This is surely a dangerous line of thought. But, second, should that matter? And, third, just how wonderfully meritorious was my confession and acceptance? Insofar as any others find themselves engaging in the dangerous line of thought I was subject to, they may wish to re-think the role of merit in salvation, and how that relates to the doctrine of further chances.
But perhaps I was unique in thinking along those lines, and this whole, thankfully short, digression was for nothing. Many of the passages that are typically utilized in attacks on universalism teach that, after death, God will judge people and punish many of them. Indeed, many who write as if the case against universalism is overwhelming list scores of such passages — which looks very impressive — in their long lists of what they claim are anti-universalist scriptures.
Many of the passages typically cited in this connection are the endings of parables in which the unprepared or otherwise naughty are cast off to weep and wail and gnash their teeth. To get eternal punishment from such a parable is quite a leap. Some read many of these passages as Jesus predicting the suffering incurred during the destruction of Jerusalem. It was apparently a big issue in the Jewish community around the time of the writing of the book of Matthew whether this truly horrible and gruesome event was due to the Christians following a false Messiah as some non-Christians claimed or rather because the non-Christian Jews had failed to recognize the hour of their visitation as some Christians held.
Parables in which those not prepared for the coming of the Christ-figure are thrown out to weep and wail, etc. But the above is a secondary point, especially since many of the passages which teach that there will be punishment are not from parables. Here, finally, we have something which really has the potential to cut against universalism.
It looks like it collides with the universalist passages. For a long time, I feared that just such a collision occurs here in Scripture. Fortunately, this is only an apparent collision. More extensive commentary on this matter of translation, which is also more convenient for those with access to the internet, because the good folks at the Tentmaker site have made it available on line, is Rev.
Talbott now has a book, The Inescapable Love of God , which incorporates much of his earlier prouniversalism work; for information and for some parts that are available on-line, click here.
Hopefully, though, we have bases for that belief other than that detail of this parable! Universalism is far from a mere doctrine of barren theology; many, like Paul, find great joy in the belief. Part of the joy some find is in the thought that not only they, but their fellow humans, will, eventually at least, experience everlasting life with Christ. And, on the other side, the non-universalist picture may come to look strangely dim, not exclusively because of the awful fate that awaits some of your fellows on this picture, but because God is deprived of such a complete victory, and, in winning only a partial victory, his desire that everyone be saved will ultimately be frustrated.
Please note: This web page has generated a tremendous amount of e-correspondence. Often, it will just be that you contacted me at a particularly busy time.
And even in the best of times, I can respond only to a very small percentage of the messages I receive. All of the above remains basically unchanged in content since I wrote it for an adult Bible study in early The only changes, I believe, are a couple of references and links to other web sites that I added to section 10 later and a reference added and marked as an update at the end of section 2.
Since I posted the above on the internet in the Winter of , I have received a lot of feedback on it. Some of the e-mail I have received has raised substantive points. Below I briefly address two of the areas that I have been very frequently asked about. The first area concerns the danger of believing and promoting universalism, and the second concerns philosophical issues that arise in reconciling universalism with free will. So in neither case do the concerns very directly involve the Biblical case for or against universalism.
Thus, addressing them moves us beyond the topic of my original post. Nevertheless, since these are two of the areas of concern that have been most often raised about the above, it is worth addressing them here. Many have e-mailed to warn me of the dangers of believing and promoting universalism.
Two closely related dangers have been stressed. Some focus on how important Christians will think it is to spread the gospel if they accept universalism, and warn that belief in universalism would undercut evangelism. I do not think that belief in universalism should have the above effects. Indeed, it does not rule out that there will be a lot of punishment for some. Universalism does rule out the infinitely big stick.
But it would indeed be very sad if Christians believed that there is strong reason or motivation for accepting Christ in this life only if one faces an infinitely big stick if one fails to do so. Universalism also guarantees that all humans will eventually attain the tremendous carrot. But does the fact that things will eventually be OK for someone remove the motivation — for herself and for others — to improve her lot in the meantime?
But those who press the potential dangers of belief in universalism seem to neglect the corresponding potential dangers of their own position.
Indeed, many who press the concern about the detrimental effects of accepting universalism go on to explicitly state that there is no danger on the other side as part of their case for resisting the promotion of universalism. But they are wrong. There are dangers on the other side. I have received many e-mails from those who have related that the doctrine of eternal hell was the biggest stumbling block to their accepting Christianity, and many others said that believing that doctrine interfered greatly with their ability to love God.
Suppose for a minute that universalism is correct, and suppose that these people are right to think that there is no way that God would allow some people to be forever excluded.
In that case, promoting the false view that God will allow such exclusion is doing great harm. Indeed, many universalists, myself included, believe that non-universalism is one of the most harmful falsehoods ever promoted in the Christian church. There is danger on both sides. Indeed, either way, even if one is right, one can do some harm to others by advocating the truth one believes. Even if universalism is true, my promoting that truth may cause some to lose their faith, and may thereby harm them.
Likewise, if universalism is false, those who declare it false may thereby harm some people. One possible response to these dangers, whichever side one is on, would be to remain silent on the issue. That is the path I have chosen — as have those who write to oppose me. Many who have e-mailed me have been concerned about free will.
This is an extension of strong exclusivism. Strong exclusivism , as I have used it above, says that in order to be saved, one must somehow explicitly accept Christ. If we accept fervent exclusivism, how can we say that universalism is true? So, for those who are attracted to this fervent variety of exclusivism: First note that even fervent exclusivism is compatible with universalism. The first of these says that to be saved one must freely accept Christ.
The second says that, eventually at least, all will be saved. But even if it is possible for both positions to be true, is it all plausible to suppose they will be? We know that some in this life have been only been moving further and further away from accepting Christ. And some people can be very obstinate.
And some have become incredibly evil in this life. But, on the other hand, even in this short life, we all know of instances in which people having all three of these problems to a great degree who were brought around and were saved.
So, again, I see no grounds for pessimism that an infinitely resourceful God, who is able to take as much time as He needs, will be able to win over everyone eventually.
Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world. Courtesy of Pixabay Universalism is the belief that all will be saved and reconciled to God in the end, and while there are many varieties floating around out there, from those that have little to do with Christian theology all the way to Patristic Universalism the sort of Universalism that was present within the early Christian church , sadly, when many Christians first hear about it, they make a litany of assumptions that are, for most Universalists, simply untrue.
Matthew J. Distefano is the author of 4 books and a co-host of the Heretic Happy Hour podcast. He lives in Chico, Ca with his wife and daughter. You can read more about the author here. Previous Post. Next Post. Browse Our Archives. You will also receive special offers from our partners that help make this content free for you.
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Much of universalism relies on the premise that Bible translations are wrong in their uses of the terms Hell, Gehenna, everlasting, and other words that claim eternal punishment. Despite the fact that recent translations such as the New International Version and English Standard Version were the efforts of large teams of knowledgeable Bible scholars, universalists say the Greek term "aion," which means "age," has been consistently mistranslated across the centuries, leading to false doctrine about the length of hell.
Critics of universalism state that the identical Greek term " aionas ton aionon ," which means "ages of the ages," is used in the Bible to describe both the eternal worth of God and the eternal fire of hell. Critics say universalists are picking and choosing when aionas ton aionon means "limited. Universalists reply that to correct the "errors" in translation, they are in the process of producing their own translation of the Bible. However, one of the pillars of Christianity is that the Bible, as the Word of God, is inerrant.
When the Bible must be rewritten to accommodate a doctrine, it is the doctrine that is wrong, not the Bible. One problem with universalism is that it imposes human judgment upon God, saying that logically he cannot be perfect love while punishing sinners in hell. However, God himself warns against attributing human standards to him:. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile.
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