Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
The Monster God of Penal Substitutionary Atonement

The Monster God of Penal Substitutionary Atonement

Last updated on: February 4, 2020 at 10:27 am by Frederick Schmidt

The Monster God of Penal Substitutionary Atonement 2020-02-04T10:27:38-07:00 Frederick Schmidt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Preface

Penal Substitutionary Atonement is not a phrase that is widely known, but the storyline that goes along with that theology is, and there are substantial problems with it.

One, it purports to be a theory of Atonement, when – in fact – the multiple biblical and traditional pictures of atonement are better described as windows into atonement or as metaphors that attempt to explain a religious and spiritual reality that is beyond our grasp.

A second problem with Penal Substitutionary Atonement is that it expands on a point of comparison with Temple practice, committing the same error that people often make in reading parables: Moving without justification from a single point of comparison to an allegory that tries to make the case for multiple points of comparison. When interpreters do this, they are almost always wrong and, in this case, Penal Substitutionary Atonement produces a picture of God, the Gospel narrative, and the character of the spiritual journey that is problematic to say the least.

There is good reason to deal with the subject of Atonement in a different and much longer format, but because it looms large in some circles, I deal with it here in a fashion that is accessible to a wider audience and which served as the basis for a sermon on Hebrews 2:14-18. My hope is that it will assist preachers in their efforts to speak meaningfully to the challenges that this way of thinking about the work of God presents. For those who have spent time with these issues, readers will note that I am indebted to Irenaeus of Lyons (b. 130AD).

Since God’s children share flesh and blood, Jesus himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested. (Hebrews 2:14-18)

I grew up in the Methodist Church and in a part of it that was deeply shaped by what is called the Southern Holiness Movement. I didn’t have much exposure to that movement until I was in my late teens, but I had a pretty steady diet of it for two years. I learned a lot and I grew a lot spiritually during that time, but – looking back on it – it also had some pretty quirky, endearing features that no congregation would tolerate now.

Revivals and camp meetings were at the heart of that brand of Methodism and they were long. Sermons easily lasted 90 minutes and I became convinced that most of them didn’t need a watch, they needed a calendar.

They also regularly ended with what is called an “altar call” in which people were invited to come forward as God led them, while the congregation sang endless verses of “Just as I am.” It was something like saturation bombing, only musical, and – of course – large numbers of people came forward to pray at the rail, if only to stop the music. (I have told Mother Natalie that if she has “Just as I am” played at my funeral, I will haunt her.)

At the heart of those sermons was usually a theme, which I am sure that most of you have heard somewhere along the way, called Penal Substitutionary Atonement or PSA, for short. Central to the idea of PSA is the notion that God the Father is really ticked off with us and would have liked to send us all straight to hell. But Jesus was a really attractive and completely innocent victim, so God punished him in our place.

Now, at first blush all this may seem like a great thing for pastors and seminary professors to talk about — especially if they are going to throw around phrases like “Penal Substitutionary Atonement.” After all, how interesting can that be?

But the problem is that this way of looking at the saving work of God also has some pretty serious spiritual side-affects for all of us. And when it’s not just theological eggheads who are exposed to these ideas, but it’s in the songs and sermons we hear, it works its way into the way we all think about God and the Christian faith – and that can have a devastating impact on our spiritual lives. I will come back to that subject, but first I want to note three problems with PSA.

One problem is that it paints a really ugly picture of God, and God the Father, in particular.

An ugly enough picture of God, that – in fact – there are a lot of people who find it really hard to believe in God, at all. After all, what’s attractive about a God who can’t be made happy? A God who gets his jollies tormenting the one perfect guy who’s ever come along? And a God who then effectively says, “I’m still not happy with you, but I’ll let you off the hook if you believe?”

I must admit, I wouldn’t believe in that God either. And the New Testament and the church have been at pains for centuries to say that this isn’t the God we worship. In fact, it is our belief in a God of love with skin on that distinguishes our understanding of God from a lot of other beliefs people have held over the centuries.

I should also note that – because we believe that God is Triune the idea that God the Father had one agenda and that Jesus, God’s son, had another one is complete nonsense. Our faith is not a good cop, bad cop scenario. What we believe is that God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – were on a single mission to save us and that while, in one sense, that risk found its lived expression in the life and death of the son, in another way, the whole of God risked itself in reaching out to us in love.

Another problem with PSA is the picture that it gives of what God wants most. Penal Substitutionary Atonement suggests that what God wants most is revenge. Sadly, anyone who has been abused as a child won’t have any trouble believing this picture at all. It’s a God who is capricious, who is unpredictable and arbitrary, a God who is endlessly angry, and a God who is out for revenge.

But, here again, that is not what the Christian faith teaches. What God longs for is a restored and joy-filled relationship with us. You and me in a joy-filled and restored relationship with one another.

A third problem with PSA is the picture it gives of our why we need to be saved.

Not to put too fine a point on it, Penal Substitutionary Atonement implies that someone — God to be specific — needs to be compensated for our sin. So, God the Father kills Jesus in order to get the books to balance: One big payment, rather than gazillions of smaller payments.

This, too, is a distortion of the Gospel message. God isn’t looking for payback. God isn’t interested in making you feel guilty for the rest of your life. What God wants to do is to get us out from under the control of our own sin so that we can receive the peace and joy-filled lives that God intended for us.

So, if Penal Substitutionary Atonement wasn’t what God was after, then what was God doing?

Take a look at the text of Hebrews in your bulletins on page XX:

One, as the first sentence indicates, God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – was on a rescue mission, the leading edge of which was Jesus: “Since God’s children share flesh and blood, Jesus himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.”

God isn’t looking for revenge or satisfaction. The threat isn’t posed by God and Jesus is not God’s innocent target.

God seeks to save us from the power of death, the devil – in other words – everything that is not-God, everything that denies God’s claim to be God, and for that reason, everything that threatens God’s creation – particularly you and me, who are made in God’s image. That’s a recurrent theme in the Old Testament and especially in the New Testament. Death is the last enemy and the problem with our sin is not that it angers God. The problem with our sin is that it takes us out of God’s hands and puts us in the control of that which spreads death wherever it goes.

When we are far from God, we act out of pride, envy, anger, sloth, gluttony, avarice, and lust — and in its wake we spread death’s influence in big and in small ways. If we experience God as angry, it is not because God is a monster, it is the distance that our sin imposes between us and God.

God is out to break that cycle, so – like the greatest of all first responders — he launches this one-of-a-kind rescue mission with Jesus on the frontlines. But there is no way do that without confronting the enemy who has us under his control. So, Jesus – who is God with skin on — goes back into our burning houses and suffers the same death that threatens to consume our lives and brings us back from the dead.

That is the story that this first sentence tells, and it is the story that we tell every year, from Advent through to the Feast of the Ascension.

Advent: The ultimate first responder is on his way.

Christmas: He shows up with skin on.

Epiphany through Lent: He is with us in the burning house, pointing the way out.

Good Friday: He confronts the enemy that enslaves us and meets death, face to face.

Easter: By the power of the Resurrection he comes back from the dead, bearing both his divinity and our humanity in the harmony that was always meant to be ours.

Why did it need to be this way? Why a first responder who brings God to humankind and humankind back to God?

The second and third sentences of the passage from Hebrews tells us: “…he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.”

Of course, the moment that we read the word, “atonement,” all the old revivalist preachers of my youth cry – “There, you see, Penal Substitutionary Atonement – monster God, innocent victim!” But the word “penal” isn’t here at all. In fact, Hebrews emphasizes that this rescue mission all is in the name of mercy and faithfulness. And atonement is not about placating God, it is about getting us back into the hands of the loving God who made us.

So, atonement isn’t about taking a pound of flesh from us or about punishing an innocent Jesus in our place. It’s about eliminating that distance between us and God that was put there by death and about restoring the relationship between God and us. In a kind of spiritual jujitsu, Jesus – on behalf of the Triune God — uses the power of death against itself and paves the way in the Resurrection and Ascension for the image of God in you and me to be restored and healed.

How can Jesus do this?

**The final sentence answers that question: “**Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.”

The Triune God doesn’t begin this rescue mission in the name of making one part of God miserable in the name of making another part of God happy. That would be like chopping off my right hand to make my left hand feel more important. The Triune God enters our lives in the form Jesus, the God-man, so that not only can the balance between us and God can be restored, but so that we also have a companion on that journey into God, which begins with our baptism.

And – if you’ve been following me — here is where Scripture offers a completely different picture of the Christian life from that of PSA. In the Penal Substitutionary Atonement world, the only thing that matters is getting your name moved from the “damned and going to hell” column over the “saved and going to heaven” column. Jesus gets killed. God the Father gets happy. You feel bad about it all, get baptized, and then try to stay out of trouble until you die and go to heaven.

What Scripture and our part of the Christian tradition teaches is that God the First Responder entered our lives, ran the risks, experienced losses, and emerged to lead us out of death into life. When we were baptized, we were drawn into that life-giving rescue mission – and now, hour by hour, day by day, we ask God to help us to live into that death-free existence.

And the good news is, God hasn’t just seen the movie, God has lived our lives and comes alongside us in love, compassion, and understanding: Ready to pick us up when we fall, ready to forgive us when we fail, ready to help us see what is not-God, and anxious for us to join the Rescue Mission – doing our own best to bring people out of their own burning houses, where people struggle with loneliness, despair, abandonment, abuse, poverty, and all those other things both big and small, that are not a part of God’s will for us.

And that, my friends, is the Christian life.

Atonement

Capitulation

Epistle to the Hebrews

Irenaeus of Lyons

Penal Substitution

Penal Substitutionary Atonement

Previous Post

January 27, 2020

Judging Kobe

Next Post

February 12, 2020 The Slowing Rise of Nones: 4 Ways for the Church to Respond

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "cultured despisers" "Knife: Meditations after an Attempted Murder" "Mountaintop" Experiences "The Second Coming" 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 1 Timothy 1:12-17 1 Timothy 1:14 1776 21st Century 24-Hour News Cycle 250 Anniversary 9/11 Abide abortion Abraham Abraham Cycle Absolution Abuse ACNA Acts Acts 2 Advent Advent 3 Advent One Afghanistan Aging Agnosticism Agnostics Akedah Al Mohler Albert Mohler Albert Outler All Saints All Saints Day Allies Ally ALS Alzheimer's America AMIA Amy Coney Barrett Anarchists Anarchy Anger Anglican Anglican Church Anglican Communion Animals Anniversaries of Loss anorexia Anxiety Apocalypse Apocalyptic Apocalyptic Dread apocalyptic literature Apologetic Theology Apologize Apology Apostle Apostle Paul Archbishop Desmond Tutu Archbishop of Canterbury Art Acevedo Asbury University Ascension Ash Wednesday Ashes to Go Ashes with glitter Atheism Atheists Atonement Augustine Authority Authors Awake Awareness Baptism Baptism and Eucharist Baptism by fire Baptism by Spirit and by Fire Baptism of Christ Baptism of the Holy Spirit Baptismal Covenant baptismal vows Baptizing Jesus Baton Rouge BBC BCP Beatitudes Belief Believing Benedict Benedict's Rule Benedictine Benefactor Beneficiary Benton Johnson Beth Dutton Bexley Bi-vocational Ministry Bible biblical creation Biblical Interpretation Biblical Narrative Big Bang Bill Brosend Bill of Rights Bioethics Bishops Black Lives Matter Blessed Board of Examining Chaplains Body Image Body of Christ Book of Common Prayer Book of Discipline Book of Revelation Book subtitles Book titles Books Boomers Boundaries Bret Weinstien Brian Thompson Buddy Christ Buffalo Buildings bulemia C. S. Lewis C.S. Lewis Call Call of God Calling Camp Mystic Cancel Culture Cancer Capitulation Care for the Poor Care giving Catechesis Cathedrals Catholic Catholicism Celebratory Theology Celtic Spirituality Celts CES Chaplains Charlie Gard Charlie Hebdo Charlie Hedbo Charlie Kirk ChatGPT Children Children's Grief Awareness Day Christ Christ as Judge Christ our Passover Christ the King Christian Christian Conscience Christian education Christian formation Christian leadership Christian life Christian response to violence Christian Spiritual Journey Christian Spirituality Christianity Christmas Christmas Eve Christmastide Christy Thomas Church Church and State Church growth Church of England Church planting Church revitalization Church vitality church weddings Civic discourse Clergy Clergy Spouses climate change Clinton Cognicide Collect Common Prayer Communication Communicative Theology Communion Community Comparative religious studies Compassion Conciliar Christianity Confession Confirmation Conflict congregational life Congregational Vitality congregations Conscience Consciousness conspiracy theories Constitution Consumers Context Conventions Conversion Coptic Christians Coptic Church Coronavirus Councils Counselors Covenant School Covid Covid-19 Crackers and Grape Juice creation creation debate Creationism Creator Critical Theology Cross Crucifixion Cultural Christianity Culture Cure of Souls Dallas Damon Linker David Harbour Deacons Dead Poets Society Dean R. Hoge Death Death and Dying Death of Innocents death of the young Decline Deconstruct Deconstructionism Deconstructionists Definition of Woman Dementia Democracy Democrats Denominational decline Denominational Leaders Denominations Derision Desmond Tutu Diane Feinstein Difference difference of opinion dignity of all human beings Disability Disagreement Disaster Discernment Discipleship Discrimination Disillusionment Dispensationalism Dispute Resolution Diversity Divine love Divine Mercy Divorce Doctrine of the Trinity Dogma Dogs Donal Trump Donald A. Luidens Donald Trump Dones Dorothy Sayers Doubt Doubting Thomas Dreams Dreams and Dreamwork dunamis Easter Eastertide Ecclesiology Economic Shutdown Ecumenism Education Egeria election Election Day Election Night Elizabeth Jeannette Taylor Moulin Elizabeth Lesser Ellie Wiesel Emilio Gentile Epiphany Episcopacy Episcopal Church Episcopal Church Building Fund Episcopal Divinity School Episcopal Elections Epistle to the Hebrews Equity Esau Esau and Israel Esau and Jacob eschatological expectation Eschatology Eternal Life Eternity ethics Eucharist Eucharistic Spirituality Evangelicalism Evangelicals Evangelism Evangelist Evil evolution Examen Exploitation Faith Faith and politics Faith Formation Family Fatherhood Fathers Feeding of the Multitude Feminism First Responders Flag Flood Foot washing Footwashing Forgiveness Formation Fortitude Founder Fourth of July Frederick Douglass Freedom Freedom of Speech Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Schleiermacher Friend Friends Friendship Fruit of the Spirit fundagelicals Fundamentalism Fundamentalism and Politics Fundamentalist Christianity Fundamentalist vs. Progressive Christianity fundamentists Funeral Directors Funeral Industry Funerals Future Futuring GAFCON Galatians 5:22-23 Galileo Gen X General Conference General Convention General Ordination Examination General Theological Seminary Generation Generation X Generational Differences Generations Genesis Genesis 22 Genesis 32:3-32; 33:1-11 Genesis 40-41 George Floyd George W. Truett Theological Seminary Giving Global Church Global North Global South Globalization God God of the gaps God with us Good Fridauy Good Friday Good Samaritan Google Gordon-Conwell Gospel Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Gospels Grace Gratitude Greatness Grief Grief Awareness Month Grit Guilt Gun control Gun Violence Guns Habakkuk Hal Lindsey Hamas Harmonial Religion Harry Potter Healing and Restoration Health care professionals Heaven and hell Helping Professions Henri Nouwen Higher Education Hillary Clinton history Hobby Lobby Hold my mule Holidays Holocaust Holy Family Holy Spirit Holy Thursday Holy Week Homeless Homiletics Hope Hospitality Hotel California House of Bishops Hugh Hefner human dignity Humility Hypocrisy I Corinthians Identity if your pastor doesn't Ignatius of Loyola II Corinthians illness image of God Immanuel Immigration Immortality Incarnation Inclusion Independence Day Independents Infant baptism Inheritor Inspiration Instagram Intergenerational relationships Internet Intimacy Irenaeus of Lyons ISIS Islam Islamic Fundamentalism Israel Israelis Jacob James Pike James Stewart Jascha Mounk Jeff Hardin Jeffrey Epstein Jesus Jesus as Judge Jesus Christ Jesus followers Joan Chittester Job's Comforters Job's Friends jobs Joe Biden John 13 John 15 John 18:33-37 John 1:1-18 John Lewis John McWhorter John Shelby Spong John the Baptist John Wesley John's Gospel Johnb 1:1-18 Johns Hopkins University Jonah Jonah 1:11-16 Jonah 2 Jordan Peterson Joseph Journalism Journey Jr. Judging Jesus Judgment July 4 Justice Justin Welby Karl Menninger Karl Rahner Kate Spelman Ken Burns Kenosis Kentucky Kevin Ho Kingdom of God Kings Kings of Israel Knowledge KY Labor Lament Lance Armstrong Language Larry Ellison Lawyers Lazarus Leadership Leadership and Fear Left Behind Lent Leon Kass Lex Credendi Liberal Protestantism Liberalism Life poured out Limitation Litigation Liturgical Revision Liturgy Living in the moment Lk 6:17-26 Loneliness Long-Term Care Lord of the Rings Los Angeles Loss Louise Perry Love Love Command luches toward Bethlehem Luke 10 Luke 12:49-56 Luke 14:13-14 Luke 14:28-30 Luke 18:1-8 Luke 19:1-10 Luke 21 Luke 21:25-36 Luke 21:27-28 Luke 24:36-48 Luke 3:15-17 Luke 3:7-14 Luke 4:1-13 Luke 6:27-38 Luke 9:1-13 lvation Madonna Magic Mainline Protestantism Manchester Mandalorians Marcus Borg Marilyn Monroe Mark 13 Mark Driscoll Mark Sandlin marriage Mars Hill Martin Luther King Martin Scorcese martyr Marxists Mary Mass Murder Mass Shootings Masters of Divinity Materialism Materialist Matthew 13 Matthew 20:1-16 Maundy Thursday Medical Ethics Meditatio Meetings MegaChurch Meister Eckhart Memes Memorialist Men Mentoring Menu Mercy Mere Christianity Messiah Complex Metaphor Methodism Methodist Church Micah 6:8 Micah Jackson Michael Curry Michael Tobin Millennials Minds ministers Ministry Ministry of Reconciliation Minneapolis Minya Miracles Miracles and the Kingdom of God Mission Monastic spirituality Money Montana Moral Inventory Moral Theologies (aka Ethics) Moral Theology Moral Therapeutic Deism morality Mortality Mother of Jesus Mother Teresa of Calcutta Mothers Mt 11:2-3 Mt 13:54-58 Mt 24:36-44 Mt 3:13-15 murder Murder of Brian Thompson Music Musicians Name-calling Nashville National Children's Grief Awareness Month NATO Natural Disaster Neo-Nazis Neurological Diseases Never Again New Atheists New Testament Studies New Year New Year's Resolutions News cycle NFL Nicene Creed Non-denom Non-Man Nones Normal Norman Perrin Notre Dame Nurses Nursing Homes NYC October 7 Online Services Online worship Open Communion opinion Oprah Winfrey Oracle Ordained life Order of St. Benedict Ordination Orthodox Palestinians Palm Sunday Palm Sunday Liturgy Pandemic Parable of the Generous Landowner Parable of the Tares Parable of the Weeds Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard Parenting Parents Paris Parish Growth Parish Revitalization Parkinson's Part-time Ministry Partisanship Passover Pastoral Care Pastoral Leadership pastors Patheos Patriotism Paul PayPal Peace Penal Substitution Penal Substitutionary Atonement Pentecost People of Ukraine Perkins School of Theology Peter Peter Thiel Pets Pew Foundation Pharisees Pharoah Philippians 2:5-8 Physical violence Physicians Pit Playboy Plot Politics Politics and Spirituality Politics and the Pulpit Poor Possession Post-Christian Post-Christianity Post-modernism Poverty power Pray Prayer Prayer Book Revisiton Prayer in public Prayerbook revision pre-marital counseling Preaching Prejudice President President of the United States Presidential Candidates presidential election Presidential Primaries Presiding Bishop Priesthood priests Priests and Politics Prima Scriptura Primitive Christianity Prince Andrew Prison Problem of Suffering Professional boundaries Program Progressive Christianity Progressive Protestantism Progressives Prophet Prophetic Speech Protest Protestant Reformation Protestantism PRRI Public Discourse Public Office Public Policy Public Prayer Publishers punching down punching up Putin Racism Radical Feminism Razib Kahn real presence Reconciliation Regret Relationship Relationship with Jesus Relationships Religion Religion and Politics Religious News Service Repentance Republicans Resilience Resurrection Retirement homes Revelation Reversal Revival Richard Dawkins Righteous Indignation Rights Robert W. Lyon Robin DiAngelo Robin Williams Rock Concert Roman Catholic Church Romans 13:1-7 Ronald A. Binzley Ronald L. Numbers Rosh Hashanah Rough beast Rowan Williams Royal Wedding Rueben P. Job Rule of Life running Russia Ruth Bader Ginsburg sacrament Sacramental Sacraments Sacred Space Sacrifice of Isaac SAG Awards Saints Salman Rushdie Salvation Sanctification Sarah Mullally Sarah Olson Saving Work of God SBNR SBNRs Schism School safety School shootings Science Science and Christianity Science and Religion Scientific rationalism Scot McKnight Scripture Seabury Seabury-Bexley Second Corinthians Seeing Seekers Self-Care Self-examination Self-Governance semeia Seminarians Seminaries Seminary Seminary education Seneca Sentimentality Sequel Sergey Brin Sermon Preparation Sermons Servant Service SETs Sex Sexism Sexual Harrassment Sexual Revolution Shame Shanghai Shenandoah Shutdown signs Silence Sin Sin and Guilt Skepticism Slavery Snake Pit Snakes Sobriety Social agenda Social Media Sola Scriptura Solidarity Son of Man Soren Kierkegaard Sorrow Soteriology Soul Care South Africa Southern Baptist Church Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Sovereignty speaking truth to power Speech Spin Spiritual Spiritual but not religious Spiritual Community Spiritual Direction Spiritual Directors International Spiritual Disciplines Spiritual Formation Spiritual Formaton Spiritual growth Spiritual Guidance Spiritual journey Spiritual Leadership Spiritual maturity Spiritual Perspectives Spiritual practice Spiritual Receptivity Spirituality Spiritually awake Squirrel Hill St. Francis of Assisi St. Ignatius St. Ignatius of Loyola St. John Chrysostom St. Matthew St. Paul Star Wars Stephen Hawking Steven Charleston Stewardship Stoicism Story Stranger Things Stuck Student Evaluations Suffering Suffering Messiah Suicide supernatural Supreme Court Syria Søren Kierkegaard Teaching of Jesus TEC TED Talk Television Temple Temptation Temptation of Jesus teras Termination of Care Terrorism Test Pattern testimony Texas Texas Hill Country Thanksgiving The 12 Disciples The Ascension The Avengers The Body of Christ The Book of Job The centre cannot hold The Church and Covid-19 The Church and Online Communities The Dave Test The Dual Commandment The Episcopal Church The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem The Feast of St. Matthew The future The Good The Gospel of John The Grave The Great Pastor Resignation The Kingdom of God The Language of Derision The Last Seven Words of Jesus The Last Temptation The Law The Lord's Prayer The Mandalorian the means of salvation The New American Spirituality The New Normal The Parable of the Good Samaritan The Parable of the Sower The Peace The Problem of Pain The Saints Go Marching In The Thursday of Holy Mysteries The Trinity The United Methodist Church The War on Poverty The Week The Weight of Glory The White Helmets the wrong side of history Theodicy Theodore Dalrymple Theological Education Theology theories of communion Theosis Therapy Thomas Aquinas Thomas Attig Thomas Merton Thomas O'Loughlin Thought and prayers Tiger Woods Tim Keller Tim LaHaye Tithing Tolerance Torah Tornado Totalitarianism Trade Towers Tradition Tragedy Transfiguration transubstantiation Travel Trinity Trinity Episcopal Church Trump Trust Truth Turmoil TX Ukraine Uncategorized Unemployment Union Theological Seminary United Methodist Church United States United States and the Holocaust United States Armed Forces United States Congress United States of America Unity Universal Communion Until We Have Faces violence Virginia Virtual Church Virtue Virtues Vision Vladimir Putin Vocation Volodymyr Zelensky Voting Vow of Stability W. B. Yeatts War Washington National Cathedral Way Wealth wedding weddings Wesleyan Western Civilization Whataboutism When Suffering Persists White Supremacists Will of God William D. Davidson William J. Abraham witness Woman Women Women's bodies wonder Woody Allen Words Work World War II world weariness Worship Writers Yellowstone Youth Ministry Zacchaeus Zealots

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 August 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz