The History of Universalism

[marie glen]

This was interesting.. {though I never find any site, etc that I completely agree with, or with all these folks mentioned in this article.. but if we only read those we agree with 100% we likely wouldn't read anything :laughing7: It's a very interesting summary of the history of universalism.. much bigger than most nowadays believe I'm sure..

https://christianuniversalist.org/resources/articles/history-of-universalism/

towards the end is this:

There were too many significant figures in the 18th and 19th century American Universalist movement to discuss them all in this article. Some of the most influential or notable people include George de Benneville, Elhanan Winchester, Benjamin Rush, Thomas Potter, John Murray, Hosea Ballou, John Wesley Hanson, Hannah Whitall Smith, and Olympia Brown. Many famous Americans of this era believed in Universalism, including such household names as Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States; Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross; and Florence Nightingale, pioneer of modern nursing. The Universalist Church of America grew to be the ninth largest Christian denomination in the United States at its peak.

Which I never heard about this, that's for sure..

...though most people do not know this about him, Lincoln wrote an essay in 1833 arguing for "predestinated universal salvation in criticism of the orthodox doctrine of endless punishment." One of his associates, Isaac Cogdal, reported in a book about a religious discussion 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."

..the Sauer Bible, the first German language Bible printed in America. In this Bible version, passages teaching universal restoration were marked in boldface.

kool! :banana:

[jabcat]

...though most people do not know this about him, Lincoln wrote an essay in 1833 arguing for "predestinated universal salvation in criticism of the orthodox doctrine of endless punishment." One of his associates, Isaac Cogdal, reported in a book about a religious discussion 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."

:2thumbs:

[marie glen]

I really liked reading this too:
(same page)

Benjamin Rush (1745-1813) was a patriot of the American Revolution who signed the Declaration of Independence and was a close friend of both the second and third U.S. presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. He was also a well-respected practicing physician, professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and the founder of Dickinson College. He was a pioneer in the study and treatment of mental illness, who insisted that the insane had a right to be treated humanely and with dignity. Rush is better known for being one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, but not as well known for his strong belief in Universalism, which he hoped would become the dominant religion in America. He attended Elhanan Winchester's church and they became close friends, continuing to correspond after Winchester left Philadelphia. In one letter to Winchester, Rush wrote optimistically that "The Universal doctrine prevails more and more in our country, particularly among persons eminent for their piety, in whom it is not a mere speculation but a principle of action in the heart prompting to practical goodness."

Benjamin Rush said that Elhanan Winchester's Universalist theology "embraced and reconciled my ancient calvinistical, and my newly adopted [Arminian] principles. From that time on I have never doubted upon the subject of the salvation of all men." Rush was also a social reformer who was generations ahead of his time. Among the causes he championed were prison and judicial reform, abolition of slavery and the death penalty, education of women, conservation of natural resources, a healthy diet and abstinence from tobacco and alcohol, and avoidance of war unless absolutely necessary. His belief in the ultimate potential of all people to be educated, improved, and transformed was inspired in part by his Universalist religious beliefs. He wrote, "No particle of benevolence, no wish for the liberty of a slave or the reformation of a criminal will be lost, for they all flow from the Author of goodness, who implants no principles of action in man in vain."

Thomas Potter (date of birth and death unknown) was an illiterate farmer in New Jersey who started a house church, and in 1760, built a chapel on his land for itinerant preachers who taught radical new interpretations of the Gospel — especially Universalism. He was from a Quaker background, inclined to mysticism, and associated with a group called the Rogerines or "Quaker Baptists," one of the early groups of American Christians who taught universal salvation.

Potter befriended the Universalist preacher John Murray in 1770, when the ship on which Murray was traveling from England to America struck a sandbar off the New Jersey coast and he was stranded near Potter's home, where he arrived seeking provisions. Potter invited him in, saying, "I have longed to see you. I have been expecting you a long time!" Potter apparently had had a vision from God that a great minister would arrive at his home and preach the true Gospel in his chapel. John Murray initially protested and said that he was no longer a minister, because he had been expelled from the Methodist church in England, but Potter expressed his fervent belief that the ship had been grounded by an act of Divine Providence and would not be able to sail again until Murray agreed to preach. Murray wanted to sail for New York, but Potter prophesied: "The wind will never change, sir, until you have delivered to us, in that meeting-house, a message from God." The prophecy proved true, for after waiting until the following Sunday for the wind to change, Murray finally agreed to preach a sermon about Universalism — and immediately after his sermon ended, a sailor ran up to him to inform him that the wind had suddenly changed and the ship could sail.

John Murray, the great Universalist preacher who became founder of the Universalist Church of America, said of Potter: "He had unbounded benevolence, was a friend to strangers, and a feeling, faithful man whose hospitable doors were open to everyone, and whose heart was devoted to God." Had it not been for the miracle that took place on the Potter farm, Murray might never have decided to preach again.

According to this article, quite a few universalist leaning folks came to America to escape persecution 'back home'..

As a former New Englander I really enjoyed this too.. good to know about!

Hosea Ballou (1771-1852), a New England itinerant preacher and writer, was an influential but controversial figure in the Universalist movement. He was considered an "Ultra-Universalist" because of his teaching that there is no such thing as hell or punishment after death. Most Universalists disagreed with him and believed in a "Restorationist" view, teaching that there is justice in the afterlife for sinners, who must go through a purgatorial process prior to the ultimate restoration of all. Ballou's extreme rejection of the reality of divine justice does not, however, minimize the great role he played in spreading the overall message of Universalism — a God of love who will save all, rather than damning some. Ballou's most important work was his book A Treatise on Atonement, in which he argued that scripture should be interpreted with the light of reason, and that the traditional view of Christ's death on the cross as a legalistic appeasement of God's anger was incorrect. Instead, Ballou taught that God is inherently loving and does not require the spilling of blood to forgive human sin. Hosea Ballou was a member of the committee that wrote the Winchester Profession, the first major statement of faith for Universalists.

Hannah Whittal Smith was in their list of christian universalists of the past. I first heard about her being universalist here at tentmaker.

John Wesley Hanson (1823-1901) was a prolific writer, theologian, and pastor who served Universalist churches in Massachusetts, Maine, and Iowa, and traveled to Scotland as a Universalist missionary. He wrote many religious books and also worked as a journalist, both for regular newspapers as well as specifically Universalist periodicals. Hanson is not as well known as some of the other important leaders of Universalism in the modern era, but his books did have a major influence and some of them are still available today, either reprinted or on the internet. One of Hanson's notable achievements was that he edited the landmark book, The Congress of the World's Religions, about the Parliament of the World's Religions held in Chicago in 1893. But J. W. Hanson's greatest works were his books about Universalism and Christianity, especially his magnum opus, Universalism, The Prevailing Doctrine of the Church During Its First 500 Years (published 1899). Some of his other books include: Bible Proofs of Universal Salvation; Bible Threatenings Explained; The Bible Hell, which explains Greek and Hebrew words about hell in the Bible that have been mistranslated; and A Cloud of Witnesses, about people throughout history who have taught universal salvation.

Tentmaker has this pdf of four of his writings - https://www.tentmaker.org/books/HansonsFourWorks.pdf

Well gee, I don't suppose I should copy paste / quote all the (more modern) history! :doh: (but I just got to Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911) :doh:

....I didn't know she had a Quaker background..

2 of her books -
The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life
The Unselfishness of God and How I Discovered It. --- Many of today's reprintings of the book omit the chapters promoting Universalism, because it is contrary to the doctrines of the Evangelical Christian publishers, but the original full text is available on the internet.

http://tentmaker.org/site-search.html?q=Hannah%20Whitall%20Smith

From the mid 1800's onward, the Universalist Church of America gradually drifted away from Christian faith and became heavily influenced by the rising ideologies of scientific materialism and secular humanism. More and more energy was focused on social activism rather than spirituality and the proclamation of God and Christ. Along with this shifted emphasis came a decline in membership and financial resources of the church, which culminated in a merger in 1961 with the American Unitarian Association, creating the modern-day Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). The Unitarians were already less Christian and more secular than the Universalists, and after the merger the Unitarians were the dominant branch of the UUA. This caused Christian Universalism to disappear into obscurity during the past several decades, as it was absorbed by Unitarianism.

:mshock: :faint:

It appears that Universalism is beginning to develop into one of the most significant ecumenical movements among Christians of our time.

Towards the end they have a short list of churches that are, mightbe, and, or are not opposed to Christian Universalism.. and an invitation to join them, the Christian Universalist Association - I don't know anything about them, this is the only page i've read.

    :Peace2: