The Wondrous Cross

The Wondrous Cross
Stephen R. Holmes
Paternoster 2007

The Wondrous Cross is a short book which tries to steer a middle course between affirming the traditional evangelical doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement (PSA) and modern attacks on this doctrine and the promotion of alternative theologies. Holmes seeks to do this by arguing that the penal substitution model is merely one of many "metaphors" or "stories" that the Church has and still tells to convey the mysterious truth that Christ died to save us.

I enjoyed the reading the book. It is well written. It is clear. It is fair to all sides and has a calm and peaceful spirit. "Irenic to a fault" was how another reviewer accurately summed it up. But then - as that reviewer also said - Holmes can afford to be like this when PSA is just one of many helpful ways of talking about the cross. If, on the other hand, PSA is the objective truth and the foundation for all the other ways of viewing the cross, then it is difficult to be quite so calm when the truth is undermined, especially when done by those within the evangelical camp.

Personally, I find Christus Victor immensely helpful in tying in the cross with the incarnation and Christ's earthly ministry. The Lord was battling the evils of sin, death and the devil from the moment he was born of the Virgin Mary through to when he cried out "It is finished" on the cross and died. But without the objective reality of penal substitution in the cross, we cannot really explain how the cross works. The truth is that Christ defeated evil on the cross by expiating the guilt of sin, satisfying the justice of death and propitiating the wrath of God - and by so doing he liberated us from the hold of the devil. Does that mean all the different facets of the atonement need to be stressed? Does that mean that none are to more privileged than any other? Emphatically not! Here I think Holmes goes too far.

One reviewer praised Holmes for basing his theological conclusions on exegesis. Actually I found his interaction with Scripture one of the weakest parts of the book. I know it is a short volume barely more than a hundred pages, but he really does not do justice to the biblical texts. If he had, I think that in examining the biblical evidence he would find a preponderance of material teaching that Christ died in our place (a substitute) and that Christ's death was a judgment and punishment on sin (penal).

To argue otherwise is like saying that a recipe is just one way of describing what a cake is. Other ways might include the cafe menu, a compliment from a happy diner to the baker, a restaurant review or a nutritional report. True these are other ways of talking about the cake, but without the recipe, there would be no cake to list on the menu, or eat and enjoy, or write about, or analyse for its nutritional content. That's how I feel about PSA and the other ways of looking at the cross. There are many ways to talk about what the cross achieves, but really only one way to talk about how it achieves it. Holmes however seems to think the recipe for the cake is acceptable to talk about, but no more fundamental than any of the other things. But unfortunately for Holmes, as the proverb goes, you can't have your cake and eat it.