SALVATION, CHRISTIAN CONCEPTION OF205figurative meaning is significant for ques-
tions of ethics: for example, the problem
of altruism, or politics (e.g., theories of
warfare or punishment).
Greek philosophy began with a critique
of bloody sacrifice in the pre-Socratic
period, though by late antiquity we find
philosophers like Iamblichus (245–325)
attempting to defend it. In Indian philo-
sophy we find in the Upanishads the
attempt to spiritualize and interiorize
the Vedic rituals. In Judaism, the loss
of the First Temple and then the destruc-
tion of the Second Temple meant that
sacrifice was effectively ended, and in
Islam it plays a minor role. It is through
Christianity in particular that the lan-
guage of sacrifice was retained for its
theories of atonement, and eucharistic
controversies kept the problem of sacrifice
prominent in the West until the Enlight-
enment. In the Enlightenment, sacrifice
was seen essentially as an aspect of
the dark and violent side of Christianity.
Various significant thinkers from Joseph
de Maistre to Rene Girard have proposed
theories of the human condition in which
sacrifice is central, often with strong theo-
logical consequences. It can be argued
that the idea of sacrifice plays an impor-
tant role in a range of major thinkers
including Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, and
Nietzsche.
SALVATION, CHRISTIAN CONCEP-
TION OF. Christianity is first and fore-
most a scheme of salvation, not an
explanatory account or a metaphysical
system. To be sure, the Christian scheme
of salvation involves truth claims, includ-
ing metaphysical ones, of enormous
magnitude, but the main message of
Christianity is a diagnosis of the human
condition and an account of how we
can be saved from it.
The Christian diagnosis of the human
condition is in terms of sin, a freely cho-
sen condition that has separated us
from God, subjected us to moral and
spiritual bondage, and death. The Chris-
tian account of how we are delivered
from this condition centers on the death
and resurrection of Christ, but his entire
life has saving significance. As the Nicene
Creed professes: “For us and for our
salvation he came down from heaven...
and was made man.” He became incar-
nate, took on human nature, in order to
provide salvation for the entire fallen cre-
ation. His whole life, including his victory
over all temptation and perfect obedience
to his Father, was crucial for his work of
defeating evil and breaking the power
of sin.
The climax of his perfect obedience
was his willing submission to death by
crucifixion, which Christians believe
has atoned for human sin. How exactly
to understand the atonement (“at-one-
ment”) is one of the great debates in the
history of theology, and several famous
theories have been formulated. What is
agreed, however, is that the death of Christ
is the means by which God provides for-
giveness for our sin and reconciles us