I suspect that Bishop N. T. Wright would not appreciate my saying that he has dismissed penal substitution, especially since he himself maintains that he holds to “something that can be called ‘penal substitution.'” But this affirmation is precisely the problem. His definition of penal substitution is clearly at odds with what penal substitution is (at least historically defined). In an essay titled “The Cross and the Caricatures,” Wright contends that any idea of an angry Father punishing his loving Son is a “caricature” of the penal substitution theory of the atonement. Wright affirms Steve Chalke’s definition of Christ’s atonement, which he describes as follows:
-
-
Nancy Pelosi: In Her Own Words
Here is how the law defines partial birth abortion: “An abortion in which a physician delivers an unborn child’s body until only the head remains inside the womb, punctures the back of the child’s skull with a Sharp instrument, and sucks the child’s brains out before completing delivery of the dead infant.” Here is what Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says about partial birth abortion:
-
Statement from Gunman’s Sister
“We feel hopeless, helpless and lost. This is someone that I grew up with and loved. Now I feel like I didn’t know this person. We have always been a close, peaceful and loving family. My brother was quiet and reserved, yet struggled to fit in. We never could have envisioned that he was capable of so much violence. He has made the world weep. We are living a nightmare.” –Sun Kyung Cho, “We Are So Deeply Sorry,” Washington Post (April 21, 2007)
-
Krauthammer on the Massacre
“What can be said about the Virginia Tech massacre? . . . With an event such as this, consisting of nothing but suffering and tragedy, the only important questions are those of theodicy, of divine justice.” –Charles Krauthammer, “A Moment of Silence,” Washington Post (April 21, 2007)
-
Thinking about Our Culture with Peggy Noonan
Beyond the loss of human life, the thing that grieves me most about the Virginia Tech massacre is what it has revealed about our culture. Peggy Noonan’s description of how people are responding sadly sums up my own reaction:
-
Supreme Court Upholds Partial Birth Abortion Ban
This news is heartening. The Washington Post reports: The Supreme Court today narrowly upheld a nationwide ban on a controversial late-term abortion procedure, voting for the first time to restrict abortion rights and handing a major victory to President Bush and his social conservative allies.
-
Therapy or Theology? Responding to the Massacre.
As I type this blog, Dr. Phil is holding forth on “Larry King Live.” He’s saying that there was no way that anyone could have predicted that the troubled Cho Seung-Hui would have perpetrated the awful massacre at Virginia Tech on Monday. Dr. Phil makes his case as controversy has already erupted over the University’s failure to prevent this tragedy by failing to respond to early signs that Seung-Hui was a troubled, depressed person. Dr. Phil advises, “There is no answer to ‘why,’ so the question becomes ‘what.'” What ought survivors to do now to cope with this meaningless catastrophe?
-
Tommy Nelson on Depression
Most people know Tommy Nelson as the “sex guy” who goes around the country teaching conferences on the biblical book The Song of Solomon. In the Dallas area, Tommy is known as one of the few preachers actually willing to build a ministry on the verse-by-verse exposition of the scripture.
-
Injured Virginia Tech Student Describes the Attack
VIDEO: Interview with Injured Student – MSNBC.com VIDEO: Interview with Eyewitness – MSNBC.com
-
Pacifism vs. Just War
As the war in Iraq continues, controversy persists in America over the morality of war in general and of the Iraq War in particular. American Christians are far from univocal on this point as both Christian pacifists and just war theorists stake their claims in the current debate. The Spring 2007 issue of the Criswell Theological Review enters this fray in its consideration of “War and Peace.” Contributors to the current volume include figures as diverse as Stanley Hauerwas and Richard Land. Both the pacifist and the just war options are vigorously defended in this issue, yet CTR’s editor says that Tim Erdel’s article presents one of the strongest arguments…