Peripatetic Pastor

Tag: Reformed theology

  • THE HISTORICAL ADAM AND OTHER MYTHS: MEDITATIONS ON THE PAST, PART 3

    The importance of the past In his introduction to Athanasius’s On Incarnation, C. S. Lewis suggested that one should read at least one old book for every new one. By old, he had in mind books from the previous century and beyond. He mentions in a single breath St. Luke, St. Paul, St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas,…

  • RESURRECTING THE PAST: MEDITATIONS ON THE PAST, PART 2

    “‘There is a Party slogan dealing with the control of the past,’ [O’Brien] said. ‘Repeat it, if you please.’ ‘Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past,’ repeated Winston obediently. ‘Who controls the present controls the past,’ said O’Brien, nodding his head with slow approval. ‘Is it your opinion,…

  • CONFESSIONAL UNITY

    Choosing Unity instead of Conformity Unity and Conformity In church disputes—and there are always church disputes—it is easy to confuse conformity with unity. They are not the same. Unity acknowledges and embraces difference; it brings differences together. Conformity wants sameness; it insists that everyone think and talk the same. Unity builds bridges; conformity tears them…

  • THE COLLAPSE OF AUTHORITY: NOTES ON THE CRC SYNOD The real story The synod of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) has just completed its work. Synod 2025 was devoted mostly to cleaning up the margins on a series of decisions beginning with Synod 2022—decisions that have fundamentally remade the CRC and driven away many members. …

  • FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

    GRACE FOR AN ANGRY WORLD I’m back. Having spent much of the past couple of months traveling—more on that in subsequent posts—I’ve had the chance to return to the topic I’ve been considering off and on for some time: atonement. The subtext of this discussion is the way that theology often claims to be about…

  • BACK TO THE PSA: A FRESH READING OF ISAIAH 53

    Isaiah 53 and a New Understanding of God Back in the PSA It’s been a while. I’ve been traveling. And other things keep coming to mind and to hand. But with this post I’m back to PSA: penal substitutionary atonement and its way of (mis)construing the Christian gospel. Somehow writing this paragraph put me in…

  • GOOD FRIDAY, EASTER, AND BEYOND: NOTES ALONG THE WAY

    Resurrection: Eastertide Meditations For the Easter season—the eight Sundays from April 20 (Easter) through June 8 (Pentecost)—I am writing the Sunday Blog for the Reformed Journal. The posts appear here. For the series, I am following the gospel readings from the Common Lectionary.  I’m calling the series, “Windows on Mystery.” In the first of the meditations (posted on…

  • HARSH JUSTICE: PAUL AND PARTICIPATION IN CHRIST

    A Gospel for Today If the Christian gospel it to mean anything at all, it must offer realistic hope and direction for the time in which we live. Often the gospel is thought to be outside of time, describing what happened long ago and what will happen in the future—or in eternity—but having little to…

  • HARSH JUSTICE: THE GOSPELS, THE MACCABEAN MARTYRS, AND PENAL SUBSTUTIONARY ATONEMENT

    The PSA Story At the heart of evangelical Christianity is a story. The story goes like this. Humans collectively (in Adam) and individually (on our own dime) have fallen–sinned. The sins of the human race offend God or, more precisely, offend God’s justice. And if God is to be God, then God must punish these sins. Punishment…

  • Harsh Justice, Introduction

    BAD THEOLOGY 8: PENAL SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT Moving to a Conclusion Some time ago, I promised as a conclusion to my Bad Theology series to address what is perhaps a core doctrine in the evangelical theology toolkit: penal substitutionary atonement (PSA). PSA is the view that Jesus suffered and died to satisfy the wrath of God…