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 […]
Today, I received by email an earnest plea for theological help from someone with whom I have had previous correspondence regarding the doctrine of the atonement. My questioner wrote as follows: I love God with all of my being but I cannot wrap my mind around this concept [penal substitutionary atonement] as it does not […]
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 […]
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. […]