But I cannot leave this subject without a few remarks on the various meanings that have been attached to the idea of vicarious atonement, since it became an integral part of the Christian system. We have already seen that the original pagan meaning of blood atonement was based upon the idea that the gods were angry and out for vengeance, and nothing but blood would appease them; but that the blood of a proper substitute would answer this purpose. But the earliest Christian doctrine of the atonement made by Christ was in the nature of redemption. In fact the term became so deeply rooted and grounded in early Christian nomenclature that it has never been fully eliminated. But its use is much less now than formerly. The theory was based upon tradition, partly scriptural and partly not, that in the affair of Eden the devil fairly outwitted God and became rightfully entitled to the souls of all mankind forever; but that on account of the great war in heaven, in which the devil and his angels were cast out by the "Eternal Son" of God (see Milton's "Paradise Lost"), the devil held a bitter grudge against this son, and offered to bargain with God and give him back all the souls of mankind for the soul of this son. So God, knowing the power of his son to break the bands of death and hell,--which the devil did not know,--accepted the bargain; and in due time, as agreed upon, the Son of God came into the world, died on the cross and went to hell, in fulfillment of this contract; and thus liberated all the souls already there, and obtained a conditional release of all the balance of mankind,---the condition of faith,--and then suddenly broke the bands of death and hell and escaped back to heaven. But he literally fulfilled his contract as originally made. Thus we find the old church creeds reciting--and still reciting--that "he was crucified, dead, buried and descended into hell, and the third day rose," etc. This idea may look strange to present day Christians; but all they have to do is to consult the early church literature to find that it was almost the universal belief as to the meaning of the atonement during the first few centuries of Christianity.