"The doctrine of vicarious atonement is found in some form in most religions, and it is the body and soul of ours. The idea is not a
Christian invention. It caused the Carthaginians to put to
death their handsomest prisoners if a battle were won, the most promising children of their own nobility if it were lost. They were offerings to appease the gods."
"...when it comes to the punishment, the vicarious notion doesn't seem to
work. There is the one point where you are welcome to your own, and no discount allowed to
heavy takers. Hell is always at par and no bail permitted. Even ignorance of the requirements is no excuse. If you did not know any better, somebody else did, and you've got to pay for it."
(from
Helen H. Gardner's Vicarious Atonement; Men, Women, and Gods, 18850.)