Greetings!
Here's my relevant info:
- recently graduated from a popular evangelical university with a B.S. in Pastoral Ministry (emph. Theology)
- enamored with the Bible since childhood
- enamored with systematic theology since late youth
- since around the turn of the millennium, have believed in universal salvation
- recently published a universalist systematic theology with apologetic undertones titled The Superior Religion? Christianity and the Human Condition (available only at Amazon)
It's nice to meet you all.
Hi and welcome!
Welcome. I'd be interested in hearing about your journey, given that it sounds like you went to a mainstream Bible college while believing in UR. It seems like you'd have an interesting story, how you "juggled all that", etc. :)
Blessings, James.
Yeah, like some of you, I was a Universalist long before Rob Bell made it hip (haha).
In response to your question, I got by with "smiling and nodding" during the actually very few lectures that addressed the doctrine of eternal damnation (I could count them on one hand), and convincing several my close inner circle of godly Christians one-by-one that UR (as you put it) might not be as heretical as they'd presumed. One of the advantages of attending an evangelical university and listening to many, many lectures on systematic theology given by truly intelligent and wise Christians, and having to write dozens of university-level essays on doctrine and pastoral practice, was that it behooved me to develop a biblical systematic theology of my own that could stand up strongly against opposing arguments. It took years, but I finished it and published it. I would be lying if I said that UR was the focus of the book; it is not the focus, but the explicit consequence of the system detailed. Reaffirming the Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) over the Binity (the Father, the Son, and a glorified pixie) was its focus.
Hi there :Peace2:
I saw your book on Amazon, is it only available on Kindle?
Cheers, and Blessings
Sarah.
I'm afraid it's available only in Kindle for the time being. My contract with Amazon also prohibits me from making it available online by any other means. However, here is a brief snippet from a chapter that features logical but highly improbable satirical narratives pertaining to the End:
QuoteAs empathetic misery overtakes the relatively few and fortunate citizens of Neo-Jerusalem, they begin to beg the Almighty to release the inhabitants of Hell. To their dismay, he remains silent and stoic. The Apostles instruct the Faithful to begin to pray on their behalf, that they be granted wisdom as to what course of action to pursue. The Twelve hold council and eventually recall the words the Lord had spoken millennia earlier: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained ." They rise and endeavor to recall every sin that anyone now in Hell had ever committed against them, explicitly pronouncing forgiveness for each such wrongdoing. The rest of the citizens follow suit, each forcing himself or herself to recall every transgression ever taken against him or her and then gladly forgiving it. Those who had been martyred because of their testimony forgive. Those who had been robbed proclaim forgiveness. Betrayed spouses forgive. Those whose loved ones had been murdered and those who had been murdered also publicly release their attackers from guilt. There are children who had died in loneliness and confusion after years of having been cruelly caged and regularly beaten by their parents. They, too, forgive. The victims of rape shout, "I forgive!" Those whose young children had been kidnapped, assaulted, and murdered forgive. So great is the Faithful's compassion for those suffering in Hell that they do not so much as pause in their venture until, months later, they have recalled and forgiven every sin ever committed against them. And yet... the gates of Hell remain closed. With great disappointment, the sons and daughters of righteousness realize that the Almighty himself refuses to forgive. Bewilderment sweeps through Heaven, for the children of God have surpassed God in godliness; their compassion has exceeded that of the Almighty. (The Superior Religion? Christianity and the Human Condition, 2013)
Thanks for sharing, :friendstu:
I believe an ET person would refute this ideology and throw the scripture Isaiah 65:17 "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."
How would you harmonize this? (I am Interested in your opinion btw, not trying to refute it) :)
Ah, the old, "Wow, things didn't turn out too well. I'd better erase everyone's memory so nobody remembers how royally I goofed" suggestion. Meh, piece-of-cake: 1 John 3:2 + Jesus retained his memories after his resurrection = refuted. Of course, such a simplistic retort wouldn't pacify the zealous. Nor would it pacify those who've been trained in concise systematic theology. For them, an intricate response steeped in logic, Christian metaphysics, soteriology, and teleology is necessary, and that's what is provided in the book. And, no, hehe, I don't think I could get away with posting that much text from the book here. For those familiar with the term summa theologica, that's what the book resembles. It's heavy reading.
"Wow, things didn't turn out too well. I'd better erase everyone's memory so nobody remembers how royally I goofed" :LH:
I think the fact that some ET believers take peace in the thought of their memory will be wiped after death is so they don't have to face the fact they should, and will forgive all those that they feel have trespassed them.
Example: Lucy is a Traditional Christian, she loves Jesus, and believes he died for her. One day something terrible happened to Lucy, her daughter was found dead, raped and beaten. The killer was found, however Lucy feels that no amount of time served in jail can make up for the loss of her daughter. Despite knowing she can not openly hate him, because of her faith, she instead pictures him burning in hell, and this satisfies her enough. Lucy dies with this in her heart, Lucy dies with no forgiveness for her daughters killer.
If Lucy died in this state will God correct her, and release her from the bonds of hate? Or would he just simply wipe her memory clean of the whole thing all together (she still has not forgiven, purely because she can not remember)?
I think we both know the answer :Peace2:
Welcome to Tentmaker, and I hope we hear gobs from you in future. :friendstu: