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This article originally published at The Gospel Coalition:
“Do not hide your face away from me, for I would gladly meet my death to see it, since not to see it would be death indeed.” — Augustine Confessions is an autobiography, yet it’s much more. It’s a theological treatise, though it’s much broader. It’s a prayer, but it goes much deeper. To read Confessions is to witness a brilliant and flawed man contending with the God he loves. In fact, the book in its entirety is addressed to God. With the intimacy of a memoir, the sophistication of a philosophical dissertation, and the honesty of a brokenhearted child crying out to his father, Confessions transcends the signification of genre. It can’t be classified. But it must be reckoned with. 
In the past couple of years, Jen Hatmaker has received quite a bit of attention, not only as a New York Times best-selling author and social media sensation, but also as one of the most high-profile Christians to affirm same-sex marriage. This ignited a controversy that lit up the blogosphere with equal parts disagreement and praise. Despite being given the boot by Southern Baptist retailer LifeWay, her following has slowly gained steam, establishing her as a successful podcaster (her podcast, For The Love! is regularly found in the iTunes top 10 list of its category) and a persuasive voice in the progressive Christian movement. Her shift on same-sex marriage isn’t the only indicator that her beliefs about Christianity have changed. Since its launch in 2017, Hatmaker’s podcast has been a veritable “who’s who” of progressive Christian leaders such as Sarah Bessey, Rachel Held Evans, Pete Enns, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Richard Rohr, Jeff Chu, Mike McHargue (“Science Mike”), Barbara Brown Taylor, Austin Channing Brown, Lisa Sharon Harper, Rachel Hollis, and Glennon Doyle. As I’ve written about previously, progressive Christianity affirms a different gospel. 
In light of my recent podcasts on penal substitutionary atonement (PSA), I'm thrilled to welcome Clark Bates to guest post on the blog today about Isaiah 53, a scripture that is often used to support the idea that Jesus took the punishment for our sins on the cross. Often referred to as "Cosmic Child abuse," many progressive Christians believe that Isaiah 53 is mis-used and wrongly interpreted to support this doctrine. Clark is well qualified to answer this claim, and does so thoroughly and thoughtfully. Enjoy! Since the time of the apostles, a foundational doctrine of the Christian church is the atonement of Jesus Christ, made by means of his crucifixion, death, and resurrection. The fact of the atonement is an essential part of the gospel message. However, over the years, the purpose of the atonement has been something of an inside theological debate. A predominant theological perspective of the atonement within Protestant Christianity is known as Penal Substitutionary Atonement (hereafter PSA). Although the idea that Jesus took the punishment for our sin is found directly in Scripture and the church fathers, the official doctrine of PSA was made popular by St. Anselm in the 11th century with his writing Cur de Homo. Anslem wrote, “Everyone who sins ought to pay back the honor of which he has robbed God; and this is the satisfaction which every sinner owes to God.”(1.11)This perspective was carried into the Reformation by Martin Luther and John Calvin, and it has predominated for some time since. |
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