Real Bible Rob

Penal Substitution is not the Gospel, Romans 3:9-26

Rob Christ Season 1 Episode 45

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Asking "What is the gospel?" is surprisingly controversial in some quarters. Most people believe the gospel is the radical love of God in the person, death, and resurrection of Jesus. But that’s not enough for many others. They insist that Penal Substitutionary Atonement theory defines the Gospel. This was not true for the majority of Christians for the majority of history, but it is vigorously defended, especially by Calvinist Christians. PSA is a Western Enlightenment concept that comes out of colonialist cultures. It’s so strongly ingrained that many people think it’s just what Christianity is. I believe this assumption is very harmful and the main roadblock that prevents us from having a theology that includes all humanity. I define what an Atonement Theory is and describe how PSA is just one of them. Then I describe why PSA is so vigorously defended and why it is such a barrier to bringing new people into the faith. 

https://www.sdmorrison.org/7-theories-of-the-atonement-summarized/
David Bentley Hart, "That All Shall Be Saved."

#penalsubstitution #atonement #salvation #edmonds #edmondspres #pcusa