I was happily shocked to see this article on the cross of Jesus in the mainstream press.  In it the author gives a perspective of sin, and of our Lord's suffering and death, that needs to be heard more often. He writes, for example: 

"Think of the contemporary idols: money, sex or power. We worship these forces, and they tell us what to do. So we shrink as humans; not just because we break various commandments (though we do) but because we miss our true calling, and the world suffers in consequence. And if we try to grab that vocation back again – if we try to run the world our way – our sub-humanness shows up all too clearly. Every tyrant, every anarchist, started off by thinking they knew how the world ought to be.

That’s why, when the New Testament talks of Jesus’ death and what it accomplished, it doesn’t just talk about dealing with sin (though it does that too). It talks about God overthrowing the dark powers that have taken over the world. ‘Now,’ said Jesus, ‘the ruler of this world is cast out.’ ‘On the cross,’ wrote Paul, ‘Jesus disarmed the principalities and powers.’ That is basic. All the early Christian teachers knew this. That was why they lived as a multi-ethnic, classless community. The ‘powers’ that had kept humans locked up in their sins and their distinct social groupings had been overthrown."

Such articles need to read with discernment, and I welcome any comments or questions on it. But I think it's worth the read.