bishop tom v jeffrey john

Bishop Tom v. Jeffrey John

"Easter message: Christ did not die for sin "

By Jonathan Wynne-Jones., Sunday Telegraph

The Church's traditional teaching of Christ's crucifixion is

"repulsive" and "insane", a controversial cleric will claim on the BBC

this week.

The Very Rev Jeffrey John, who had to withdraw before taking up an

appointment as bishop of Reading in 2003 after it emerged he was in a

long-term homosexual relationship, is set to ignite a row over one of

the most fundamental tenets of Christian belief.

Clergy who preach this Easter that Christ was sent to earth to die in

atonement for the sins of mankind are "making God sound like a

psychopath", he will say.

In a BBC Radio 4 show, Mr John, who is now Dean of St Albans, urges a

revision of the traditional explanation, known as "penal

substitution".

Christian theology has taught that because humans have sinned, God

sent Christ as a substitute to suffer and die in our place.

"In other words, Jesus took the rap and we got forgiven as long as we

said we believed in him," says Mr John. "This is repulsive as well as

nonsensical. It makes God sound like a psychopath. If a human behaved

like this we'd say that they were a monster."

Mr John argues that too many Christians go through their lives failing

to realise that God is about "love and truth", not "wrath and

punishment". He offers an alternative interpretation, suggesting that

Christ was crucified so he could "share in the worst of grief and

suffering that life can throw at us".

Church figures have expressed dismay at his comments, which they

condemn as a "deliberate perversion of the Bible". The Rt Rev Tom

Wright, the Bishop of Durham, accused Mr John of attacking the

fundamental message of the Gospel.

"He is denying the way in which we understand Christ's sacrifice. It

is right to stress that he is a God of love but he is ignoring that

this means he must also be angry at everything that distorts human

life," he said.

Bishop Wright criticised the BBC for allowing such a prominent slot to

be given to such a provocative argument. "I'm fed up with the BBC for

choosing to give privilege to these unfortunate views in Holy Week,"

he said.

The Rev Rod Thomas, of the evangelical group Reform, accused Mr John

of "attacking the fundamental nature of the Gospel". Reform, which

represents about 600 clergy, opposed Mr John's nomination as bishop in

2003.

Mr Thomas said denying the "wrathful" nature of God was an attempt to

play down the importance of sin and allow a more liberal approach to