Contact: Josiah Williams, Executive Marketing Director, WinePress Publishing, 360-802-9758, josiah@winepresspublishing.com

ENUMCLAW, Wash., Jan. 17, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines atonement as "the reconciliation of God and humankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ." Widely-held Christian teaching says that Jesus died in the place of sinners -- that our sin required punishment and because God did not want to see us perish, Jesus took that punishment, providing a way for forgiveness and reconciliation to God.

In "Cross Purposes" pastor Mark Miller challenges this view, suggesting that God's interest was not in seeing sin punished, but on seeing humanity reconciled to Him. He explains that the "Satisfaction Theory" commonly presented in today's church is rooted in medieval European culture, where God was presented as a kind of liege lord. Miller hopes to show that God's forgiveness was not something Jesus had to purchase. Rather, it was freely offered to everyone. According to Miller's book, Jesus died, not so we could be forgiven, but so we could embrace the forgiveness we already have. Miller says, "I wanted to offer an alternative view that is strongly supported by the Bible, faithful to the bulk of history, and is even more hopeful than the understanding for which we have settled."

Mark Miller is a pastor and teacher living in the Seattle area. A former Marine Corps officer and a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Mark sensed God's call to pastoral ministry in the early 1990s. He earned an MA in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary and his Doctor of Ministry from Bakke Graduate University in Seattle. Currently, he is teaching at BGU, helping other doctoral students navigate their way through the dissertation process and teaching core theology courses.

For more information, to request a review copy or to schedule an interview, please contact Josiah Williams by phone at 360-802-9758, by email at josiah@winepresspublishing.com, or by fax at 360-802-9992. To purchase a copy of this book visit www.winepressbooks.com or call 877-421-7323.

Quality images to accompany this press release are available in digital format. Available images are: cover art, author photo, WinePress Publishing logo.