It’s over twenty years now since the controversy over Steve Chalke’s book, The Lost Message of Jesus. Central to the controversy was his rejection of Penal Substitution and central to the response was that you can’t deny Penal Substitution and continue to be recognised as an Evangelical. It is worth noting that at the time,… Continue reading What is an Evangelical?
Tag: Steve Chalke
Penal Substitution: Steve Chalke and the Lost Message of Jesus, 20 years on
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… Continue reading Penal Substitution: Steve Chalke and the Lost Message of Jesus, 20 years on
Be careful with your offence
When Steve Chalke infamously used his punchline comparing Penal Substitution to “cosmic child abuse” a lot of people picked up on how offensive this was towards God. I think Chalke’s defence would be that it could not be offensive to God because the God he believed in had not punished his son on our behalf… Continue reading Be careful with your offence
Friday is here
There’s a famous sermon that has the rhetorical line that says “It’s Friday … but Sunday’s coming” You can listen here. It’s powerful stuff and helpfully points us forward to the good news of the resurrection. The words have sustained many people in the dark hours of trouble. The preacher is right to point us… Continue reading Friday is here
Abuse and the fault in our theology
I remember being asked once whether I’d prefer to pastor a church that was weak/confused in its doctrine but seemed on fire with passion for the Lord and loving or a church that seemed to be ticking all the right boxes doctrinally but wasn’t clicking in terms of love, welcome, enthusiasm. After thinking about the… Continue reading Abuse and the fault in our theology
Inviting the wolves round for tea
The first Steve Chalke controversy seems such a long time ago now (there have been so many since). Chalke now complains that Evangelicals kicked him out of their alliance because he welcomed LGBTQ people into his church. That is a bit of a misrepresentation of the situation. The issue was never about welcoming LGBTQ people… Continue reading Inviting the wolves round for tea
Assessing motives (what we can and cannot do)
Jesus is able to assess the heart, we cannot. This means a good rule of thumb when dealing with others in debate is that we should seek to respond to what they are actually saying, not what their motives or intentions are. Indeed, we should seek to assume the best of others, taking a charitable… Continue reading Assessing motives (what we can and cannot do)
Is God Just and Fair?
Yesterday’s #AfternoonTea looked at this question as we continue to think about questions to do with justice. Key points include There are two arguments to consider here. First that God punishing sin is unfair because how can we really know that he exists and what his law is? The second is that it is unfair… Continue reading Is God Just and Fair?
Faithroots 