Two months ago I invited philosopher Eric Reitan to participate in an emailed interview on the occasion of his book God’s Final Victory: A Comparative Philosophical Case for Universalism (co-authored with John Kronen) being offered in soft cover. Eric graciously agreed and the fascinating exchange that resulted is recorded below. If you’d like to hear more from […]
universalism
The Reason for Hell: A critical engagement with Timothy Keller (Part 2)
This article continues my critical engagement with Timothy Keller’s treatment of hell in “How can a loving God send people to Hell?” chapter 5 of The Reason for God. For part 1 click here. Keller’s treatment of hell in chapter 5 contrasts with his treatment of science in chapter 6. In the science chapter Keller emphasizes […]
Does universalism undermine Christian mission?
It is a common objection to the doctrine of universal salvation. And Walter expresses it well: the Christian message loses its urgency–less pews would be filled, less tithes collected, and less need for dangerous missionary trips if everyone makes it to heaven. To put it bluntly: fear of a terrible hell fuels the growth of […]
Why Calvinists should be universalists or Arminians
Over the years as I have engaged in extended discussions with Calvinists over election and the divine nature I have often found the same two red herrings being pulled out just as things start to heat up. And so it is in my recent discussion with a Calvinist named Kerry over my critique of another Calvinist (Andrew). Given that I think […]
Why Eternal Conscious Torment isn’t the only game in town for a Christian
MGT2 writes: “I believe that the Bible teaches eternal conscious torment (and I still cannot see how one can deny that after considering the whole of Scripture)….” Allow me to explain. First, many scriptural passages appear to teach a universal restoration of all things. The advocate of ECT interprets those texts in light of the passages they have already decided […]
Why isn’t a universal atonement a more successful atonement?
Gene: “Isn’t the purpose of the Cross to save the world? Does the percentage change the purpose?” While I am not myself a universalist I continue to be puzzled at some of the assumptions that non-universalist Christians have about the position. For example, in “Hell if universalism is true” I I provided one possible model […]
Hell if universalism is true
What is hell like if universalism is true? The nineteenth century novelist and universalist George MacDonald has a great description of what it might be like in his novel Lilith. But since I don’t have the novel in front of me, I’ll offer my own proposal: a native healing circle. So what is a “healing circle” […]
“Heresy” and Christian Publishing
This week I heard from a very intelligent and respected senior member of the evangelical community in North America. Let’s call this individual Quentin (not the individual’s real name). Quentin has written a manuscript defending a Christian form of universalism, one that upholds the authority of scripture, the atoning work of Christ and all the other essentials. […]
Must Hitler burn forever?
In case you’ve been thinking about hell a lot lately, or even if you haven’t, have I got a rather sobering treat for you. Today I am making available for you free of charge a thirty-three page chapter I wrote on the doctrine of hell for a book manuscript called The Crazy Things We Believe. […]
Free will, hell, and reasonable appeals to emotion
Many good conversations were had over my four days at Notre Dame University. One of the more interesting conversations occurred with one particular philosopher and concerned the topic of hell. (The philosopher will remain nameless since it is awkward to begin contacting people and asking for their permission to use their name in a blog post based […]
The very worst reason to reject universalism
While at “The Christian Post” I came across a blog article by an apparently popular Christian author / speaker named “Ray Comfort” who claims to have written more than seventy books and who apparently hosts a TV show with Kirk Cameron, the one-time child sitcom star who grew up to become the protagonist in low-budget […]
Rob Bell, the heresy hunters, and the evangelical culture of fear
Apparently there was quite a kerfuffle this week when word got around that Rob Bell’s new (and as yet still unreleased) book Love Wins is, or probably does, or might, support universalism in some way. Apparently it all started when influential blogger Justin Taylor concluded after viewing a two minute promotional video that Bell is a […]
Hopeful Universalism and the Lottery Illustration
In “Does universalism have a chance in hell of being true?” I argued that there is indeed a case to be made for universalism just like there is a case to be made for Calvinism and Arminianism. It may not be as strong a case, but there is a case to be made. This means […]
Does universalism have a chance in hell of being true?
Thomas Talbott has pointed out that one can find evidence from scripture to support the following three incompatible claims: (1) God wants to save everyone (2) God can save everyone (3) Not everyone will be saved Since this is an inconsistent set, a person has to give up at least one of these propositions. And […]
