Mike Winger Critique Episode 10: Does PSA Destroy the Trinity?

Warren McGrew and Paul Vendredi join forces again to critique Mike Winger’s denial that penal-substitutionary atonement (PSA) developed as a doctrine. Paul decries Protestantism as historically threadbare, comparing it to the rich history of Christianity prior to 1517. He notes that significant events such as the Seven Ecumenical Councils, the writings of Church Fathers, and the Crusades had taken place long before Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. The speaker argues that Protestant historians must explain away this historical continuity to justify the emergence of Protestantism as a distinct form of Christianity. These historians use various techniques, including reinterpreting historical figures, identifying "lost" groups that upheld the truth, and projecting their own Protestant values onto the ancient Church. Paul critiques the anachronistic handling of scripture and the suggestion that Christians were in a state of apostasy and darkness until the 16th century when the truth was rediscovered, arguing that this perspective implies that God allowed the world to be in a state of demonic darkness for an extended period.

One of Winger’s biggest whoppers is claiming that PSA does not cause a division within the Trinity. In response, Warren plays video clips of Michael Youssef and John MacArthur directly stating that there is a division in the Trinity during Christ’s crucifixion. Additionally, Warren plays clips of RC Sproul and Steven Lawson equating salvation to being saved from God's wrath. Sproul and Lawson argue that Christ saves us from God by offering himself as a sacrifice to God the Father, paying the penalty for our sin (a theory known as the Ransom-to-God theory). Mike Winger holds a similar view but struggles to reconcile it with the doctrine of the Trinity. Youssef, MacArthur, Sproul, and Lawson are not obscure personalities, nor are their soteriological peculiarities unknown. Nevertheless, Winger mendaciously maintains that a divided Trinity and the Ransom-to-God theory are misrepresentations of PSA!