Below our friends and brothers in arms at A Little Leaven: The Museum of Idolatry presents a clip of Brian McLaren, a leading theologian in the Emergent Church the cult of the postliberal theology, from an appearance on a podcast hosted by one of his disciples named Leif Hanson.

Apprising Ministries encourages you to listen carefully to the words of McLaren for yourself as he deconstructs [read: attacks] the vicarious penal substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ and the Cross as well as the doctrine of hell. How sad is the spiritual blindness that they cannot see that God, in His glorious Gospel of the incredible sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the Cross, demonstrated precisely what I highlighted below:

Brian McLaren: This is, one of the huge problems is the traditional understanding of hell. Because if the cross is in line with Jesus’ teaching then—I won’t say, the only, and I certainly won’t say even the primary—but a primary meaning of the cross is that the kingdom of God doesn’t come like the kingdoms of the this world, by inflicting violence and coercing people. But that the kingdom of God comes through suffering and willing, voluntary sacrifice, right? But in an ironic way, the doctrine of hell basically says, no, that that’s not really true. That in the end, God gets His way through coercion and violence and intimidation and domination, just like every other kingdom does. The cross isn’t the center then. The cross is almost a distraction and false advertising for God.

Leif Hansen: Oh, Brian, that was just so beautifully said. I was tempted to get on my soap box there and you know—Because as you and I know there are so many illustrations and examples you could give that show why the traditional view of hell completely falls in the face of—it’s just antithetical to the cross. But the way you put it there; I love that. It’s false advertising. And here, Jesus is saying, turn the other cheek. Love your enemy. Forgive seven times seventy. Return violence with self-sacrificial love. But if we believe the traditional view of hell, it’s like, well, do that for a short amount of time. Because eventually, God’s gonna get’em.

Brian McLaren: Yeah. And I heard one well-known Christian leader, who—I won’t mention his name, just to protect his reputation. Cause some people would use this against him. But I heard him say it like this: The traditional understanding says that God asks of us something that God is incapable of Himself. God asks us to forgive people. But God is incapable of forgiving. God can’t forgive unless He punishes somebody in place of the person He was going to forgive. God doesn’t say things to you—Forgive your wife, and then go kick the dog to vent your anger. God asks you to actually forgive…. And there’s a certain sense that, a common understanding of the atonement presents a God who is incapable of forgiving. Unless He kicks somebody else.

Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. (Philippians 3:17-19, NASB)

See also:

BRIAN MCLAREN: CULT LEADER OF THE EMERGENT CHURCH

BRIAN MCLAREN IN DENIAL