« on: November 06, 2019, 06:52:52 AM »
Not all Universalism is the same. Not nearly.
There is Patristic Universalism, Gnostic Universalism, New Age Universalism, Unitarian Universalism, Evangelical Universalism, and several more. They all have WIDELY divergent views about HOW and WHEN one enters Heaven. The only thing they do agree on is that ultimately ALL people end up in Heaven.
To group them together into one homogenous belief system is unlearned, unwise, and unfair. I have seen several posts recently attacking ALL Universalism because (allegedly) ALL Universalists believe that faith in Jesus Christ is NOT necessary to enter Heaven.
That could not be farther from the truth.
Before we attack something, let’s do our best to first fully understand the nuances of the terms we use.
Patristic Universalism (aka Apocatastasis), to which I subscribe, believes that one must be spiritually reborn to enter the kingdom of Heaven, and that this rebirth comes solely from an extension of interpersonal faith in Jesus Christ. It simply holds that this conversion can come in this age (which is far better) OR in the heightened crisis of the postmortem ages to come.
In other words, even after our deaths, God will continue to woo us, convince us, and vibrantly confront our issues until we finally see and embrace the irresistible truth– that Jesus Christ is the one true light and love, and in Him alone our salvation lies. The church fathers believed that “God’s fire was wise” in purging and pruning our diseased souls back to a place of healthy receptivity.
This form of Universalism believes in a God who would never give His children the keys to a cosmic car with which they could crash, burn, and destroy themselves eternally. Rather, our dear Abba has installed spiritual guardrails, airbags, and safety equipment into the postmortem cosmos which will keep our souls from destruction no matter how hard we may have wrecked them during our earth lives.
Simply put, Patristic Universalism believes Jesus will win all people back, come Hell or high-water. God, through Jesus Christ, will ultimately rescue and convince ALL to receive their rebirth, even if it is after (in some cases) much “gnashing of teeth,” prolonged emotional anguish, and stubborn mental resistance. Many will hold out for extended periods of time, but all will eventually see that against an irresistibly virtuous God there is no eternal defense. As the lies are burned away, every soul will come to itself and behold this champion truth– Jesus Christ is God’s rescuing love.
He will heal all the rebels of their rebellion.
He will cure all of His haters with His relentless love.
He will save ALL His lambs by going after them wherever they have fallen lost.
He will boast as He meets every tearful prodigal on their return journey home.
How long in the ages to come will God continue to woo and convince His children to receive the light and love of His Son? …..As long as it takes.” What is Patristic Universalism? By Richard K. Murray. He is a criminal defense attorney and holds a Masters of Practical Theology from Regent University. Read more here at Richard’s Website: https://thegoodnessofgod.com/ and here at Richard’s Blogsite: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/richardmurray/
Universal Salvation is NOT the same as Unitarian Universalism! “They *(Unitarian Universalists)* believe Jesus did not claim to be God and that his teachings did not suggest the existence of a triune God. Unitarians believe in the moral authority but not necessarily the divinity of Jesus. Their theology is thus opposed to the Trinitarian theology of other Christian denominations.” Wikipedia Excerpts *Added by me*
“In Christian theology, Universal Reconciliation (also called Universal Salvation, Christian Universalism, or in context simply Universalism) is the doctrine that all sinful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy—will ultimately be reconciled to God.” Wikipedia
“Currently my goal is to just help get the message out there. There are so many people who have lost loved ones and have been taught they are lost forever. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus Christ has every single human soul safely in his hands. Christ is 100% victorious and has conquered sin and death for all mankind, that is why he came. That the resurrection of Jesus Christ means Salvation for all mankind is the Gospel!” By Michael Webber. Read more here: www.thetotalvictoryofchrist.com
“Universal Salvation Explained - Universal Salvation, how does that work from a Christian perspective? You might be surprised to learn how easy Universal Salvation is to understand.” See this short video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWrzVzsWKOQ
“Five Points of Universal Salvation - As in the doctrines of Calvinism and Arminianism the Doctrine of Universal Salvation can be expressed in five doctrinal points.” See this short video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfPM5eXU7RM
To download the PDF doctrinal outline, “Five Points of Universal Salvation” click here: http://thetotalvictoryofchrist.atwebpages.com/FivePointsofUniversalSalvation.pdf
The Total Victory of Christ – See Michael Webber’s Youtube Videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjlJI2QlzpEpE_fnoCk0rKQ/videos
The Total Victory of Christ – Michael Webber’s Website here: www.thetotalvictoryofchrist.com
The Total Victory of Christ - Michael Webber’s Blog - Defining and Defending the Doctrine of Universal Salvation within Orthodoxy. Click here: https://thetotalvictoryofchrist.wordpress.com/
"Hi, I am a theologian and work in a working group for Patristics at the University of Bonn, and I am also a lecturer with emphasis on early Christian doctrine. Over the last few years, we have been scrutinizing the writings of the earliest Christianity and the patristic writings right up to John Cassianus with a Europe-wide team of over 40 patrons. Our result would be that the patristic universalism actually makes up a large majority, about 85%. Whoever claims otherwise, such as Michael McClymond in his monumental work, from my point of view either simply did not want to have sufficient insight into all available texts or a deliberately one-sided (Calvinistic) defense for his own point of view.
The argument that the majority can often be wrong, I think here for nonsensical nonsense, because this majority did not arise because this view was the easier. On the contrary, many church fathers and scholars of the later patristic period paid for this conviction with their lives, because an eternal fire of hell was a much desired political decision. We also see this with Jerome. He writes e.g. in his comment on Isaiah, that "the true fate of the so-called damned must of course be withheld from the church, otherwise the church would lose its power." Here, the early Christian gospel was simply replaced with an everlasting theory of hell more useful to the Church's power." - By Michael Trenkel. Read more here: https://www-h--o--p--e-de.translate.goog/ueber-michael-trenkel?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
Universalism: The Prevailing Doctrine of the Christian Church during Its First Five-Hundred Years by J.W. Hanson – 1899. Free Book in PDF Download click here: https://thetotalvictoryofchrist.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/universalism-the-prevailing-doctrine-by-john-wesley-hanson.pdf Or read it online here: https://www.tentmaker.org/books/Prevailing.html 
Dave
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