Why did Jesus have to suffer and die? Penal-substitutionary theory of Atonement offers common answer in today’s Protestantism

But Christians historically have held other views, and many still do so today

For many Christians, the cross has become a symbol of the Atonement, seen as the ultimate reconciliation between God and humankind. Photo by Josh Eckstein; licensed by Unsplash.

If you’re like most people growing up in evangelical Protestant or Latter-day Saint churches¹, chances are you were taught something like what has become known as the penal-subst…