Michael Winter 
The Atonement (Problems in Theology) [PDF ebook] 

What exactly is meant by atonement? The answer can be briefly summarised as the restoration of a reciprocal relationship of love between God the father and the human race. From this starting point, Winter goes on to address such questions as: why did Jesus have to die on the cross? and moves to posit answers to the questions that are central to the Christian mystery of faith, sin and atonement. In so doing, the wonder of the theology of grace is uncovered.
Winter»s contribution to the Problems in Theology series traces the history of attempts to reconcile and understand the problem of atonement posed in theology, before proposing a new understanding of the doctrine under debate.