History of Christian universalism

In Christian theology, universal reconciliation or universal salvation, is the doctrine or belief that all will eventually find salvation and reconciliation with God, going to heaven sometime after death, due to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Also known as Trinitarian Universalism, not to be confused with Unitarian Universalism, this concept is often called universalism, itself a general term with a variety of other meanings, but which in this article will refer to universal salvation. Historically, by doctrine, most denominations of Christianity reject universalism, although many modern Christians believe in it. Some universalists believe that some will endure a limited period of punishment before going to heaven, such as a state of purgatory. Others believe in thnetopsychism, the view that the soul is mortal and actually dies with the body to be recalled to life at the resurrection at which point the person will be judged by God.

History and Development

Origins

Although various theologians, including prominently Origen in the 3rd century, Gregory of Nyssa, and Clement of Alexandria, have expressed universalist positions throughout the history of Christianity, universalism experienced blooming interest within post-enlightenment liberal Christianity in the 19th century. However, modern universalists often claim that universalism was the primary doctrine of the church until it was forcibly stamped out by the Roman Catholic Church in the sixth century. Some evidence does suggest that not only was the doctrine of universal salvation acceptable, but was more widely believed historically among Christians as far back as the fourth century.

St. Basil the Great, writing in the fourth century wrote, “The mass of men (Christians) say that there is to be an end of punishment to those who are punished.” (De Asceticis)

St. Jerome wrote in the same century, “I know that most persons understand by the story of Nineveh and its king, the ultimate forgiveness of the devil and all rational creatures.”

St. Augustine, while himself teaching limited salvation wrote, “There are very many (imo quam plurimi, which can be translated majority) who though not denying the Holy Scriptures, do not believe in endless torments.” (Enchira, ad Laurent)

The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge says in volume 12, page 96, “In the first five or six centuries of Christianity there were six theological schools, of which four (Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, and Edessa, or Nisibis) were Universalist; one (Ephesus) accepted conditional mortality; one (Carthage or Rome) taught endless punishment of the wicked.” A most crucial and important in point in church history: when Emperor Constantine militarized and politicalized the church, the teaching of Hell became a more powerful weapon of control than a loving God who loved all mankind. At that point the teaching of universal salvation began to be stamped out through severe persecution. The result? The church created what we now call “The Dark Ages.”

Universalism formerly condemned

Universal salvation was not considered heresy until the sixth century, when it was formally declared so in 544 A.D. by the Roman Catholic Church, in a council called by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian in Constantinople. Justinian appointed Christian patriarch Mennas to condemn the teaching and doctrine as taught by Origen. From that point forward, the doctrine of limited salvation has remained the prevalent Christian teaching from the Middle Ages to recent time.

Modern development

Bishop Carlton Pearson recieved notoriety in 2004 when he was officially declared a heretic by Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops [1]. Bishop Pearson, who had attended Oral Roberts University, a conservative Christian teaching institution, formally declared his belief in the doctrine of universal salvation. His church, called New Dimensions, adopted the doctrine.

Biblical translation as a support basis

Supporters of the universal reconciliation doctrine make a claim that the Bible, when properly translated, supports the universalist position. It is difficult to assess the quality of the arguments and counter-arguments for either position, as the subject is not a focus of mainstream scholarship, and methods of bible translation remain controversial.

Aion and aionios debate

A particular point of contention among supporters and detractors of universal reconciliation is that the Greek word translated as eternal in most English Bibles is translated from aion and aionios it's adjective. Proponents of universal salvation claim that the proper definion of aion and aionios is age and pertaining to age respectively. They claim that since an age is a time period with termination, this would render the concept of unending torment moot. Aionios punishment would be properly translated as punishment which only pertains to an age and thus would end. Additionally, since aion (see eon), specifies the concept of time, it is inherently incompatible with the concept of eternity which is often, though not always, understood in Christianity as a state of timelessness. [2]

However, detractors suggest that the proper translation of aionios is indeed eternal as it identifies God (Deus aionios). This position submits that if God is aionios and he is eternal in nature, in context, aionios should also be translated as eternal which renders "aionios judgment" to be eternal judgment. In their view, this renders the universal reconciliation position impossible. [3]

Translation of Hell

Universalists support their doctrine by noting that the concept of hell is largely, though not entirely, dependent on erroneous translation from both Greek and Jewish sources. Notably, within the Old Testament, the word hell was translated entirely from the Jewish sheol. They cite a particular inconsistency that within the King James Version of the Bible the word sheol is translated 31 times as "grave," and 31 times as "hell," whereas in modern translations like the New International Version have translated "sheol" as "grave" entirely. Such inconsistencies and omissions are seen as evidence that the concept of hell is questionable. [4]

Scriptural arguments

Bible verses used to support universal reconciliation

These Bible verses are commonly seen as support for the universal reconcilation doctrine:

John 12:32: "And I (Jesus Christ), when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

1 John 2:1-2 "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for[a] the sins of the whole world."

Acts 3:21: [Jesus] "must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through the prophets."

Ephesians 1:9-10 "And he (God) made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ."

Romans 5:18-19 "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."

Romans 8: 18-19 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."

Romans 11:32: For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all

1 Timothy 4:10: "We have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe."

Revelation 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.

Bible verses used to oppose universal reconciliation

Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. 14"For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it."

Matthew 22:14 "For many are called, but few are chosen"

Matthew 12:32: "And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come."

Matthew 25:46 "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life"

Mark 16:16 "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

Matthew 10:23 "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved"

Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Revelation 21:6-8 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Notable people

As stated previously, the majority of Christian denominations consider universal salvation to be heresy as a matter of doctrine and have not condoned it. However, some prominent social, political, literary, and religious figures may be indentified as having a leaning toward universalist theology.

Abraham Lincoln

Excerpts taken from “The Almost Chosen People” by William J. Wolf (Doubleday & Company Inc, 1959).

"One of Lincoln’s associates, Mentor Graham, tells of Lincoln: 'He took the passage, ‘As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive,’ and followed up with the proposition that whatever the breach or injury of Adam’s transgressions to the human race was, which no doubt was very great, was made just and right by the atonement of Christ.'" (page 47)

"...Lincoln wrote an essay about 1833 on predestinated universal salvation in criticism of the orthodox doctrine of endless punishment. It is also consistent with the evidence that in 1850, Lincoln, through the reading of his pastor's The Christian's Defense and his own wrestling with the problem, became convinced intellectually of the validity of the biblical revelation. Lincoln's conviction that God would restore the whole of creation as the outcome of Christ's atonement would have been in itself a bar to membership in the Springfield church he attended." (pages 103-104)

"Another associate, Isaac Cogdal, tells of a discussion on religion in Lincoln’s office in 1859: 'Lincoln expressed himself in about these words: He did not nor could not believe in the endless punishment of any one of the human race. He understood punishment for sin to be a Bible doctrine; that the punishment was parental in its object, aim, and design, and intended for the good of the offender; hence it must cease when justice is satisfied. He added that all that was lost by the transgression of Adam was made good by the atonement: all that was lost by the fall was made good by the sacrifice.'" (page 104)

"The second statement was one dictated by Jonathan Harnett of Pleasant Plains, describing a theological discussion in 1858 in Lincoln's office. 'Lincoln covered more ground in a few words than he could in a week, and closed with the restitution of all things to God, as the doctrine taught in the scriptures, and if anyone was left in doubt in regard to his belief in the atonement of Christ and the final salvation of all men, he removed those doubts in a few questions he answered and propounded to others. After expressing himself, some one or two took exceptions to his position, and he asked a few questions that cornered his interrogators and left no room to doubt or question his soundness on the atonement of Christ, and salvation finally of all men. He did not pretend to know just when that event would be consummated, but that it would be the ultimate result, that Christ must reign supreme, high over all. The Saviour of all; and the supreme Ruler, he could not be with one out of the fold; all must come in, with his understanding of the doctrine taught in the scriptures.'" (pages 105-106)

George MacDonald

MacDonald rejected the doctrine of penal Substitutionary atonement as put forward by John Calvin which argues that Christ has taken the place of sinners and is punished by God in their place, believing that in turn it raised serious questions about the character and nature of God. Instead, he taught that Christ had come to save people from their sins, and not from a Divine penalty for their sins. The problem was not the need to appease a wrathful God but the disease of cosmic evil itself. George MacDonald frequently described the Atonement in terms similar to the Christus Victor theory, stating, for example, that the Lord "foil[ed] and sl[ew] evil by letting all the waves and billows of its horrid sea break upon him, go over him, and die without rebound—spend their rage, fall defeated, and cease."

MacDonald was convinced that God does not punish except to amend, and that the sole end of His greatest anger is the amelioration of the guilty. As the doctor uses fire and steel in certain deep-seated diseases, so God may use hell-fire if necessary to heal the hardened sinner. MacDonald declared, "I believe that no hell will be lacking which would help the just mercy of God to redeem his children." MacDonald posed the rhetorical question, "When we say that God is Love, do we teach men that their fear of Him is groundless?" He replied, "No. As much as they fear will come upon them, possibly far more. . . . The wrath will consume what they call themselves; so that the selves God made shall appear."

Anne Bronte

In 1843 Anne Bronte wrote a poem entitled A Word to the Elect strongly advocating a universalist theology. Excerpt:

That as in Adam all have died,

In Christ shall all men live;

And ever round his throne abide,

Eternal praise to give.

That even the wicked shall at last

Be fitted for the skies;

And, when their dreadful doom is past,

To life and light arise.

I ask not, how remote the day,

Nor what the sinners' woe,

Before their dross is purged away;

Enough for me, to know

That when the cup of wrath is drained,

The metal purified,

They'll cling to what they once disdained,

And live by Him that died.

Murphy-O'Connor

In January 2005, the Roman Catholic leader in England and Wales, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor spoke of his hope for universal reconciliation, saying of hell that "we're not bound to believe that anybody’s there". He also said "I cannot think of heaven without thinking of being in communion with all the saints and with all the people I've loved on this earth.” Catholic Herald, 7 January 2005, [5].

William Barclay

Excerpt from William Barclay's article entitled "I am a Convinced Universalist"

I am a convinced universalist. I believe that in the end all men will be gathered into the love of God. In the early days Origen was the great name connected with universalism. I would believe with Origen that universalism is no easy thing. Origen believed that after death there were many who would need prolonged instruction, the sternest discipline, even the severest punishment before they were fit for the presence of God. Origen did not eliminate hell; he believed that some people would have to go to heaven via hell. He believed that even at the end of the day there would be some on whom the scars remained. He did not believe in eternal punishment, but he did see the possibility of eternal penalty. And so the choice is whether we accept God's offer and invitation willingly, or take the long and terrible way round through ages of purification.

Gregory of Nyssa offered three reasons why he believed in universalism. First, he believed in it because of the character of God. "Being good, God entertains pity for fallen man; being wise, he is not ignorant of the means for his recovery." Second, he believed in it because of the nature of evil. Evil must in the end be moved out of existence, "so that the absolutely non-existent should cease to be at all." Evil is essentially negative and doomed to non-existence. Third, he believed in it because of the purpose of punishment. The purpose of punishment is always remedial. Its aim is "to get the good separated from the evil and to attract it into the communion of blessedness." Punishment will hurt, but it is like the fire which separates the alloy from the gold; it is like the surgery which removes the diseased thing; it is like the cautery which burns out that which cannot be removed any other way.

Universalist movement

The post-enlightenment, universalist movement led to the formation of the Universalist Church of America, which later merged in 1961 with the American Unitarian Association to form the Unitarian Universalist Association. However, because Unitarian Universalism is officially creedless, no member of that denomination is required to believe in the doctrine of universalism. Many Anglicans also adhere to a universalist doctrine.

Early Universalists in North America include John Murray and Thomas Potter in 1770. The story goes that God told Potter that he was to go and rescue the one swimming from a boat that had hit a sandbar and that this person would be the one he was waiting for. Murray preached to Potter's neighbours and the word spread like wildfire.

Hosea Ballou, who is sometimes called an ultra-universalist, is often recognized as the great theologian of American Universalism, having written thousands of sermons as well as essays, hymns and treatises. Ultra-universalism is the belief that all sin is directly punished by the consequences in the sinner's own life. No further recompense being necessary after death, every soul is directly reuinted with God in Heaven. The more common, and less extreme version of the Universalist doctrine is that Hell does indeed exist and many souls may end up there, however, Hell is not a realm of eternal punishment. Instead God continues to care for the souls in Hell until, eventually, God's infinite, patient love will outlast the sinner's ability to resist. When, at last, the sinner who had turned away from God turns back to the God who had never turned away, the sinner will be removed from Hell to enjoy the salvation God had always intended for all creation.

Tentmaker, a Christian ministry which espouses eventual, universal salvation, has several books written at the end of the 19th century online. J.W. Hanson's books are the most thorough and scholarly, as opposed to devotional.