This episode is mostly about what the Stone Table/Death of Aslan meant in the Chronicles of Narnia. Buckle up for a fascinating deep dive into atonement theories and evangelical theology!

Mako Nagasawa served a Spanish-speaking ministry to Mexican immigrants in East Palo Alto, CA and afterward, worked for two startup companies trying to bring technology and jobs to inner city communities. Since 2000, Mako, his wife Ming, and their two children John and Zoe have lived among friends in a Christian intentional community house in a black and brown neighborhood in Dorchester. Mako has done campus ministry since 2001 and founded The Anástasis Center in 2014.

Mako’s website (with lots of links and articles!)

Mako’s FB group: Healing Atonement and Restorative Justice.

He helped develop a financial curriculum called Lazarus at the Gate, as well as a small group curriculum about

Check out Mako’s interview with Almost Heretical about atonement theories and how Penal Substitutionary Atonement has impacted US politics.

Mako has a whole academic paper on C.S. Lewis’ Theory of Atonement, that you can read here! (also, check out Mako’s take on theology and Harry Potter here and Lord of the Rings here)

Mere Christianity quote: Only a bad person needs to repent only a good person can repent perfectly, Jesus is the only one who could push human nature where it needs to be pushed. (12 min). 

We discuss “survival emotions” of anxiety and guilt, relief and gratitude evoked by Penal Substitution Atonement. (14 min)

Athanasius: On Incarnation (CS Lewis wrote the introduction, which you can read here). 

Jesus died to burn away the corrupt nature of humanity. It’s a medical paradigm, not a legal paradigm.