Reviews and critiques of Rashdall's  work on Atonement:			HastingsRashdall.org.uk
Journal of Theological Studies: Review of  The Idea of Atonement in Christian Theology, by J Oman. Extracts: The whole work is as readable as it is learned. Even the many notes and long appendices, though packed with references, quotations, abstracts and criticisms, are as readable as the text. The most hasty reader will dip into them extensively, and to the serious student they are invaluable, both for the information they contain and as a guide to the author's method of studying his documents. For the extracts alone he should be grateful. There is no better selection except perhaps in Loofs's Leitfaden, and they are much easier to deal with than in that extremely able and learned, but work. Even when Dr Rashdall translates, his gift of conversational, perspicuous, accurate expression does not forsake him. In short, this book proves him a supreme lecturer; and, though it has now to conceive him in the character of a dignitary, the reading public will probably more than ever continue to think of him rather as Dr Rashdall the teacher of Oxford than as the Dean of Carlisle. The drift of this whole history is to shew that all vicarious conceptions of atonement, anything indeed but the inspiration of Christ's teaching and the moral influence of His life, and of His death as part of His life, were at all times absent from the Church's general creed, and were mostly elaborated by a few speculatively minded persons, usually on the basis of a literal and' not very intelligent interpretation of Scripture.     Throughout the whole exposition there runs criticism of this theory and the last lecture is devoted to the task of recapitulating, summarizing, and enforcing it, and of establishing what remains. The essential points in this criticism are that the theory of vicarious punishment is based on a doctrine of the Fall no longer tenable historically or scientifically; on a theory of punishment which is a mere survival of primitive jurisprudence; on a theory of representation which is a misuse of the Platonic doctrine of universals along with a misapplication of the idea of moral unity. Finally, it is held to be untrue to the facts of life and inconsistent with the teaching of the Founder of Christianity. Back to reviews and critiques of Rashdall's work on Atonement			Much of the discussion of Paul's doctrine is in every way admirable. It is clear, learned, judicious, balanced. That Paul as a theologian often came short of Paul as a religious man is very probable, especially when his theology was polemic. Most theologians are in like case, possibly even Dr Rashdall. But when we find the most amazingly emancipated mind in relation to the old covenant taking over beliefs purely on scripture authority; and the man whose whole experience was determined by deliverance from the idea of law-ritual and moral alike, resting in a merely legal interpretation; and the man who said we should be judged by the deeds done in the body, resting our hope on a faith which is mere intellectual belief; and; especially, when we find no trace of these peculiar views in any Christian writer for centuries, though all were assiduous readers of the Pauline literature, we cannot feel confident that the explanations are adequate.        For these reasons – or perhaps they are aIl reducible to one – this book probably does not yet say the last word on this great question. But that ought not to diminish our gratitude for the large measure of its achievement. Lest criticism be mistaken for lack of appreciation, let it be said again that this is a work no student of the subject can afford to neglect. It shews a mind which combines adequate scholarship with systematic and philosophic training, united in a way rare, if not unique, with suavity and soundness of judgement and ease and lucidity of presentation. Click here to download the whole review