Is Universalism True?
Nitcentral's Bulletin Brash Reflections: Religious Musings: Specific Debate Topics: Morality Debates: Is Universalism True?
By Doug on Monday, March 08, 2004 - 4:33 pm:

Is Universalism True?

By Anonymous on Monday, March 08, 2004 - 4:35 pm:

Dunno. What is it?

By TomM, RM Moderator (Tom_M) on Monday, March 08, 2004 - 8:46 pm:

As a denomination, Universalism merged with Unitarianism. The denomination is now the Unitarian-Universalist Church. Some congregations emphasize their Unitarian heritage, and others their Universalist heritage.

As a religious philosophy, universalism refers to the idea that a loving God would not condemn people to everlasting torment in hell. One definition I saw says:

Universalism states that sooner or later all people will be saved. This position holds that the concepts of hell and punishment are inconsistent with a loving God.

The older form of universalism, originating in the second century, taught that salvation would come after a temporary period of punishment. The newer form of universalism declares that all men are now saved, though all do not realize it. Therefore the job of the preacher and the missionary is to tell people they are already saved.


One of the reasons (beyond the fact that it is not explicitly taught in the Bible) that many Protestant denominations denounce the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory is that it seems to be a compromise with the forces of the universalist "heresy."

Note: this seems to be more of a philosophical issue than a moral one. I'll be moving it there later in the week, after I see for sure where this thread is heading. Or, if it concentrates on the UUC, I'll move it to Specific Religions.

By Benn on Monday, March 08, 2004 - 11:21 pm:

The problem with Universalism, as I see it, is that it renders moot Jesus' death and resurrection. Theologically, the whole point of Jesus dying on the cross was to bring about salvation to the sinners of the world. If I understand Tom's post about Universalism, then Jesus' death is meaningless since God's not gonna send my sinful non-believing butt to Hell regardless of whether I believe in Jesus or not. Isn't this kinda one step away from the Baptists' teaching of "once saved, always saved"?

By TomM, RM Moderator (Tom_M) on Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 1:12 am:

The problem with Universalism, as I see it, is that it renders moot Jesus' death and resurrection. Theologically, the whole point of Jesus dying on the cross was to bring about salvation to the sinners of the world.

(Bearing in mind that all I know about universalism is what I've read, mostly by authors antagonistic toward the philosophy.) I don't think that the universalists see it that way. They just interpret 1 Peter 3:18 more broadly, "all" encompassing everyone, not just all who choose to believe and accept salvation in this life. Nor is Christ's death meaningless just because God fore-ordained their [our] salvation, any more than it is meaningless in tradional Christian philosophy. God resolved to save Man from his own destructive nature; Christ's self-sacrificial death was the working out of that resolve.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;1 Peter 3:18


If I understand Tom's post about Universalism, then Jesus' death is meaningless since God's not gonna send my sinful non-believing butt to Hell regardless of whether I believe in Jesus or not.

If I read the history of the movement correctly, universalists did not disbelieve in hell any earlier than the "mainstream" Protestants; they just did not accept that damnation was permanent. In any case, it is not the truth of the existence of Hell that gives meaning to the crucifixion, but the truth of God's love.

By Scott McClenny on Thursday, November 24, 2005 - 2:07 pm:

Actually Universalism,or some form of it,as been
part of Christian theology since the early days.
One of the most famous Universalists was Origen.
Admittedly his own particuliar form was radical
as he believed in total reconcilation at the
End of Time in which even Satan and his Angels
would be at last forgiven and reinstated.
Classic Christian Universalism(as far as I can
remember)teaches that those who do not accept
Christ will spend some time in Hell before entering into Heaven.This view sees Hell as not
as permanent punishment but rather as remedial.
The biggest argument that Universalists have
against Hell is that the words translated Hell
in both Hebrew and Greek really mean:
The Grave
Death
The Abode of the Dead
As far as it goes no-one can really say what will
happen in the end,God was too wise to tell us everything in the Bible.

By harry on Friday, December 07, 2007 - 5:20 pm:

There's a relevant joke, in several forms, but the gist of it is, a beautiful woman is sitting on an old man's lap. Is the man in heaven or is the woman in h*ll? Or both? It's all in your perspective. Whether your afterlife is pleasant depends on your attitude.
Imagine a homophobic racist spending an eternity in the same place with good blacks, Jews, gays...

By Jeff Winters (Jeff1980) on Tuesday, December 03, 2019 - 6:45 pm:

Is Christian Biblical Universalism True ? Is there any Biblical Support for All Human Beings eventually being saved forgiven and in Heaven, Christian and non-Christian alike ? Will Satan the Devil and his Demons ultimately be Saved, Forgiven and in Heaven ? Did anyone ever read the book
Universal Salvation: The Current Debate
Available on Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Universal+Salvation+The+Current+Debate&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 So Many different words translated "Hell" in the Bible, it's so confusing, the words
Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus, Abraham's Bosom, some have said the word "Hell" is pagan in origin, there is Much Confusion over the nature of "Hell" is the fire literal or symbolic, does "Hell" last forever ? So Many Different Countless Interpretations

By Jeff Winters (Jeff1980) on Tuesday, December 03, 2019 - 6:53 pm:

Another Good book about Christian Universalism from
Amazon.com is titled "The Devil's Redemption"
see this link,
https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Redemption-Interpretation-Christian-Universalism/dp/0801048567/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+Devil%27s+Redemption&qid=1575424279&sr=8-1

By Tim McCree (Tim_m) on Tuesday, December 03, 2019 - 10:32 pm:

Good for you.

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