From the category archives:

N. T. Wright

Wrighteousness By Andrew Wilson

January 8, 2010
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Today Andrew Wilson continues his guest series on as he puts it “Wrightesousness”!
John Piper and Tom Wright are my two favourite theologians. So I feel somewhat intimidated by the prospect of explaining why I think Wright’s most recent book, Justification, despite being outstanding and inspiring in many places, hasn’t really answered Piper’s questions. If I [...]

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Wright, Piper, The Earth And The Sun By Andrew Wilson

January 7, 2010
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Andrew Wilson has been kind enough to write the following guest post for me. You really should get a copy of his books God Stories and Incomparable – they have been very well received. For more about the New Perspectives, and Wright in particular, there is a Sinclair Ferguson talk on the Gospel Coalition [...]

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Easter Wouldn’t Be Easter Without A Row About The Atonement

April 11, 2009

The battle lines continue to be clearly drawn despite the best efforts to be “charitable” to both sides by those who try to occupy the middle ground. In an outrageous newspaper article which only cites one Bible verse and even that out of context, Giles Fraser declares “What vicious God would demand Jesus sacrificed for [...]

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THE ATONEMENT DEBATE – Steve Chalke Confirms He Does Not Believe in Penal Substitution

November 18, 2008

I do want to thank Steve Chalke for the honesty and openness in his contribution to the recent book, The Atonement Debate. He is very bold, and explains his position with far more clarity than I feel he has done before. Reading his chapter was worthwhile as there is much confusion about what Chalke really [...]

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11th Most Read Post – The Atonement: Wright Attacks Both Sides of the Debate

January 28, 2008

No. 11 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on April 23, 2007, and examined what is possibly the most controversial article Bishop Tom Wright has ever written. In it, I questioned his ability to criticize some who dismiss Penal Substitutionary Atonement while approving of Steve Chalke, stating his own support for [...]

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13th Most Read Post – Tom Wright’s Response to John Piper

January 25, 2008

No. 13 on the list of most read posts on this blog appeared on November 19, 2007, and was part of a series of posts on the debate between Bishop Tom Wright and John Piper over justification. Other parts of this series which would have made the top 30 in their own right include:

John Piper, [...]

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Review of the Blog – April 2007: Atonement Wars

December 19, 2007

UPDATE – Steve Chalke has expressed his views more fully in a chapter in The Atonement Debate, and I have posted a response to this.
Today I will continue my review of the last year’s blogging which we began yesterday. April was a very interesting month for me on this blog. So much so that it [...]

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John Owen on the Atonement and Justification

November 30, 2007

You can count on John Owen to bring some light and clarity into a debate. The following lightly edited quote was sent in by a reader and is really helpful:
“That which we affirm is that our sins were so transferred on Christ as that thereby he became responsible to God and liable to punishment [...]

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BOOK – Piper on Wright, Conclusion: What is Justification?

November 21, 2007

I have now come to the end of my series responding to John Piper’s new book, The Future of Justification. Here is a list of the previous posts:

John Piper, N. T. Wright, and Gracious Discernment
John Piper Challenges N. T. Wright on Justification
Piper Explains the Classic View of Justification Versus N. T. Wright’s View
Piper and Wright: [...]

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Does Piper Neglect the Resurrection?

November 20, 2007

Many of the opponents of the doctrine of justification and penal substitution criticize us for not being as interested in the resurrection as the cross. I increasingly think that it is not so fair to accuse most evangelical theologians of not having a place for the resurrection in our system of beliefs. I do feel, [...]

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Tom Wright’s Response to John Piper

November 19, 2007

UPDATE In January 2008, the following post was identified as the 13th all-time most popular post with readers of this blog. The 14th most-read post was the summary of my interview with the leader of Newfrontiers, Terry Virgo.
This post was part of a series of posts on the debate between Wright and Piper over justification. [...]

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Piper Gets Passionate With the ETS on Justification

November 19, 2007

John Piper has delivered an amazing lecture on the vital place of justification to the ETS. The manuscript, video, and audio are available online, and this sets his new book, The Future of Justification, into context. The whole talk is fantastic, but these couple of paragraphs stuck out for me, especially considering his audience!
I’m aware [...]

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The Christian and the Law

November 15, 2007

As we continue looking at John Piper’s book we have now reached page 200 and following. I want to highlight Piper’s attitude to the law. What, according to Piper, is the purpose of the law?
“The reason the law is not against the promise is precisely that it was designed not to give life but to [...]

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2 Corinthians 5 and Romans 5 – Two Critical Passages on Justification

November 14, 2007

Today I want to share how John Piper brings two passages to bear on the justification debate. The quotes are all from his new book, The Future of Justification, and come from pages 170-180. The two passages are Romans 5 and 2 Corinthians 5. Piper is responding to Wright’s slightly odd way of speaking about [...]

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