I just looked through the links that JohnM posted... some very interesting articles that I think would be good reading for all involved in this discussion as they are probably the first un-biased arguments/discussions I have seen. These give both scriptural and theological support for both sides of the arguement.
I am posting part of one here. I highly suggest these be read in their entirety.
The Ransom Theory -- God deceitfully bribes and tricks Satan:
This was the dominant belief in the early Christian church. It has also been called the "
Classic" theory of the atonement. It was accepted by church leaders for about a millennium, from the second to the twelfth century
CE. There are very few theologians outside of the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Protestant
Word-faith Movement who believe in it today.
1 However, one might argue that this concept may be the most accurate theory of all, because it was accepted by Christian leaders within two centuries after Yeshua's (a.k.a. Jesus Christ) and Paul's death. This happened when memories of their teachings were still relatively fresh.
The early church father Origen (185-254 CE) was a leader of the
Alexandrian School in Egypt. He suggested that, as a result of the
sin of Adam and Eve,
Satan had acquired a formal dominion over, and ownership of, all of humanity and the rest of the world. In order to free people from the grip of Satan, God agreed to arrange the death of Yeshua, his son, as a ransom price to be paid to the devil. This would formally compensate for Adam and Eve's sin, and would release humanity from Satan's grip. Origen wrote: "
The payment could not be [made] to God [be]cause God was not holding sinners in captivity for a ransom, so the payment had to be to the devil."
2 Origen believed that Satan accepted the offer because he assumed that he would end up with ownership of Yeshua. The devil didn't realize that Yeshua would escape his clutches. God deceitfully pulled a "
bait and switch" operation by resurrecting Yeshua a day and a half after his death on the cross. This left Satan without any reward. Yeshua had escaped Satan's grasp and was reunited with God. Origen concluded that humans can then be reconciled with God if they
trust Yeshua as Lord and Savior.
3,4
The Ransom Theory was based, in part, on Mark 10:45 and 1 Timothy 2:6, where Origin interpreted the word "ransom" literally: 5
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Mark 10:45: "
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."[/font]
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1 Timothy 2:5-6: "
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."[/font][font=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]
(
Emphasis ours)
Subsequent variations of the Ransom Theory:
Gregory of Nyssa altered Origen's theory. He taught that God was not acting deceitfully. He was only repaying Satan for his own deceptions. 6 Other theologians taught that "the devil lost his dominion over mankind by unjustly trying to extend" his control to a sinless Christ in addition to humanity. 7 In later, more highly developed versions of the
Ransom Theory, God is not seen as deceiving Satan. The devil is tricked by his own "
inordinate pride."
4 This adaptation at least avoids having God playing an dishonorable role in the transaction.
...
Criticisms of this theory:
[font=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]The Ransom theory, as well as other violence-based atonement explanations, suffer from an inconsistency in Christian teaching:[/font]
[font=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]The church has traditionally taught that a person is responsible for their own sin, and that a person cannot morally be punished for the sins of others. Of course, they deviated from this teaching, as when they taught as late as the mid-20th century that
modern-day Jews were responsible for the execution of Yahweh. But in general, people were not held responsible for the sins of others.[/font]
[font=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]The church also teaches that the default destination for Adam, Eve, their children, their grandchildren and their descendents to the present time, after death, will be Hell because of the first parents' transgression in the Garden of Eden when they ate the forbidden fruit. All will be tortured in Hell, unless they are saved through sacraments and/or good works and/or faith. The sin of Eve and Adam were imputed to the entire human race.[/font]
[font=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Most liberal and many mainline Christians believe that Adam and Eve were mythical humans. That is, they didn't exist as actual people. Without that belief, this atonement theory collapses.[/font]
[font=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Some Christians note that Eve and Adam were created as proto-humans without a sense of sin. After all, they ate the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in order to develop a knowledge of good and evil. Being without a moral sense, they cannot be responsible for eating the fruit any more than an animal might. Again, if the first parents are not responsible for eating the fruit, the atonement theory collapses.[/font]
[font=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Phil Johnson, Executive Director of
Grace to You states that there is no support in the Bible for the concept that Satan has a legitimate claim on sinners. He suggests that the "
Biblical word ransom simply means 'redemption-price;' it does not necessarily imply a price paid to Satan." 9[/font]
[font=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Several passages in the Bible imply that Christ's death was a ritual sacrifice to God, and thereby not to Satan:[/font]
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Isaiah 53:10: "
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand." King James Version.[/font]
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Ephesians 5:2: "
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour." KJV.
9 The reference to a sweet smelling savor is seen throughout the Hebrew Scriptures in reference to animal sacrifices in the Temple being cooked at the altar, with the fragrance wafting upwards towards Heaven where God was seated on his throne. The ancient Hebrews believed that Heaven was only a few hundred feet above the earth.[/font]
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