Atonement Understood - Pacific Systematic Theology Colloquium
Friday, April 10, 2026, 5:00 PM - Saturday, April 11, 2026, 4:00 PM
Atonement Understood
Exploring atonement as a key doctrine with implications throughout systematic theology.
The doctrine of atonement is at the heart of Christian doctrine, and needs to be approached with an eye to its vital connection to all other doctrines. The 2026 Pacific Systematic Theology Colloquium will gather to explore the doctrine of the atonement, with special attention not only to understanding it in itself but understanding how it relates to the rest of the theological system.
The plenary speakers will be Adam Johnson of the Torrey Honors College at Biola University (PhD, TEDS), and Jeremy Treat of RealityLA (PhD, Wheaton); both are authors of significant books on the doctrine of atonement. The biennial PSTC is a significant western regional gathering that promotes academic dialogue across a wide variety of institutional, denominational, and confessional differences.
Plenary Session One: Adam Johnson, "The Theology of Fittingness in the Doctrine of the Atonement: A Constructive Retrieval."
Plenary Session Two: Jeremy Treat, “In Our Place: The Pervasive Nature of Substitution."
Schedule
Friday, April 10
- 5 p.m. - Arrival & Check-in
- 6 p.m. - Plenary Session One - Adam Johnson, "The Theology of Fittingness in the Doctrine of the Atonement: A Constructive Retrieval."
- 7 p.m. - Breakout Session One
- 8:30 p.m. - Concluding Discussion
Saturday, April 11
- 9 a.m. - Breakout Session Two
- 10:30 a.m. - Plenary Session Two - Jeremy Treat, “In Our Place: The Pervasive Nature of Substitution."
- 12 p.m. - Lunch Break
- 1 p.m. - Breakout Session Three
- 2:30 p.m. - Breakout Session Four
- 4 p.m. - Closing Panel
Presentation Topics
Breakout Session One
Ross Hastings, Sangwoo Youtong Chee Chair of Theology Regent College: "Ascension as Atonement: Considerations For and Against"
David Buchanan, 'Iolani School: “Remember the Righteous Martyrs of Judah: The Use of Second Temple Jewish Martyrological Traditions in Dogmatic Atonement Theology”
David Lytle, Ph.D. student, Gateway Seminary: "Recapitulation and Infant Salvation in the Theology of Thomas Grantham (1634-1692)"
Breakout Session Two
Jacob Chengwei Feng, Affiliate Assistant Professor of Theology and Leadership, Fuller Theological Seminary: "Metaphors in Watchman Nee and Witness Lee’s Doctrine of Atonement with Deification as Telos: Towards a Constructive Chinese Theology of Reconciliation for the Third Millennium"
Carl Mosser, Independent Scholar; Hannah Avval, Local Artist: "Depicting the Confessional Doctrine of Atonement: Goltzius’ Satisfactio Christi"
Robb Torseth, Public Service Librarian & Adjunct Professor at Gateway Seminary: "Christ For Us and Christ In Us: Gisle Johnson’s Personalist and Organicist View of the Atonement in Two Acts"
Breakout Session Three
Micah E. Chung, PhD, English pastor of First Chinese Baptist Church of Atlanta and adjunct instructor for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary: "Bonded by Broken Bread: How Food Informs Christ's Atonement"
Derek Rishmawy, Independent Scholar: "With Us and For Us: Why Christ’s Penal Death in Solidarity With Us Must Also be a Substitutionary Death For Us"
David M. Westfall, Associate Professor of Theology at Dordt University: "“He Suffered—But Did He Offer?” Christ’s Obedient Agency and the Eclipse of Satisfaction in Recent Evangelical Accounts of Penal Substitution"
Breakout Session Four
Colton Jones, PhD student, Apeldoorn: ne Mediator Between God and Man: The Unity of Christ’s Priestly Work in His Obedience, Atonement, and Intercession in the Theology of John Owen"
Matthew Visk: “(Mis)Understanding Calvin on Atonement”
Christopher Woznicki, Affiliate Assistant Professor of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, Research Fellow, Jonathan Edwards Center at Gateway Seminary: "Revisiting the Objective-Subjective Distinction in Atonement Theology: The Revelation Model as a Test Case"