I have written elsewhere that I have never seen convincing Scriptural proof for the Penal Substitutionary Atonement theory’s assertion that on the cross God poured out his righteous wrath on His Son so that God might remain just (by punishing sin appropriately) but also loving (by offering us forgiveness).  A respected friend from across the aisle recently wrote, however, that he finds scriptural support for PSA in Jesus’ reference to His impending death as a “cup” from God’s hand in light of what a “cup” symbolized in the Old Testament.  Many passages, the argument goes, use the cup as a…

I’ve been poking around in Hebrews lately. It’s a fascinating book. I have never taken a deep dive into Hebrews, but I am feeling motivated to do so.  I love how it starts: In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.  In this, Hebrews positions the New Testament happenings as the continuation and fulfillment of the Old Testament.  N.T. Wright says, “We…

I found this quote via Tim Ferris: “I sometimes wonder whether conspiracy theories are an attempt to re-enchant the world in a distorted way. It’s like religion knocking on the door and trying to come back in a strange and distorted form. A sense of mystery beyond our own understanding of the world. If you ever talk to conspiracy theorists, that’s the sense you get from them.”  — Adam Curtis I confess that I am not familiar with Adam Curtis. I don’t know who he is but I think he may be onto something. Across our culture in recent years…

“Perfect” is one of those biblical words that deserves to be wrestled with.  What does it mean that Jesus called us to “be perfect”? (Matt 5:48) I have always disliked the “Christian” bumper sticker slogan “I’m not perfect, just forgiven”.  It fits right in with the all too common perception that a trip to the altar when you were eleven years old somehow functions as eternal fire insurance. And it doesn’t really matter how you live out the rest of your days – Jesus paid for all your sins on the cross, past, present, and future. Just frame that altar…

After five months of saying, “I’ve got to finish this”, today I did it – I finished the prospectus for my dissertation. If you’re not familiar with the terminology, the prospectus is simply the proposal for the topic I want to study and my approach to the project overall. It was 13 pages plus 3 pages of bibliography.  It will need to be accepted by my academic advisor and I hear first drafts rarely are, so I anticipate needing to make some revisions before my project is formerly approved. The question is how extensive those revisions will be. (I have…

Charles Duhigg in Supercommunicators: “Emotions impact every conversation, whether we realize it or not. Even when we don’t acknowledge those feelings, they’re still there – and when they are ignored, they’re likely to become obstacles to connection.” (p.161) Can Duhigg get an “Amen!”?  We are emotional creatures, not rational, and we communicate in ways that are emotional, not rational. How many relationships are strained or broken primarily because people cannot express emotions on one side nor recognize unspoken emotions on the other?

Speaking of the Apostle Paul and his letters to the early church, Peter wrote the following: 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you…

One of the most famous analogies for Penal Substitutionary Atonement is the courtroom.  Stephen Morrison* gives a brief and accurate summary of the analogy: “God is a holy judge, and we are the guilty sinners. God’s justice demands payment, demands our death, and therefore God’s wrath is against us until payment is made. We deserve punishment, but we are unable to pay back God’s justice or appease His wrath. But Jesus Christ came out of love for us and died in our place; God punished Jesus instead of us, thus paying back the Father’s justice, satisfying His wrath, and saving…

There is so much packed into this brief story in Luke 23:  39 One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on [Jesus]. “Are You not the Christ?” he said. “Save Yourself and us!” 40 But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same judgment? 41 We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” 43 And Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today…