Spiritual Misfits Podcast Blood, Wrath & Love: What Actually Happened on the Cross? (with Mitch Forbes)
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Apr 19, 2025 In this engaging discussion, Christian thinker Mitch Forbes explores fresh interpretations of Jesus' death and resurrection. He critiques traditional views of atonement, emphasizing how they can portray God as violent and wrathful. Instead, he proposes liberation imagery, linking the cross to the exposure of human violence rather than divine punishment. Forbes introduces René Girard's scapegoat theory, revealing how communities often blame outsiders to restore peace. The conversation culminates in a call to embrace nonviolent love and reconciliation this Easter.
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Problems With Penal Substitution
- Penal substitution frames God as wrathful needing blood, which many find theologically and morally troubling.
- Will Small says this image can feel like worshipping a tribal deity and causes cognitive dissonance with a loving God.
Allow Other Atonement Models
- Give yourself permission to explore multiple atonement theories rather than holding one taught framework as exclusive.
- Will Small invites listeners to re-examine inherited models like penal substitution and consider alternatives.
Why Punishment-Based Atonement Hurts God’s Image
- Penal substitution imagines God must punish to be just, placing punishment onto Jesus instead of sinners.
- Mitch Forbes argues that makes God look violent and creates theological problems like 'divine self-abuse.'
