Christianity Today Book Awards 2005. The cross is central to any understanding of Christian theology. But what is the primary significance of the cross: God's victory over death and hell? The moral example of a righteous sufferer? God's Son taking the punishment for the world's sin? Or is it possible that our postmodern setting requires a new model of understanding the cross? In this important study, Hans Boersma proposes an understanding of the atonement that is sensitive both to the Christian tradition and to postmodern critiques of that tradition. His fresh approach draws on the rich resources of the Christian tradition in its portrayal of God's hospitality in Jesus Christ.