Someone(s) will likely go in later and make [ET] changes;
Anyone please feel free to keep a watch and make sure information presented is not unduly/inaccurately biased against the Victorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. This link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universalism#Christianity as of 12/31/2010, appears as;
"In Christianity, Universalism refers to the belief that all humans may be saved through Jesus Christ and eventually come to harmony in God's kingdom if they choose to repent.[citation needed] This salvation is expressed as being offered not only to the Jew, but also to the Gentile (Romans 1:16,Romans 9:24-25,Revelation 7:9).
The Greek term apokatastasis has been related to Christian Universalism. Additionally the term Catholic is derived from the Greek word katholikos, which means universal. The Catholic Church is universal in the sense that it embraces individuals "from every race, nation, language, and people", but does not Christian Universalism as a sanctioned doctrine.
The Universalist historian George T. Knight (and others) contend that Universalism was a widely held view among theologians in Early Christianity and that in the first five or six centuries of Christianity, there were six known theological schools, of which four (Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, and Edessa) were universalist, one (Ephesus) accepted conditional immortality, and one (Carthage or Rome) taught the endless punishment of the lost.[1] The two major theologians opposing it were Tertullian and Augustine. A case can be made that Gregory of Nyssa was a Christian Universalist in the 18th Century sense.[2]
Christian Universalist ideas are also documented in 17th-century England and 18th-century Europe and America. Gerrard Winstanley (1648), Richard Coppin (1652), Jane Leade (1697), and then George de Benneville in America, taught that God would grant all human beings salvation. Those in America teaching this became known as the Universalists.[3] Today the Unitarian Universalist Association is a liberal denomination, with doctrinal teaching that all are already saved, including those of other faiths. However, there are many who are not affiliated with the UUA who hold to the belief of Ultimate Reconciliation/The Victorious Gospel of Jesus Christ (Biblical Universalism) who believe all will be saved through the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ, but that not all are saved in this age; rather, each in his own order. (I Cor. 15:23)" - credit, wikipedia 12/31/2010
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and in this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_reconciliation#21st_Century , as of 12/31/2010;
"In theology, universal salvation , also called universal reconciliation (in context, simply universalism) is the doctrine that all immortal souls — because of the love and mercy of God — will ultimately be 'reconciled' with God.[1]
Universal salvation may be related to the perception of a problem of Hell, standing opposed to ideas such as everlasting torment in Hell, but may also include a period of finite punishment similar to a state of purgatory.[2] Believers in universal reconciliation may support the view that while there may be a real "Hell" of some kind, it is neither a place of endless suffering nor a place where the spirits of human beings are ultimately 'annihilated' after enduring the just amount of divine retribution.[2] The concept of "reconciliation" is related to the concept of Christian salvation — i.e., salvation from spiritual and eventually physical death — such that the more term, "universal salvation," is functionally equivalent. Univeralists espouse various theological beliefs concerning the process or state of salvation, but all adhere to the view that salvation history concludes with the reconciliation of the entire human race to God. Many adherents[who?] assert that the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ constitute the mechanism that provides redemption for all humanity and atonement for all sins.
Universalism is distinct from modern Unitarian Universalism, which is a syncretic religion that does not recognize Jesus of Nazareth as the unique savior of humankind, although the latter is historically derived from a now-defunct Christian denomination which did affirm that all people would eventually come to salvation through Christ.
A nontraditional alternative to universal reconciliation is the doctrine of annihilationism, often in combination with Christian conditionalism.
[edit] History
The most recent academic survey of the history of Universal Salvation is by Richard Bauckham. He outlines the history thus:
"The history of the doctrine of universal salvation (or apokatastasis) is a remarkable one. Until the nineteenth century almost all Christian theologians taught the reality of eternal torment in hell. Here and there, outside the theological mainstream, were some who believed that the wicked would be finally annihilated (in its commonest form. this is the doctrine of 'conditional immortality').[3] Even fewer were the advocates of universal salvation, though these few included same major theologians of the early church. Eternal punishment was firmly asserted in official creeds and confessions of the churches.[2] It must have seemed as indispensable a part of universal Christian belief as the doctrines of the Trinity and the incarnation. Since 1800 this situation has entirely changed, and no traditional Christian doctrine has been so widely abandoned as that of eternal punishment.[2] Its advocates among theologians today must be fewer than ever before. The alternative interpretation of hell as annihilation seems to have prevailed even among many of the more conservative theologians.4 Among the less conservative, universal salvation, either as hope or as dogma, is now so widely accepted that many theologians assume it virtually without argument."[2]
[edit] Inaccurate sources
Some of the sources concerning Universalism, Universal reconciliation and apokatastasis contain erroneous historical information. For example:
Pierre Batiffol in a article translated in the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1914, cites Grétillut (sic), "Exposé de théologie systématique" Paris, "1890" (sic, 1892) and claims incorrectly that universal reconciliation "reappears at the Reformation in the writings of Hans Denk" and "is found among the Anabaptists, the Moravian Brethren, the Christadelphians, among rationalistic Protestants". These statements are in each case incorrect.
Heinrich Adolf Köstlin, in the "Realencyklopädie für protestantische Theologie" (Leipzig, 1896), I, 617, article "Apokatastasis", names Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia as having also held the doctrine of apokatastasis, but cites no passage in support of his statement.
The Universalist historian John Wesley Hanson (1899) considered that the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine to Christianity and the legalization of the religion in 313 gave increasing influence to the Roman theological school, which taught eternal torment of the wicked. According to Universalist historian John Wesley Hanson (1899)[4] the centralization of the Christian Church under Roman imperial authority and the rise of Latin translations of the Bible instead of the Greek original of the New Testament were major factors in the decline of Alexandrian Christian Universalism.[5] Hanson also claimed that Saint Augustine's rise to prominence as a theologian in the 5th century was a further blow to Christian Universalism. Augustine created a systematic theology emphasizing original sin, the ontological separation of man and God, predestination, and the damnation of sinners and non-Christians to eternal punishment. Augustine's ideas became a major part of the theological foundation of Western Christianity. Despite his promotion of the idea of eternal hell, Augustine did however admit that many Christians believed in universal reconciliation and he included them among the orthodox.[6]
The Universalist historian George T. Knight's article in the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (1911) includes, per Bauckham's studies, figures who may have simply believed in apokatastasis in the Jewish sense used by the apostle Peter. Knight claimed a List of early Christian universalists during the first five or six centuries of Christian history, four of theological schools in the East taught Universalism in combination with the belief in the immortal soul and purification of soul through a form of purgatory.[7]
[edit] Early Christianity
Origen, traditionally considered a 3rd century proponent of Universal Reconciliation[edit] Origen (c.185 – 254)
Origen believed in ultimate reconciliation, and for the first several hundred years of the church, although he was censured for some of his beliefs, universalism was not one of them.
As Christianity became an institutionalized religious system increasingly controlled by sanctioned officials, Origen and a form of apocatastasis were condemned in 544 Patriarch Mennas of Constantinople and the condemnation was ratified in 553 by the Fifth Ecumenical Council. Apocatastasis was considered, in the 19th Century[who?], to refer to Origen's doctrine of Universal Reconciliation. While it applied to a number of doctrines regarding universal salvation, it referred to a return, both to a location and to an original condition. Many heteroclite views became associated with Origen, and the 15 anathemas against him attributed to the council condemn a form of apocatastasis along with the pre-existence of the soul, animism, a heterodox Christology, and a denial of real and lasting resurrection of the body. Some authorities believe these anathemas belong to an earlier local synod.[8][9][10] The Fifth Ecumenical Council has been contested as being an official and authorized Ecumenical Council, since it was established not by the Pope, but rather by the Emperor, because of the Pope's resistance to it. The Fifth Ecumenical Council addressed what was called "The Three Chapters"[11] and was against a form of Origenism which had nothing to do with Origen and Origenist views. Popes Vigilius, Pelagius I (556-61), Pelagius II (579-90), and Gregory the Great (590-604) were only aware that the Fifth Council specifically dealt with the Three Chapters and they made no mention of Origenism or Universalism, nor spoke as if they knew of its condemnation, even though Gregory the Great was opposed to the belief of universalism.[12]
The Fifth Ecumenical Council has been contested as being an official and authorized Ecumenical Council because it was established not by the Pope, but the Emperor Justinian due to the Pope's resistance to it. It should also be noted that the Fifth Ecumenical Council addressed what was called "The Three Chapters" [13] and was against a form of Origenism which truly had nothing to do with Origen and Origenist views. In fact, Popes Vigilius, Pelagius I (556–61), Pelagius II (579–90), and Gregory the Great(590–604) were only aware the Fifth Council specifically dealt with the Three Chapters and make no mention of Origenism or Universalism, nor spoke as if they knew of its condemnation even though Gregory the Great was opposed to the belief of universalism. 1914 [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11306b.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Origen and Origenism --->
[edit] Alexandria
The most important such school was the Didascalium in Alexandria, Egypt, which was founded by Saint Pantaenus ca. 190 C.E.[14] Alexandria was the center of learning and intellectual discourse in the ancient Mediterranean world, and was the theological center of gravity of Christianity prior to the rise of the imperial Roman Church.[15][16]
[edit] Clement of Alexandria (c.150 - c.215)
George T. Knight (1911) claimed that various theologians, including Clement of Alexandria and Origen in the 3rd century, St. Gregory of Nyssa in the 4th century expressed universalist positions in early Christianity.[citation needed]
[edit] Gregory of Nyssa (c.335 – 390s)
Traditional and modern Greek orthodox scholars dispute Pierre Batiffol and George T. Knight's claim that Saint Gregory of Nyssa and Saint Macrina the Younger, who were brother and sister, believed or taught universal salvation. Gregory of Nyssa was declared "the father of fathers" by the seventh ecumenical council.[17][18][19][20][21]
[edit] 7th Century - Isaac of Nineveh
One of the documented teachers of universal salvation is St. Isaac the Syrian in the 7th century,[22]
[edit] Middle Ages
The Universalist John Wesley Hanson claimed that even after eternal hell became the normative position of the Church, there were still some Christian thinkers during the Middle Ages who embraced Universalist ideas. In his Schaff article George T. Knight stated that "maybe" Johannes Scotus Eriugena, Johannes Tauler, Blessed John of Ruysbroeck and Blessed Julian of Norwich had Universalist leanings. No source or evidence is given for these claims. (source?)
[edit] 16th Century - Reformation era
If ideas about the salvation of all souls after purgatory existed in early Christianity they did not resurface in the Reformation, where the main controversy was between the majority who believed in the immortal soul and eternal punishment in hell such as Calvin and a minority, including Luther, who believed in soul sleep. Joachim Vadian and Johann Kessler accused the German Anabaptist Hans Denck of universal salvation, but he denied it, and recent research suggests that this is not so.[23] [24]
The Reformation shows no direct trace of renewed interest in the theological doctrine of the Universal Salvation of all souls. In Universalist literature a German Anabaptist Hans Denck has been commonly cited as a universalist, but recent research suggests that "probably he was not".[25] Hans Hut was deeply influenced by Denck but there is no evidence that he either spread the doctrine of universalism.
[edit] 17th Century
The 17th Century saw the first verifiable believers in universal salvation since Origen, if Origen did in fact believe in universal reconciliation:
Gerrard Winstanley, The Mysterie of God Concerning the Whole Creation, Mankinde (London, 1648);
Richard Coppin A hint of the glorious mysterie of the divine teachings (1649) defended at Worcester Assizes, 1652.
Jane Leade A Revelation of the Everlasting Gospel Message (1697)
Jeremy White (chaplain) chaplain to Cromwell, wrote a book, entitled, The Restoration of all things, which was published after his death (1707) published posthumously, 1712.
[edit] 18th Century (Britain)
George Whitfield in a letter to John Wesley says that Peter Boehler, a bishop in the Moravian Church, had privately confessed in a letter that "all the damned souls would hereafter be brought out of hell"[26] William Law in An Humble, Earnest, and Affectionate Address to the Clergy (1761).[27] an Anglican, and James Relly, a Welsh Methodist, were other significant 18th century Protestant leaders who believed in Universalism.
In 1843 the Universalist Rev J. M. Day published an article "Was John Wesley a Restorationist?" in the Universalist Union magazine suggesting that John Wesley (d.1791) had made a private conversion to Universalism in his last years but kept it secret. Biographers of Wesley reject this claim.
[edit] 18th Century (America)
Universalism was brought to the American colonies in the early eighteenth century by the English-born physician George de Benneville, attracted by Pennsylvania's Quaker tolerance. North American universalism was active and organized. This was seen as a threat by the orthodox, Calvinist Congregationalists of New England such as Jonathan Edwards, who wrote prolifically against universalist teachings and preachers.[28] John Murray (1741–1815)[29] and Elhanan Winchester (1751–1797) are usually credited as founders of the modern Universalist movement and founding teachers of universal salvation.[30] Early American Universalists such as Elhanan Winchester continued to preach the punishment of souls prior to eventual salvation.
[edit] 19th Century
The 19th Century was the heyday of Christian Universalism and the Universalist Church of America.
[edit] 20th Century
The Universalist Church of America merged with the American Unitarian Association in 1961 to form the Unitarian Universalists.
Adolph E. Knoch and William Barclay were universalists. In 1919 the Swiss F. L. Alexandre Freytag led a breakway group of International Bible Students Association (the forerunner of Jehovah's Witnesses).
[edit] 21st Century
Christian or Biblical Universalism continues apart from Unitarian Universalism.
In 2004 the Protestant bishop Carlton Pearson received notoriety when he was officially declared a heretic by the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops. Bishop Pearson, who had attended Oral Roberts University, a conservative Protestant college, formally declared his belief in the doctrine of universal salvation. His church, called the New Dimensions Church, adopted this doctrine,[31] and in 2008, the congregation was merged into All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, one of the largest Unitarian Universalist congregations in the world.[32] His version of universalism differs from Ultimate Reconciliation (Victorious Gospel of Jesus Christ) believers, who stress salvation through the cross of Christ - only some in this age, the rest later - each in his own order. I Cor. 15:23
In 2005, Cardinal Murphy O'Connor, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, expressed his hope that Protestants and non-believers are destined for heaven.[33] and expressed his personal hope that he would be surprised in heaven.[34]
On May 17, 2007, the Christian Universalist Association was founded at the historic Universalist National Memorial Church in Washington, D.C.[35] This was a move to distinguish the modern Christian Universalist movement from Unitarian Universalism, and to promote ecumenical unity among Christian believers in universal reconciliation.
In 2008 the Russian Orthodox bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Vienna, in his presentation at the First World Apostolic Congress of Divine Mercy (held in Rome in 2008), argued that God's mercy is so great that He does not condemn sinners to everlasting punishment. The Orthodox understanding of hell, said Bishop Hilarion, corresponds roughly to the Roman Catholic notion of purgatory.[36]
Modern Bible-believing teachers of ultimate reconciliation include Thomas Talbott, Stephen E. Jones[citation needed], J. Preston Eby[citation needed], Bill and Elaine Cook[citation needed] and Gary Amirault (tentmaker.org)." credit wikipedia 12/31/2010
