Universalism

Here is an editorial review of Hart's universalism book. I found the review interesting.

 

I came across an interesting summary of Universalist soteriology. Thought I would share here: http://www.mercyuponall.org/2022/08/03/a-short-summary-of-the-plan-of-god-in-christ/

 

Yes, interesting, but no big surprises. The writer seems to suggest a sort of Purgatorial state after death in which God burns away the evil inclinations and deeds of an unrepentant sinner, turning him into a willing follower. In the course of the document many scriptures which countermand the thesis are not dealt with in the least.

 

What big surprises were you expecting? Universalists believe in Universalism. It's in the name. And they point to the many biblical sources to that endorse the stance. What more were you hoping for from a summary of Universalism?

 

A bit like reading the Preface and then deciding on the strength of an understanding of it, that it's not worth reading the book to discover if those arguments actually hold water.

Which of the alternative Gospels do we have here? St Paul's Gospel or one of the others?

It certainly seems to be consistent with the teaching of St Paul the Apostle but characteristically without the fire and brimstone to be found elsewhere in other places from the pens of some others.

Before anyone accuses me though, I'm not advocating Marcianism.
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I could hope for the surprise of a universalist who does not ignore the plain and obvious scriptures which contradict his universalist beliefs! But they all appear to be like the horses to which blinders have been fitted.

 

I enjoyed reading this. I thought I'd share for anyone interested in universalist thinking: http://www.mercyuponall.org/pdfs-click-to-download/loyal-hurley-the-outcome-of-infinite-grace-1947/

 

I would tend to agree that once the original apocalyptic message was spiritualized and relocated, the logical result would have to be some form of either universalism or annihilationism.

 

I may have missed it, but the author does not seem to discuss Revelation 21:6-8, where it appears that the wicked participate in the second death after the Consummation, which doesn't comport with his interpretation of other texts, nor does it agree with the eschatological order of events he presents.

 

Something else I noticed (but needed to review the relevant biblical texts before I commented on it) is the way the author understands the aions/ages. He considers the "aionion punishment" of Matthew 25:46 to occur in an aion which ends, after which a subsequent aion follows, and therefore should not be translated "eternal punishment." The glaring problem with this is that the judgment Jesus is referring to in Matthew 25 occurs after the Millennium (see the parallels to Revelation 20). What this means is that it happens in an aion after which no other aion follows. Therefore, it is an eternal, unending aion, the final aion of history. "Eternal" is the correct translation in Matthew 25:46.