Blood, Wrath, and the God Behind the Cross

In this episode of Fractured Faith, host Joshua Hopping—writer, former pastor, and lay Indigenous theologian—explores how Penal Substitutionary Atonement reshaped our vision of God—from a loving Creator into a wrathful judge appeased by blood. He also uncovers how PSA’s foundation in original sin and total depravity distorts not only God’s character but our own sense of worth. For those of us from relational, earth-rooted traditions, this “guilt-and-ledger” theology rings hollow. What if the cross isn’t about a God keeping score, but a God restoring connection? What if we were never separated to begin with?