6.2.1 – Contemporary Theological Discussions
This issue is set within a long history of evangelical discussions about the wrath of God, and particularly the crucifixion and the existence of Hell have become flash points for inter-evangelical division. In the face of growing liberalism, British evangelicals united around these two issues in the 1930s and, despite the longstanding tradition of multiple interpretations of the crucifixion, IVP (later
1 E. Seibert, Disturbing Divine Behaviour: Troubling Old Testament Images of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009), 77 2 Collins-Mayo, Generation Y, 18
3 Savage, Generation Y, 20
4 Smith ‘On Moralistic Therapeutic Deism’, 41
5 J.B. Green & M.D. Baker, Recovering the Scandal of the Cross: Atonement in New Testament and Contemporary Contexts
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UCCF) and the Reformed wing of British evangelicalism presented penal substitutionary atonement as the definitive (and even only) legitimate understanding.6 This became the norm for interpreting the
cross in the same way that conscious eternal torment was the norm for the evangelical understanding of Hell.7
However, recent shifts within trans-Atlantic evangelicalism have reopened historic discussions. In 2003, British Baptist minister and social activist Steve Chalke, with scholar Alan Mann, published
The Lost Message of Jesus Christ.8 This attempted to demonstrate the ministry of Christ as a vehicle
for social transformation9 and presented multiple images for understanding the cross, challenging the
dominant conservative framework. 10 The crucial point of contention was,
The fact is that the cross isn’t a form of cosmic child abuse—a vengeful Father, punishing his Son for an offence he has not even committed. Understandably, both people inside and outside of the Church have found this twisted version of events morally dubious and a huge barrier to faith.11
This caused considerable conflict. The then Bishop of Durham, N.T. Wright and popular figurehead for the emerging church movement, Brian McLaren, supported Chalke. Conservatives such as Piper, Carson and Grudem roundly denounced his position.12 An individual's understanding of the atonement
became, in some circles, a test for the soundness of evangelical faith and inflamed existing tensions between conservatives and the evangelical left - amongst whom the Christus Victor model of the cross had gained popularity.13 Repercussions across evangelical networks particularly affected emerging
adults. The rift centred on the support of the Spring Harvest group for Chalke14 and caused UCCF to
withdraw from their 14-year alliance, the ‘Word Alive’ Bible teaching conference. In partnership with the Keswick Convention,15 UCCF set up the alternative ‘New Word Alive’ conference,16 while the
charismatic ‘Momentum’ conference saw an increase in attendance.17
6 M. Wood, Penal Substitution in the Construction of British Evangelical Identity: Controversies in the Doctrine of the
Atonement in the Mid-2000s (Unpublished PhD thesis, Durham University, 2011), 70
7 Acute, The Nature of Hell (London: Acute, 2000), 2
8 S. Chalke & A. Mann, The Lost Message of Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan 2003) 9 Wood, Penal Substitution, 170
10 Green, Scandal of the Cross, 97 11Chalke, The Lost Message, 182
12J. Piper, http://www.desiringgod.org/conference-messages/the-supremacy-of-christ-and-joy-in-a-postmodern-world
(accessed 19.05.14), http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/defending-my-fathers-wrath (accessed 30.06.14); Warnock, A., http://www.patheos.com/blogs/adrianwarnock/2006/12/wayne-grudem-retracts-his-agreement-to-the-use-of-the-word- blasphemy-in-regard-to-steve-chalke (accessed 19.05.14)
13 Wood, Penal Substitution, 113
14 Chalke was a member of their steering group.
15 The Keswick Convention has run since 1978 and is theologically conservative. www.keswickministries.org (accessed
19.06.14)
16 http://www.christiantoday.com/article/uccf.keswick.end.spring.harvest.word.alive.partnership/10506.htm (accessed
19.05.14)
136
A second recent debate has centred on the subject of Hell. In a pluralist society with an increased anathema to religious violence and absolutism, Hell as a place of conscious eternal torment for the unbeliever has become increasingly unpalatable to many evangelicals.18 Recent surveys confirm a
"visible nervousness about Hell."19 Contributing to this debate was Love Wins by an American, Rob
Bell.20 Bell’s earlier works21 had made him popular in progressive evangelical circles, but Love Wins caused a storm of controversy.Despite support from some progressives,22 Bell was widely accused of
universalism and denounced in many evangelical circles.23 His ‘Mars Hill’ mega-church
haemorrhaged 3,000 members, and he stepped down from its leadership.24
Current British evangelical discussion about the character of God is also shaped by other American writers. Bill Johnson has produced 15 popular books which have had a profound influence on some charismatic groups.25 Johnson’s emphases on experience of the Divine, physical healing and the
power of prayer have raised accusations of prosperity theology26 but attracted 1800 international
students to its ‘School of Supernatural Ministry’ in 2012/13.27 Alternatively, coming from the ‘New
Calvinist’ grouping, Mark Driscoll and Tim Keller28 are widely popular in the UK (although Keller
has been criticised for not being outspoken enough on Hell).29 This diversity of theological views and
the ease of access to sermons via the internet mean that while some evangelical emerging adults position themselves in one theological camp or another, others are relatively indiscriminate.
18 ACUTE, The Nature of Hell, xiii 19 Holmes, Evangelical Theology, 32
20 R. Bell, Love Wins (NY: Harper Collins, 2011)
21 R. Bell, Velvet Elvis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007); R. Bell, Sex God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan 2011);
http://nooma.com (accessed 16.06.14)
22 B. McClaren, http://brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/challenging-three-cherished-evan.html (accessed 20.5.14) 23 E.g. K. Deyoung, http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2011/03/14/rob-bell-love-wins-review;
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/april/lovewins.html; (accessed 19.05.14)
24 http://www.christianpost.com/news/rob-bell-tells-how-love-wins-led-to-mars-hill-departure-85995 (accessed 16.06.14) 25 E.g. B. Johnson, Face to Face with God (Lake Mary, Ff.: Charisma House, 2007); When Heaven Invades Earth: A
Practical Guide to a life of Miracles (Shippensburg, Pa.: Treasure House, 2003)
26 E.g. http://www.echozoe.com/archives/2519; (accessed 16.06.14)
http://www.erfm.org/word-of-faith-movement-a-doctrinal-critique.html (accessed 19.05.14)
27 http://bssm.net/about/mission (accessed 27.05.14)
28 E.g. T. Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an age of Scepticism (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2008); The Prodigal
God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith (NY: Penguin, 2008)
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6.2.2 - Participating Churches and Contemporary Evangelicalism
Given that it was planted by former UCCF staff members, unsurprisingly Trinity Church participants reported a tendency to attend Christian Union and UCCF sponsored conferences and listen to podcasts from Driscoll and MacArthur.30
New Life has close links with ‘Fusion’ (a charismatic student ministry established as an alternative to UCCF in 1997). New Life participants cited attendance of New Wine, Momentum, Spring Harvest, and Greenbelt.31 Some had been involved in the Christian Union movement but their preferred
podcast listening was from Holy Trinity Brompton, Johnson, Bell and Shane Claiborne.32
Central Chapel, true to its diverse nature, had participants involved across the evangelical spectrum. Significant numbers had been involved in the Christian Union movement and its associated
conferences but also cited Soul Survivor,33 Momentum, Spring Harvest and New Wine as significant
in their faith. Some attended the Keswick convention, but they reported listening to both Johnson and Driscoll. Central Chapel emerging adults were genuinely eclectic in their evangelical theological input.
Although none of the texts under discussion made any reference to either the cross or Hell (and the latter was mentioned only once in the focus groups) this context illustrates the tensions within contemporary evangelicalism about God’s character and attitudes towards acts of judgement or violence attributed to him. The conflicts of the last decade have framed, and are likely to have influenced, the understanding of God’s nature developed by these emerging adults. They will therefore have shaped how they engaged with the narratives under discussion.