Vicarious Sacrifice, Grounded in Principles of Universal Obligation.

Horace Bushnell (1802-1876), minister and theologian, is sometimes called “the father of American religious liberalism.” Influenced by Emerson, Coleridge, and Schleiermacher, the controversial Bushnell thoroughly critiqued the emphasis on the conversion experience so popular among the Christian revivalists of his time. With The Vicarious Sacrifice, he makes his contribution to Christian thoughts on Christology, the Incarnation, and the various theories of the atonement. Bushnell employs careful, precise arguments that won the respect of others despite disagreement and controversy. For readers today, Bushnell’s work provides a bridge between two diverging movements, conservative and liberal, in past and contemporary American Christian theology.

Kathleen O’Bannon
CCEL Staff