Interpreting the Cross: Religion, Structures of Feeling, and Penal Theory and Practice

Religious rituals inculcate structures of feeling which determine our social attitudes. Much Christian theology rests on the projection of guilt and a felt need for punishment. This is especially true of the satisfaction theory. Although retributive assumptions are deeply rooted in Scripture they are not alone. Especially in the teaching of Jesus there are equally profound roots for what today is called restorative justice and the Circles of Support and Accountability through which sex offenders, in particular, are dealt with instantiate this. This grounds a quite different theology of redemption to that implied by satisfaction theory.