Answering Mike Winger on PSA
We recently released a 15 part series responding to the claims Mike Winger made across a 6 part series he put out on Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA). The point of our series was to provide some push-back against the accusations of "PSA deniers" being non-Christian, liberal progressive poop-faces, intent on deceiving people or being ignorant and deceived Christians who don't trust our Bibles; pushing back on his claims that PSA is an essential aspect of the Gospel, that it is both Biblical and historical.
We were not seeking to "Cancel Mike Winger" or kick Mike out of the Kingdom. Rather, despite strong disagreement over the topic of Penal Substitution, we appreciate Mike and his ministry and seek to correct an error he has promoted. We see Mike as falling victim to his own bias and checking that bias against an echo-chamber, while pushing this bias onto his audience. We believe he is defending a misguided Atonement Theory out of the sincerity of his heart. He really does believe PSA is the heart of Christianity and conducted his studies already assuming this, seeking to provide a defense, rather than consider it may be false. The Eastern Churches, most Anabaptists and many non-denominational faithful, conservative, Bible believing, Jesus trusting Christians have issues with the doctrine of PSA and its portrayal of the work of Christ. Instead, we affirm the ancient views of the Work of Christ; models such as Recapitulation, Ransom, Moral Influence, Bait and Switch, Christus Victor and/or Restored Icon and others in which Jesus assumed the totality of human nature to heal and redeem us, to deliver us from death, to destroy the works of the devil, to conquer death, to call all men to Himself... all because God was already propitious towards His imagebearers and desired mercy more than wrath, forgiveness more than recompense... and that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were of one mind and one purpose to this end. Thus we take issue with the portrayals of God in which He is motivated by His wrath, demanding recompense, unable to forgive and requiring the brutal sacrifice of His own Son in order to become propitious; that Jesus became sin incarnate and forsaken by the Father who poured His wrath out upon His Son. This series offers a rebuttal to Mike Winger, covering many different claims he made. When he present Scripture, we respond with Scripture. When he presents a case from the Early Church Fathers, we respond by examining the teachings of the Early Church Fathers. When he claims PSA wasn't predicated upon the machinery introduced in 1100 by Anselm, we respond by quoting adherents of PSA (the Atonement School) demonstrating his error. When Mike argues that our criticism is based on a strawman, we again respond by quoting adherents of PSA (the Atonement School).
In the YouTube description of each video in our Response Series we provide links to each of Mike's videos on PSA. We did this so that people can have access to both perspectives, considering Mike's claims and statements in their original and full context - so they can determine for themselves whether or not we engaged with him fairly, and if his claims are sound. This post is intended to be a resource where all of these materials can be easily accessed.
