My Systematic Theology PhD is being undertaken via the Pastors’ Academy at London Seminary, in partnership with Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids.

I’m intending to propose a constructive theological account of divine punishment. That is, to ask what punishment is, in light of the biblical witness and dogmatic claims about God, humanity and redemption.

This is all a summary of my draft proposal and to be considered a work in progress!

Accounts of the phenomenon and justification of punishment exist in abundance, but most are the work of philosophers and ethicists and treat (or at least start with) punishment within human societies. The structure of these accounts (retributivist, utilitarian, or whatever) then forms the starting point when theological reflection on divine punishment is undertaken. The danger is that the notion of divine punishment is made to fit within these structures. There is scope for asking the more basic question of what divine punishment is first, and then treating punishment in human society as derivative of divine punishment (as per Rom 13:4, perhaps). This also offers the potential for considering the closely related notions of atonement and forgiveness from the very offset, allowing them to shape the construal of divine punishment, rather than, again, being introduced later and jarring with a pre-formed account of punishment.

This has significant relevance to the doctrine of the atonement. Critical to the Reformed, penal substitutionary account of the atonement is the notion of Christ bearing the punishment due to sinners. Any account of how and why Christ is able to bear punishment is obviously dependent upon the conception of what punishment is.