A quick Google reveals that there have been SEVEN major Christian views of the Atonement.
1 The Moral Influence Theory
2 The Ransom Theory
3 Christus Victor (Christ overcame Evil)
4 The Satisfaction Theory
5 The Penal Substitutionary Theory
6 The Governmental Theory (a slight variation on the Penal Substitution Theory)
7 The Scapegoat Theory
So look them all up and decide which one appeals, if any.
It seems to me that ALL of our world Faith Traditions seek to offer ways and means to reconcile ourselves to Reality, bringing the peace that passes understanding. Some seem to me better than others, more life-giving, more affirmative. Some in doing so seem to me to betray this world for some imagined other. Even within each Faith there can be found this positivity and negativity - no Faith is simply one monolithic creedo.
