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Tag Archives: atonement
What did Jesus suffer “for us and for our salvation”?
A podcast interview with me Chris Date has begun a series of podcasts in which he will interview authors of chapters in A Consuming Passion. I am the first person on deck, and Chris spent quite a long time talking with me about my journey to annihilationism. Whether or not you have read the series of blog posts I wrote, which were an early form of the material in my chapter for the festschrift for … Continue reading
Posted in Christology, Eschatology
Tagged atonement, death, hell, resurrection, sin, suffering
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Jesus, the Warrior Lamb
Almost 4 years ago, I wrote about my belief that, if there is an overarching model of the atonement it is the victory of Christ (Christus Victor), but penal substitution is a very important aspect of Christ’s victory. So the two are not alternatives, they fit together wonderfully. That idea has continued to make very good sense to me and I’m always encouraged when I read material that reinforces and nuances it for me. An … Continue reading
Posted in Christology
Tagged atonement, Christus victor, D. A. Carson, penal substitution, Terence Forestell
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A helpful resource on hypothetical universalism
After decades of believing in particular redemption after the high Calvinist fashion of John Owen, John Murray and others, I moved to classical moderate Calvinism and hypothetical universalism. I still consider myself a 5 point Calvinist, which I take to mean that I affirm the Canons of Dort (popularly referred to as TULIP), even though many high Calvinists would call hypothetical universalists 4 point Calvinists. I explained my reasons previously on this blog. If this … Continue reading
Posted in Christology
Tagged Amyraldianism, atonement, hypothetical universalism, Michael Lynch
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How Christ’s death delivers us from fear of death (both first and second)
I think that Christ’s victory is the overarching framework within which Christ’s saving work is best viewed. (See my post, “Is there an overarching model of the atonement?”) Penal substitution was the way in which Christ delivered us from the adversary’s ability to bring a damning accusation against those who are in Christ. We were dead in our trespasses but “God made [us] alive together with [Christ],” by “cancelling “the record of the debt that … Continue reading
Jesus’ death and the nature of hell
Both traditionalists and annihilationists often say that their view of hell best accords with the manner in which Jesus suffered the penalty of sin in our place. I am still not convinced, however, that either understanding of hell has a significant advantage in this regard. Traditionalists generally focus on hell as an endless experience of the righteous wrath of God. Some understand the biblical descriptions (fire, darkness, physical agony, death) more literally than others do, … Continue reading
Posted in Christology, Eschatology
Tagged annihilationism, atonement, death, hell, resurrection, traditionalism
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Should we forgive the unrepentant?
When we pray the Lord’s prayer, we find it easy at the start. We do want our heavenly Father’s name to be reverenced, and we do want his kingdom to come, which means that his “will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We are also happy to ask God for our daily bread, because we know that he is the source of all that we have and need (Mt 6:9-11). So far … Continue reading
Posted in Christology, Soteriology, Spirituality
Tagged atonement, Brian Stiller, Calvinism, forgiveness, J. O. Buswell Jr, Lord's Prayer
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The serious flaws in the charge that penal substitionary atonement represents divine child abuse
As I jogged this morning, I listened to an interview in which Denny Weaver spoke about the point of his second edition of The Nonviolent Atonement. I understand his desire to take that approach, given his pacifist stance generally, and perhaps I would find the approach more attractive if I were a pacifist too. But the key grounds for my disagreement are that I think all denials that Christ bore the penalty of sin on … Continue reading
Penal substitution and the second death
In his death on the cross and his three days in the grave, Jesus was neither endlessly tormented nor was he annihilated. This is why I have proposed that neither traditionalism nor annihilationism has an advantage in regard to its explanation of the way in which Christ’s death was a penal substitution for human sin. Jesus died in the manner of the “first death,” in his role as second Adam (1 Cor 15:45-47; cf. Rom … Continue reading
Posted in Christology, Eschatology
Tagged annihilationism, atonement, hell, penal substitution, traditionalism
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The double intent of the atonement and the nature of hell
An interesting discussion arose in the Facebook group of Rethinking Hell, in regard to my identification of the genuine issues involved in the choice of annihilationism or endless conscious punishment as the biblical teaching concerning hell. (I’ll not mention names, because of the informal nature of FB conversation and the closed membership of the group.) One commenter doubted that I was right to identify penal substitutionary atonement as a non-issue, because he claimed that I … Continue reading
Posted in Christology, Eschatology
Tagged annihilationism, atonement, Calvinism, hell
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Is there an overarching model of the atonement?
Penal substitutionary atonement has come under significant attack within evangelical circles in recent decades. Defenders of its legitimacy have often argued that it is the dominant or overarching biblical concept of the saving work Jesus accomplished in his death, even when they grant that it is one of many biblical derived theories which complement one another. Many critics of penal substitution have been equally sweeping in their denunciation, not simply lowering its importance but denying … Continue reading