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This article brings George Hunsinger's treatment of substitutionary atonement in his Philippians into dialogue with John Owen and B. B. Warfield as representatives of historic Reformed theology. The aim of the article is to reassert the primacy of expiation over propitiation in evangelical theology by considering Hunsinger's proposal to replace the term "penal substitution" with what he calls a "merciful substitution." He accepts the notion of propitiation when it is defined as the removal of God's wrath predicated upon the removal of sin (expiation), but rejects the distorted understanding of propitiation according to which God is a God of wrath first and only subsequently a God of mercy. For Hunsinger, expiatory sacrifice is the means provided by God's mercy so as to reconcile us to God. Similarly, for Owen and Warfield, expiation is accomplished by Christ's substitutionary sacrifice in which the believer's sin and guilt are translated to him through mystical and federal union. While it is unlikely that evangelicals would make "merciful substitution" a normative expression of the atonement, Hunsinger's caveats against the excessively forensic and nominalistic connotations of the term "penal substitution" are worth the consideration of evangelicals who share his passion for the dogmatic norma normata that regulates our understandings of the biblical texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to provide a clarification of how 'education in a postliberal world' differs from the concept of 'postliberal education;' and second, to contribute to an understanding of the backlash against liberalism and liberal education in recent years. The paper is primarily conceptual and only secondarily descriptive in that it prioritizes the importance of clarifying the conceptual haze surrounding the notion of postliberalism and related terms (i.e. illiberalism, anti-liberalism); it is argued that this conceptualization is necessary as these concepts have different educational implications in different political contexts. The paper outlines a number of broad dimensions that are important to explore in future research on the entanglement between postliberalism and education; it also discusses how the concept of postliberalism could be used fruitfully to account for changes in education in ways that take into consideration the recent critiques against liberalism and liberal education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postliberal theology is an overarching, but not monolithic, narrative-focused theological sensibility that moves beyond the conservative/liberal divide. Not to be confused with political ‘postliberalism’ – a response to liberal, market-driven economics – postliberal theology is a distinctive theological sensibility. It affirms tradition, experience, and propositions when doing theology, and emphasizes context and community more than historical-critical, empirical, or rationalistic epistemological theological concerns. This article will provide an overview of postliberal theology by focusing on its background (including its identification with the ‘Yale School’), key figures, major themes, concerns, tendencies, and theological agendas. It will begin by addressing key themes found in postliberal theology that include its non-foundational and non-apologetic character, intratextuality, community-shaped grammar, ecumenical openness, and its focus on the narrative of God’s people in scripture in the story of Israel and the Christian faith community. It will then provide a brief profile of key philosophical and sociological scholars who are influencers of postliberal sensibilities in theology. These include Ludwig Wittgenstein, Thomas Kuhn, Michael Polanyi, Alasdair MacIntyre, Clifford Geertz, Peter Berger, and Thomas Luckmann. This will be followed by considering several key theologians who are proponents of postliberal theology, including Karl Barth, Hans Frei, Paul Holmer, David Kelsey, George Lindbeck, and Stanley Hauerwas, among others. The article will then consider some critical engagements and appropriations of postliberal theology as seen in the work of Kevin J. Vanhoozer, James K. A. Smith, John Milbank, and David Burrell. In conclusion, consideration will be given to implications and potential applications of postliberal theology for the contemporary Christian church.