BitterSweetLife

I like to read books that are unabashedly theological. You may not. And let's be honest, that's probably not the only defect in your character. But I've been looking forward to reviewing this book about "penal substitutionary atonement" for some time.

First, a word of definition. "Penal substitutionary atonement" is theological language for what many people regard as the most awful, unbearable aspect of Jesus' death: the fact that he was bloodily executed ("penal") in our place ("substitutionary") to pay for our evil under his Father's just wrath (atonement)--evil that he was completely innocent of.

This understanding of Christ's death grates on contemporary minds for a variety of reasons: How can this be just? How can God "punish himself?" Why couldn't the Father simply "forgive" us, since he is sovereign, after all? How can we consider the cross as anything less that "divine child abuse?" (Steve Chalke) Was Jesus killed against his will? How can we "rejoice" in divine homicide/suicide? Aren't other aspects of what happened to Jesus more important? (his exemplary life, his victory over Satan) Ultimately: Why do some people persist in talking up the bloodiest, most painful aspect of Christianity's bloodiest, most painful scene?

You may not be aware of this, but emotions tend to run high in these discussions. Why? Because the "winners" control the historical and spiritual reality that makes up the epicenter of the Christian faith. What exactly happened on the cross, who carried it out, and why? Answers have to be looked for scripturally, with an eye to human logic and emotions, but not mere human logic and emotions. That's what I feel that this book accomplishes.

In Pierced for Our Transgressions, Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach contend that penal substitutionary atonement represents the heart of the cross and the center of Jesus' mission on earth. They build their case biblically, finding scriptural answers for the questions above. Based on what God reveals in the Bible, what happened on the cross and what was it intended to accomplish?

I was deeply impressed by the book for a variety of reasons. It's well-written and lucid. It's laser-focused on a controversial topic, but it's not contentious. The authors precede with a sense of deliberation and suspense, as if they're investigating a complex crime scene--which in a sense they are. The book is sharply focused, but not narrow, because Jeffery, Ovey and Sach are acutely aware of other position on Christ's death, and they speak to them.

The book is tough-minded (allow me to personify) in that it deals directly with a widely representative, if not exhaustive, series of objections to penal substitutionary atonement--and does so fairly but firmly. The authors don't disparage other perspectives or voices, they attempt to place them in correct alignment with the cross. Often this means taking a concern that has been made of paramount importance (Christ as our role model, for example) and demonstrating that such truths are dependent on the more foundational, scriptural reality.

I opened the book with a pretty thorough biblical backing, but no special study on the topic of the atonement, so I was prepared to read with an open mind. I felt the weight of the questions that the authors tackled. Closing the book, I felt that I'd been taken on an investigative journey that succeeded in being both levelheaded and impassioned. The battle that's being fought over this "theological" issue has implications for every area of life, and is surely one of the most important questions on the table in the 21st century.

Pierced for Our Transgressions is far more than an opening salvo in this fight. It may well be a defining work, one that defends the heart of the cross while respectfully and thoroughly refuting those who would end up bleeding off the paradoxical glory of what Christ accomplished by dying.

*** I give this book three out of three stars: Don't miss it.