I am posting this as some have asked the difference between traditional Christian faith and the Penal Substitution Theory of Atonement.

This is just a summary (not detailed).
God, through Christ, created the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them. God created man in His own image and gave them dominion over the earth. God formed man of the dust form the ground and breathed into him life. God planted a garden towards the east, in Eden, and there He placed the man whom He had...

Ecclesiastes 7:29 “Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”

In another thread an issue was brought up in a conversation with @DaveXR650 . I had made a comment that Adam was created and then put into the Garden.

I was unaware that this was controversial, much less debatable.

Many may find this topic meaningless. I disagree. Partly because of Scripture and partly because it speaks to our understanding of man.

Let's look at God's Word:

Adam created and placed in the Garden:

Genesis 2:7–8 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground,...

Having Reasonable discussions on this issue
It is an interpretive error to try and pull out of the tribulation period minor sections, divorced from the greater context, in order to create a gotchya argument based on one’s favorite proof text. Further, just because one might disagree with an argument and in their mind does not provide proof to make them wrong, does not mean there is no evidence for the position in which they disagree with. Sophomoric attempts to create such an atmosphere will...

… or is death the consequence of sin?

This is an interesting question I have been considering the last couple of days.

I viewed death as the consequence of sin, not punishment from God for sin. But now I’m not sure.

God “punished” Adam by making him sweat and toil while he worked the ground. Eve’s “punishment” was increased pain in child birth.

Suppose God told you “don’t eat the fruit of that tree, it is poison. If you eat it, you will die.” You eat the fruit and die. Did God “punish”...

This is an open question - a hypothetical - but specifically addressing @DaveXR650 , @canadyjd and @Martin Marprelate .

The reason is I want to more fully understand what you are saying and exactly where our forgiveness was wrought.

And it is often best to explain what didn't happen in order to understand what did.
Suppose God laid our sins on Jesus, and punished our sins on Him instead of punishing us for those sins. Suppose this was accomplished on the Cross. And when Jesus cried out...

This has always bothered me. Clark Pinnock, who was a founding member of the Evangelical Theological Society, ended up in Open Theism, then one who believed in Annihilationism.

In the book on Open Theism, he said that he could not believe in A God who would condemn people who had never heard the name of Jesus.

I know Jesus said he was the Way. But will there be grace for those who never heard?

This thread is to discuss and track questions that have been asked but not answered regarding the Penal Substitution Theory of Atonement.

The first will be questions posed to @Martin Marprelate on another thread.

I have never taught such a course, but have written a few sets of lecture notes down through the years in preparation for such a course someday. I'll post those notes, and you can feel free to interact, agree, critique, etc. Here is the first set. Please note that this forum does not preserve formatting. The footnote numbers appear as blue, but they don't really link. Look at the bottom for the references.

Lecture 1—Preservation
The General Doctrine of Preservation

INTRODUCTION: Down...

Baptists are split on the specifics of John 3:16. When I was young, and the "Bible" was the KJV, we memorized the verse this way: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

1) The first issue is that some thought the verse was saying how much God loved. Now scholars translate the verse to indicate the idea is how or in what manner God loved.

2) Next, the translation of Kosmos (G2889) as world...