Where Wrath and Mercy Meet: Proclaiming the Atonement Today (Oak Hill College annual school of theology series) [Paperback]

David Peterson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001 | Series: Oak Hill College annual school of theology series

Proclaiming the Atonement Today Oak Hill School of Theology Series. A collection of lectures from one of Britain's most well-known Bible schools, Oak Hill College, by leaders in their fields.

The cross of Jesus is central to Evangelical Christianity. Yet the theology of atonement is under attack, not only from those outside the evangelical fold but also from those within who challenge the doctrine of penal substitution. In this collection of papers, the writers defend a strong articulation of penal substitution in the face of contemporary challenges.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Peterson (Ph.D., University of Manchester) is senior research fellow in New Testament at Moore Theological College, Sydney, Australia. Previously, he was principal of Oak Hill Theological College in London, England.

Dr Peterson's publications include Hebrews and Perfection (Cambridge University Press), Possessed by God (Volume 1, New Studies in Biblical Theology, InterVarsity Press), Engaging with God (InterVarsity Press),(with I. Howard Marshall) Witness to the Gospel: The Theology of Acts and most recently The Acts of the Apostles (The Pillar New Testament Commentary.

Product Details

• Paperback: 193 pages
• Publisher: Paternoster (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842270796
• ISBN-13: 978-1842270790
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,299,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Apparently they meet somewhere in Geneva, December 9, 2011

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ecclesial hypostasis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where Wrath and Mercy Meet Proclaiming the Atonement Today (Paperback)

I've been a bit off the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement for a few years, but recent reflections on John Stott's legacy made me think it is time to give it another try. 'Where Wrath and Mercy Meet' is a collection of papers given at Oak Hill theological school by prominent evangelical defenders of PSA. David Peterson gives two chapters on the atonement in the Old and New Testaments, Gary Williams and Michael Ovey defend a penal understanding of the cross in theological terms, and Paul Weston reflects on the doctrine of the atonement in evangelistic preaching. An appendix by Alan Stibbs is a troop-rousing speech on the importance of justification by faith for Christian faith and practice.

I'm going to be critical of this book, not because it is poorly written or objectionable in content, but because there is no chance it will do anything other than reinforce existing divisions on the matter. I think we've come to the point on this issue where there is such an ideological commitment to either accepting or rejecting penal language that it inhibits proper analysis. Conservative evangelicals have talked themselves into a corner where evaluation of the constructs they're using is impossible because it would involve betraying their cause to the enemy. What is needed is not more exegesis or mining of the existing field of discourse but a rethink of the entire system.

Penal substitution functions as a placeholder for 'objectivity' in the atonement, that is, that the death of Christ achieves something independent of the subjective response of the believer. It is worthwhile reflecting why this has been such a flashpoint for evangelicals. I believe the answer is that evangelical soteriology, with its emphasis on conversionism, is oriented around the deeply subjective experience of sinfulness and the crisis of repentance leading to faith. In order, therefore, to prevent the movement from degenerating into mere enthusiasm it needs a countervailing objective side. This is provided by imputed original sin on the one hand and penal substitution on the other, so that the problem and answer to our spiritual dilemma is taken out of our subjectivity altogether. In that way there is room for assurance of justification and calls for sanctification alongside an emphasis on experiential conversion. And it is 'forensic' concepts that work so well here because they can objectively take place without any tangible evidence, they are purely objective.

The danger here, which this book falls into, is that penal language becomes part of a 'world system' in which metaphorical and symbolic theological language becomes seen as a straightforward description of reality. So Jesus' death does not have an analogically 'penal' character in its objectivity, it 'is' a penal event. This means that there can be no admitting that penal language has any problems, even though the defense of PSA that the authors provide actually develops it away from a legal framework into a personal encounter between God and creation. Once we have got to that point we have probably exhausted the usefulness of the legal metaphors.

I believe that the answer is a more thoughtful analysis of subjectivity in the atonement. As I've said above, subjectivity in evangelical theology tends to focus on the feelings of the person rather than on their dynamic 'being'. This does make discussion of atonement sound like 'legal fiction', since the only tangible change it brings is our feeling response. It also tends to rely on the attributes of God rather than his personal being in describing who he is. Missing in these discussions, for instance, is a proper investigation of the implications of the Incarnation and the divine-human nature of Christ. There is an implicit Arianism in the way the atonement is being described, as though at any level 'God' and Jesus could be thought of as two actors in redemption. Wrath and mercy do not meet at the cross, they meet deeper within the union between God and man, which is the point that Luther was trying to make and which is tangentially mentioned towards the end of the book.

As I've said, this is not a bad book and will repay careful thought. But it offers nothing to get us past the impasse on this subject apart from 'let go of your reservations and agree with us'. The title of my review is a reference to the fact that there is an underlying commitment to Calvinism that is at work here, and that needs to be recognised otherwise this will just be an exercise in frustration for those who can't agree with that system.