Christus Victor

From the Foreword: "Gustaf Aulen's Christus Victor is in many ways worthy of the overworked accolade 'a modern classic'. For in the almost forty years since its appearance in English it has become the starting point for countless essays, articles, and books on the doctrine of the Atonement; and its title has established itself in the theological usage of Swedish, German, and English as a technical term in its own right, so that even those who have not read the book use the phrase. Its appearance in paperback should introduce an entire generation of new readers to the historical and theological exposition through which Bishop Aulen, then professor of systematic theology at the University of Lund, first drew the attention of an international audience. It is the criterion of a great work of theology that it sets the ground rules for a discussion even if that discussion goes beyond the original argument."