Some things are worth fighting for. The evangelical doctrine of penal substitution is one of them. Remove this strand of atonement theology from Christian proclamation and you fairly rip the heart out of the gospel drama. One does not have to agree with everything written here in order to appreciate that Pierced for our Transgressions is a methodical and reasoned response to the current debate. To be sure, as our authors point out, penal substitution is not the only way to understand what happens at the cross of Christ, nor must it be detached from a doctrine of creation; but to deny it altogether, as some are now doing, is just plain silly.

Ian Stackhouse, author of The Gospel-Driven Church and Pastor, Guildford Baptist Church