Penal substitution

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Penal substitution

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Did Jesus take the punishment for humanity's sins when he died on the cross? That idea is called penal substitution and is summed up by Reverend Rod Thomas, from the evangelical group Reform, as "When God punished he showed his justice by punishing sin but he showed his love by taking that punishment himself".

The debate

Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans, disagrees with the theory of penal substitution and said so in a radio talk given over Lent 2007.

Jeffrey John explains why he disagrees with penal substitution (13:43 mins)

Lent Talks, first broadcast Wednesday 4 April 2007, Radio 4

Jeffrey John's broadcast caused a lot of debate among evangelicals - revealing that the issue of penal substitution still divides the church, as Mike Ford reported for the Sunday programme.

The Reverend Rod Thomas of Reform and Jonathan Bartley, director of Christian think tank Ekklesia and editor of the book Consuming Passion - why the killing of Jesus really matters, discussed Jeffrey John's words on the Today programme.