The Lyceum atonement series focuses on considering the necessity of Penal Substitutionary Atonement as described in this 2017 SBC resolution. It features seven essays from various perspectives. Each essay features the unfiltered views of each author which may or may not represent the viewpoints of the London Lyceum.
Lyceum Disputation Symposiums are essays on various theological, historical, and philosophical topics intended to provide greater understanding in a spirit that reflects charity, curiosity, critical thinking, and cheerful confessionalism. To find our other symposiums click here
Essays and Contributors
How (Not) to Affirm Penal Substitutionary Atonement: A Response to the 2017 SBC Resolution, by Joshua McNall
Joshua McNall (PhD, Manchester) is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Ambassador of Church Relations at Oklahoma Wesleyan University. He is the author of several books, including, Perhaps: Reclaiming the Space Between Doubt and Dogmatism (IVP Academic, 2021), and The Mosaic of Atonement: An Integrated Approach to Christ’s Work (Zondervan Academic, 2019). He blogs at www.joshuamcnall.com and hosts the Outpost Theology podcast. Josh and his wife Brianna have four children: Lucy, Penelope, Ewan, and Teddy.
Centering the Atonement: Balancing the Substitutionary Work of Christ, by Adam Johnson
Adam Johnson (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is a theologian who focuses on the doctrine of the atonement, exploring the many ways in which the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ effect the reconciliation of all things to God. He and his family lead the Torrey National Parks class every summer.
Why Denying Penal Substitution Need Not Impugn God’s Perfect Justice, by Jonathan C. Rutledge
Jonathan C. Rutledge (PhD in Theology, University of St Andrews; PhD in Philosophy, University of Oklahoma) is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Asbury University. He has published in a wide range of journals such as Modern Theology, Faith and Philosophy, and Religious Studies, and his book—Forgiveness and Atonement: Christ’s Restorative Sacrifice—was published with Routledge Academic in April 2022. He has a forthcoming Reader in Analytic Theology (T&T Clark; co-edited with Oliver D. Crisp and Joshua Cockayne), a forthcoming edited volume called Paradox and Contradiction in Theology (Routledge Academic), and various other projects that can be found on his website: http://jonathanrutledge.com
An Analysis of the 2017 SBC Resolution on Penal Substitutionary Atonement, by Carl Mosser
Carl Mosser (PhD, University of St. Andrews) has served as Professor of Christian Theology at Gateway Seminary in Ontario, California, Visiting Research Professor and Analytic Theology Fellow at the University of Notre Dame, and Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University.
An Early Medieval Pastor-Poet’s Thoughts on the Cross, by Benjamin Wheaton
Benjamin Wheaton (PhD, University of Toronto) specializes in theology and society in Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. He is the author of Suffering, Not Power: Atonement in the Middle Ages, recently published by Lexham Press, of the forthcoming monograph Venantius Fortunatus and Gallic Christianity: Theology in the Writings of an Italian Émigré in Merovingian Gaul, from E.J. Brill, and of a number of articles on the Mediterranean world in Late Antiquity. He lives in Toronto.
Substitution, Justice, and Love: Reflections on Penal Substitutionary Atonement, by Joshua Thurow
Joshua Thurow is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at San Antonio and the Executive Director of the Society of Christian Philosophers. He has published several essays on atonement, the cognitive science of religion, debunking arguments, and a priori knowledge in edited collections and journals such as Philosophical Studies, American Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophical Quarterly, Journal of Analytic Theology, and Faith and Philosophy. He is also a co-editor of The A Priori in Philosophy, and author of the forthcoming book, God and the Problem of Epistemic Defeaters
Heading Backwards: Toward a Trinitarian Doctrine of Penal Substitutionary Atonement, by Jacob Denhollander
Jacob Denhollander lives in Michigan with his wife Rachael and four kids. He is a PhD student at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David.