However, Pannenberg’s presentation of the significance of the cross places the emphasis of the crucifixion on Jesus’s obedience in proclaiming the kingdom. It also emphasizes his free acceptance of the consequences of humanity’s rejection of the kingdom rather than on the idea of the wrath of God that needs to be satiated by the blood of a human sacrifice. In this way, Pannenberg addresses contemporary critics of Anselm’s satisfaction theory or Luther’s notion of penal substitution by making it clear that the crucifixion is the act of sinful human choice rather than God’s need for a bloody
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