Spring 2020 · Vol. 49 No. 1 · pp. 95–96
Book Review
The Atonement
William Lane Craig. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2018. 103 pages.
In The Atonement, philosopher and theologian William Lane Craig aims to offer a philosophically viable defense of a penal substitutionary theory of the atonement. To do this, he divides the book into three sections: the first deals with relevant biblical texts, the second with historical theology, and the third with analytic philosophy.
The first section presents exegetical and biblical theological arguments for the relevance of sacrifice, substitution, divine justice, representation, and redemption as common themes throughout Scripture, concluding that any biblically adequate theory of atonement must include such motifs. The second section follows the framework set by Gustaf Aulén by looking first at the historical Christus Victor theory, then at the satisfaction theory and, last, the moral influence theory. He also looks at the Reformers’ doctrine of penal substitution, presenting both Socinus’s critique of it and Turretin’s defense. Lastly, he examines Grotius’s governmental theory, a view Craig believes is frequently misrepresented in contemporary literature.
In the final section, Craig deals philosophically with what he considers the “must have” elements in any biblically adequate understanding of atonement. He deals extensively with penal substitution, an element he insists is a central facet of atonement, and answers the philosophical arguments raised against it. He deals also with other important dimensions of atonement, such as the satisfaction of divine justice, redemption, and moral influence.
A mere 103 pages long, the book is brief. Craig acknowledges that the word limit was constricting but hopes that a more detailed book on atonement will soon follow. The limited number of words allowed to him may excuse the scanty references to patristic writers in the historical section and the lack of a deeper exploration into the intent of atonement within a penal substitutionary framework. However, it does not excuse the lack of attention paid to the role of Satan. Although Craig briefly mentions that “Christ’s atoning death frees us from the bondage of sin, death, and hell and so liberates us from Satan’s power” (82), he does not elaborate. Nor does he adequately address the role of the kingdoms and how the atonement frees us from the kingdom of this world and enables us to be partakers in the kingdom of God. Craig would have done well to address a work like Jeremy Treat’s The Crucified King, which masterfully combines the kingdom of God with both the penal substitution and the Christus Victor theory. Craig needs to develop such themes further. Hopefully, he will do so in his forthcoming work. {96}
While this book has its weaknesses, it also has significant strengths. The biblical-exegetical portion does not add much to the discussion of the biblical teaching on the atonement, but the historical section offers fresh insights into texts often read through contemporary lenses rather than on their own terms. By far its most helpful section deals with philosophical arguments in defense of a penal substitutionary understanding of the atonement. This alone makes the volume worth its price.
The Atonement is a great read for anyone interested in thinking seriously about this contentious doctrine. Some background knowledge in biblical, historical, theological, and philosophical studies would be an advantage, but one need not be a master of these fields to benefit from this thought-provoking book.
