 claims)
This source backs 33 claims across the atlas. As facts: 20 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 6 holds, 1 connected. Plus 4 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Doctrines, 13 claims: 3 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate, 6 holds, 2 general references.
- Open Questions, 9 claims: 7 well-attested, 1 connected, 1 general references.
- Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
- Articles, 2 claims: 2 well-attested.
- Denominations, 1 claims: 1 general references.
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