Speratus Kamanzi

Soteriological Models: with Special Reference to René Girard's Contribution in Contemporary Theology Speratus Kamanzi

Our experiences in the world today, bear witness to the fact that soteriology (a discourse on salvation) has moved from a rather static prepositional approach with unqualified statements like "Jesus saves" to a situation of incorporating more dynamic approaches. In this work we present not only the Church's critique of the oppressive social structures as a tool for exploring the understanding of Jesus' saving mission but also some theories that analyze the essence of violence and some mechanisms that are employed in the efforts of restoring peace and tranquility among conflicting parties. A special contribution in this work is a presentation of René Girard's ideas on the understanding of Jesus Christ as a Unique Savior who restores creation and humanity into its ideal state of peace through nonviolence.