In 2023, a little book by a prominent Christian communicator shook the evangelical world. Steve Chalke stated in “The Lost Message of Jesus” that the doctrine of Penal Substitutionary Atonement if true would amount to “cosmic child abuse.”[1] It’s important to be clear about what he wasn’t saying. Chalke did not claim that the atonement itself was “cosmic child abuse.” He was referring to one specific model or explanation of the Cross. He was saying that if that view were true then the atonement would be that.
However, even with that in mind, the argument was still problematic. Chalke and Mann were not saying anything particularly new and original. The debate about how we describe what Jesus achieved on the Cross and why he died has been going on for year. What they did was to elevate the controversy and use particularly provocative language to do so.
When we think about The Cross, we can think in terms of Jesus’ death being
- A demonstration of God’s love for us
- An example to follow
- A price paid (redemption)
- Jesus winning the victory over evil.
- Christ being punished in our place
Chalke and Mann focused in on the last two. They argued that the Cross was primarily about Jesus soaking up evil in order to defeat it (Christus Victor). The argued that if the Father punished the son for the sin of others then that would be horrific, cruel, offensive.
Their challenge to what was seen as the orthodox evangelical position by many came out of the desire to make the Gospel attractive to a present generation and so their issue was not just with the idea that Jesus was punished, that he bore God’s wrath. Rather, they were speaking for a body of opinion within the church that is uncomfortable with the language of wrath, judgement, sin and guilt full stop. They wanted to shift the church away from an emphasis on original sin and guilt to one that emphasised the original goodness of humanity and God’s love for his creation.
Part of the reasoning for this was that society had in any case lost the concept of sin and guilt. In another book, Mann argued that:
Unquestionably Christian theology, especially that orientated around the atonement, has a well developed notion of guilt, and the rites and rituals necessary to deal with it. Such tradition has served its constituents well, especially in the guilt-ridden, Christianized context that was pre- ) and to a certain extent), post-Reformation Europe.”[2]
However,
In an increasingly sinless society, where guilt is less of a concern at the personal level, such functional views of the atonement are wholly inadequate in expressing the actuality of atonement. Indeed, so are many of the rites and rituals that address our sinfulness. What is needed is a fresh engagement with our story.”[3]
To what extent might Chalke and Mann be on to something? Well, there is, or at least was, something there. It did seem at one level to social observers 20 years ago that the idea of guilt and punishment was something that we were moving away from. However, I wonder to what extent that was a permanent shift and how much it was part of the feel good vibe of millennial culture. Scandals, corruption and shocking accounts of cruelty especially affecting public figures have rocked our culture, both within and without the church. I would say that even if we don’t like to think of ourselves as guilty and deserving punishment today, there is as strong a sense as ever that some are guilty and deserve punishment, even if there’s disagreement over what counts as sin.
However, in the end, the views of our society matter less than what Scripture says. The Bible speaks in a relevant way to each and every culture but it also challenges those cultures, saying things that hey may not want to or even be able to hear. Pay attention to Isaiah 6. The job of a prophet like Isaiah was not to accommodate the message to his context but to recognise that an unhearing, uncomprehending generation not only wouldn’t want to hear his prophecy but would in fact be unable.
So, when we come to a verse like Galatians 3:13, we need to sit up and pay attention. Paul writes:
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
This is the language of penal substitution, especially when read in the wider context of Scripture that talks about Jesus being “pierced for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5) and becoming sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus became cursed for us. The reason that curse was associated with being hung on a tree was that this was what happened to criminals either as the form of execution or to display their bodies afterwards. The curse was to do with punishment and in fact takes us back to Genesis 3, death itself is the curse, the punishment for sin. Jesus, the innocent one experienced judgement, punishment and curse and Paul tells us that it was “for us.” We were the ones that should have been there because of our guilt.
Now, guilt is an objective thing. That’s also part of the nonsense. Guilt is not really about how we feel. I’m either guilty or not guilty. I can experience false guilt, a feeling that I deserve punishment even when innocent but I can also suppress my conscience and tell myself I’m innocent even when I’m not.
Guilt and shame are not really alternative approaches to life. Rather they go hand in hand. Guilt is the objective verdict and shame is the associated feeling. I feel shame because I either know that I’m guilty or at least think that others view me that way, either due to my direct actions or guilt by association.
Notice though this, that Penal Substitution is to do with both guilt and shame. Shame is an aspect of curse. The one who hangs on a tree is exposed to mockery, they are considered excluded, unclean, unworthy of being a part of society and that shame continues after death. Jesus on the cross dealt with both my sin and my shame.
Those who have sought to remove Penal Substitution from our beliefs have missed the point. They have misread both Scripture and society. The truth that Jesus won the victory at Calvary, defeating sin, Satan and death by taking our place and bearing our punishment so that we might receive his righteousness was central to Paul’s Gospel in Galatians and it is the vital good news that our society needs to hear today.
[1] In fact, although we link the book and controversy specifically with Chalke, it was co-written with Alan Mann.
[2] Alan Mann, Atonement for a sinless society, 58.
[3] Alan Mann, Atonement for a sinless society, 59.
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