Attention: Please take into consideration that this book is highly controversial and is likely to provoke strong and negative reactions from angry fundamentalists and Calvinists.
The common thread among all Fundamentalist denominations—including Calvinists, Baptists, Pentecostals, Evangelicals, and others—is their adherence to a doctrine called Penal Substitutionary Atonement. This theory teaches that God was so enraged and filled with wrath toward humanity that He needed to satisfy His “justice” by executing destruction. However, rather than punishing us directly, He instead tortured, abused, and killed Christ in our place to appease His anger.
This doctrine, formulated by John Calvin in the 16th century, underpins the fundamentalist view of God as a rigid, legalistic moral monster—one who is eager to condemn those who fail to meet His impossible standards. This dangerous, anxiety-inducing, and hateful theology has spread like poison through Christianity under the guise of “Christian Fundamentalism.”
In this book, we will critically examine the biblical and theological arguments used to support Penal Substitutionary Atonement, deconstructing its foundations to reveal the true character of God—the God of love that Jesus proclaimed.
March 2025: Edited, Revised, and Formatting Issues Fixed.
About the Author
Dr. Eitan Bar (born 1984, Tel Aviv) is a Bible scholar, author, and Israeli-Jewish follower of Jesus with multiple advanced degrees in Bible and theology. His unique background—living in Israel, being a native Hebrew speaker, and possessing advanced Christian education—provides a fresh and timely perspective on Christian beliefs and doctrines.
From the Publisher
Deconstruct Christian Fundamentalism Without Deconstructing Your Faith in Jesus!
About Dr. Eitan Bar
Eitan Bar (1984) is a Jewish believer in Jesus and an uprising scholar and thinker with several advanced Bible and theology degrees living in Israel.
Eitan’s unique combination of Jewish background, Christian education, and faith offers a fresh view of various spiritual doctrines. As a native Hebrew speaker and a Bible scholar, he combines his Jewish heritage with his Christian education and faith to offer new and timely perspectives on Christianity.
Eitan has authored several books, including a few best-sellers.
Eitan frequently lectures worldwide, primarily in Europe and the US, and his videos (teachings and lectures) have garnered over 25 million views.
ASIN : B0BXY2HJY7
Publisher : SHAMUS
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : March 23, 2023
Edition : 3rd
Language : English
File size : 1.1 MB
Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 278 pages
Page Flip : Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #334,332 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #240 in Theology (Kindle Store) #1,860 in Christian Theology (Kindle Store) #2,192 in Christian Theology (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 248 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Kevin Harris –
A must read for all Christians!!
A truly great book that examines the flaws of Western Reformed/ Calvinistic theology through the eyes of a Jewish Christian. Dr. Bar does a great job exposing the true nature of God, the One who is perfect love, long-suffering with gracious forgiveness.
Amazon Customer –
A Powerful Read Indeed!
A very powerful read indeed! Dr. Bar makes a compelling case against the fundamentalist view that God the Father took out his wrath, reserved for humanity, on his own innocent son. Reading this book really makes you appreciate how good God is and how great, the good news of Jesus truly is! Even if you disagree you should read this book to challenge your preconceived ideas which might be ill-informed based on faulty assumptions or misinterpretations of scripture.
Amazon Customer –
The character of God must be defended
My study of Calvinism (and the reading of this book) was prompted by students in our church’s college student fellowship. As the resident Arminian (apparently, which now concerns me), I was tasked with research and potentially later debating a Calvinist member of the church. I don’t know how that will all play out.I grew up as an Arminian (courtesy of being in the now Global Methodist Church), but I didn’t really understand why I believed what I believed or why it was important. So taking the task seriously, I investigated different theological opinions which included reading this book. I can now see why I was taught what I was taught and why it is important. Calvinism promotes a heretical understanding of the character of God; the is not having free will thing is secondary in comparison. Calvinism therefore promotes breaking the Ten Commandments, for we have to bear false witness against God.This book out of all the sources I’ve read is the most direct and unflinching in its criticisms of Calvinism. Not only that, but Dr. Bar seems personally aggrieved by some Calvinists, and it shows in the book. If you read the statement on his website, it’s not hard to see why. We describe harsh and unyielding people as Puritanical, and it’s no accident Puritans held Calvinist beliefs. It appears Calvinism tends more so than other traditions to produce harsh and unyielding people, and Dr. Bar seems to have been victimized by the Puritans of Israel. For that he has my sympathies. That isn’t to say all Calvinists are bad, but Calvinism is hot garbage.The book has a well-defined structure in the table of contents, and you will see common themes and scenarios/examples given (many different variations of father-son and parent-child relationships are given unsurprisingly). Overall, I feel the book generally accomplishes what it set out to do, which is to put the axe to Calvinistic thinking. It is indeed a dangerous and repulsive heresy, and it’s a shame many of the most popular preachers are in fact Calvinists here in America. As for the ones that aren’t… well I guess that leaves us with Osteen. Ick.I wasn’t immediately convinced about the part about divorce and its sinfulness; I’m still thinking that one over. It is worth noting it’s never mentioned with a “penalty” in the Torah, just provisions. That’s a minor item that doesn’t really detract from the overall point, which is Calvinism bad.For Dr. Bar, I recommend editing with ChatGPT if an editor is not possible due to money. My wife (who is also a non-native English speaking doctorate) uses it for her papers to check grammar and give more consistent sentence structuring. It doesn’t cost too much for a monthly subscription I think. It could probably help you write faster as well. There were a few times I had to blink and reread a sentence, but I was never prevented from understanding what you meant. Overall I would rate your English as excellent, especially for a non-native speaker writing about theological concepts. You also have a surprising grasp of American culture.If you are interested in a book idea, maybe consider writing about some of the problems in evangelical thinking past just Calvinism. Doctrines/traditions that have been carried forward but haven’t really been proven out. I could name a few minor ones myself off the top of my head. Major ones being how many heavens are there?, is punishment eternal, corrective, annihilationistic in the afterlife?, how did salvation work or not work for people in the Old Testament (ie was Moses saved)?, is there one eternal heaven/hell?, rewards?, souls are immortal?; dual covenant theology, etc.Much love from the Heart of Texas. Peace be with you.
David P. –
Felt liberated
Thought provoking, challenges your mind on what you learned and was told to believe through Reformed theology and Calvinist teaching, sheds new light on how to read Gods word rightly dividing his word of truth.
Terresa Ross –
Excellent book
This author put forth an excellent rebuttal to Evangelical’s argument for Penal Substitution and the Divine Abuse theory. Highly recommend!
P Scott –
Sound Doctrine as it should be understood by every believer!
Every page is filled with biblical evidence for the points being established. The messages consistent and clear. The church has been robbed of these beautiful truths over the years and it’s beyond time to return to them. Come and bask in the revelation of truth and the sweetness of the character of God. Filling and fulfilling. Eitan Barr is the best author I’ve ever read. I get more life-changing, light-beaming truth out of one of his books than 25 others.
BRENDA –
An accurate understanding of a inaccurate teaching
Before I started reading this book, I didn’t know the label of Divine Abuse but recognized the doctrine once I delved into the book. Dr. Bar does an excellent job of explaining the error of this teaching and why, unfortunately, it is another example of the scripturally inaccurate beliefs that plague the Christian Church and cause misery to those who embrace them.
Jay Dicken –
God is love and loving
I borrowed “The ‘Gospel’ of Divine Abuse” through kindle unlimited to read, then purchased to keep.John MacArthur declares, “Who killed Jesus? God. God killed Jesus!” David Shackelford confirms, “Men did not kill Jesus – God did!” Yet if you were there at Golgotha on that horrible day, whom would you have seen? God? Or you would have seen Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, Romans, and common people venting their anger at the holy Son of God. Of course, MacArthur, Shackelford, and those who agree with them point to various passages of Scripture to support their claim. Who better than a Jewish convert to Christianity to respond to these claims, and explain a better way to look at these passages of Scripture? Eitan Bar is that convert. Not only does he respond to the erroneous accusations of those mentioned above, but he also delves into Jewish thought behind other portions of Scripture, such as sacrificing to God, and how it should affect Christian worship. See kindle pages 51 through 53 for a passage I thought was especially enlightening. [In case your copy tabulates the pages differently, search for: Worship of God always involved sacrificing]. Toward the end of his book the author asks us to imagine a “God who doesn’t hate nor is angry with you simply because you are an imperfect human. And a church whereby people are motivated to be good not because they fear punishment but because they are deeply grateful and in love with God.”It is good to know that we have fallen into the hands of a loving God. If you don’t already know this God, let Eitan Bar’s book introduce Him to you.
Marlene Hernández –
Atonement is a huge foundation to understand not only the Gospel but also God and the whole Bible.This books talks in detail and with an organic structure about the message of the Gospel and why we need to get it right.
Cliente do Kindle –
O livro do Dr. Eitan me ensinou sobre o amor de Deus. Muitas vezes, eu ouvi no púlpito que Deus é um Deus vingativo, que o Pai matou seu filho…Quem matou Jesus foi o homem e o pecado.Tenho lido os livros deste autor e tenho me aprofundado no Evangelho das Boas Novas!
Trent –
Serving as a missionary in Spain, surrounded by images of the abused and executed CHRIST, this book accurately describes the biblical truth of how it was GOD’s love for us, not HIS wrath against us. Despite the brutality inflicted upon JESUS by humanity at its worst, the willing sacrifice of CHRIST on the cross, is the message of love at it its. best.
Angie –
Eitan Bar challenges a fundamental assumption: God never wanted human sacrifice—including His own Son.The book’s central argument is powerful yet simple. God explicitly condemned child and human sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12:31). Why, then, would He demand His Son’s death?Two insights that stayed with me:1. Genesis 3:21 – God didn’t kill to clothe Adam and EveMany preachers claim God made the first blood sacrifice here, killing animals for fur coverings. But Bar points out that the Hebrew word used is ASAH (made/created)—the same word for God creating light, animals, and trees. God can create garments without killing anything, just as He created everything else from nothing.2. Hebrews 11:17-19 – Jesus was a gift, not appeasementThe author emphasises that God gave Jesus to the world as a good gift—not as a sacrifice to satisfy divine wrath. The world killed Jesus; God didn’t demand it.Bar’s thesis: God hates human sacrifice. He gave us His Son out of love, and humanity—not God—chose violence. However, when evil doers killed Jesus, God took that as a sin offering. A sin offering is a purification offering, bringing the offerers (the world) closer to God.
Karina Gabriel Stavenes –
This book is amazing! I started reading it this weekend and couldn’t put it down until I finished it in two long sittings. Dr. Eitan Bar has shown tremendous courage by taking on one of, if not the biggest heresy of all. It would seem to me that in the same way Gentiles accuse Jews of rejecting Jesus while claiming to love the Father, many Gentiles have embraced Jesus, while utterly rejecting if not despising the Father; painting Him as a cruel, vicious, abusive psychopath who murdered His own Son to appease His own wrath. This book really addresses a number of false teachings and heresies, citing some very prominent Protestant names who are very highly respected in Reformed Baptist circles, but it’s done with great humility, Scriptures, and pleading for people to please see the truth. I had read two of Dr. Bar’s books and was really impressed with his in-depth knowledge and meticulous scholarship, but this book truly blew my mind. I highly recommend it. Thank you so much, Dr. Bar! Praying for you always, brother. I look forward to reading all your books and will recommend them on social media to all my friends and family.