The doctrine of the vicarious...
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The doctrine of the vicarious atonement is one of the oldest teachings in Christendom. As Isaiah wrote 700 years before the Christ, "By his stripes we are healed." That explains what good came from Christ's suffering, but what about the suffering we endure because of our faith? In 325 A.D. the Christian faith became the recognized religion of the Roman Empire. Although that ended the martyrdom of Christians in the Colosseum, it did not end the fights to the death between the gladiators. One day during the course of one of these inhumane contests, a Christian man jumped down on the floor of the ampitheater and tried to keep the gladiators from killing each other. Time after time he was thrown out of the way by the gladiators, and time after time he came back, trying to show them. Finally, the Christian was struck down by an errant blow from one of the gladiators. As he lay dying, the gladiators dropped their weapons, and the crowd fell silent. And from that day on, fights to the death were banned by a decree from the emperor. Because of that one man's death, countless lives were saved. -- Joseph
