(Associated Baptist Press) McLaren told NPR he is rethinking many of Christianity's core doctrines, including the purpose of Christ's resurrection.
"The view of the Cross that I was given growing up, in a sense, has a God who needs blood in order to be appeased," McLaren said. "If this God doesn't see blood, God can't forgive." McLaren said the idea that Christ died as a substitute for sinners -- a view known in theology books as penal substitutionary atonement -- isn't the only way to understand the Cross.
"God revealed in Christ crucified shows us a vision of God that identifies with the victim rather than the perpetrator, identifies with the one suffering rather than the one inflicting suffering," he said. Similarly, McLaren said, the notion that Christians are going to heaven and everyone else is doomed might have rung true for earlier generations, but it is harder to swallow in today's pluralistic society...
McLaren's view grows out of a rejection of a literalistic interpretation of the Bible and viewing the various books of the Old and New Testaments as a progressive revelation instead of every part being equally true. (Read the article)
