This series is based on a paper I wrote for my Systematic Theology class on Christocentric Universalism. It was called, “Assessing the Biblical, Theological, and Practical Implications of Christocentric Universalism and Exclusivism.” I’ll be posting the sections of the paper over the next 2 weeks. I hope it helps you wade through the weighty topics of the nature of salvation, the character of God, and final judgement. Also, please share your own thoughts to help me continue wrestling.
The Series
1. Introduction
2. Biblical Assessment
3. Theological Assessment
4. Practical Assessment
5. Assessing the Polarities
6. Conclusion
To be honest, at times I have resonated with Christocentric Universalists. I like the idea that God’s heart and posture toward humans is that of a hyper-Lover who will go to any length and exhaust every grain of patience until the very last stray sheep has been found and returned to His pasture. It seems like the Story we find in the Scriptures is written large with this patient, gracious Lover. Throughout the whole of the Hebrew narrative we see a very gracious, patient Lover who is in constant pursuit of His people. In the Book of Jonah we see a God who goes to great lengths to give even a pagan nation that is clearly outside the borders of His chosen people the equal opportunity to repent and turn to the one true God, a God who is willing to relent from sending calamity and judgment. Clearly, the Holy Scriptures reveal a hyper-relational, hyper-patient, and hyper-gracious Lover who is in pursuit of humans for the sake of rescue and re-creation. Even this God of the Bible pursues those not considered part of the inside group.
I like this idea that all humans will eventually accept Jesus’ act of rescue and find ultimate re-creation. I really hope that this is the case. You might call me a Hopeful Christocentric Universalist: I really hope (and I am hopeful) that all will eventually turn to Christ and be rescued and re-created in Him.
But the problem I have is this: what if I’m wrong?
While I definitely sympathize with Christocentric Universalists, I think there is enough thrust in the teachings of Jesus and Scriptural narrative to suggest not all are included in God’s final act of re-creation. Since there is the very real possibility of millions of people experiencing everlasting separation from the Creator, the Church must urgently declare the rescue made possible through Jesus. We must intentionally both bring and be the remedy for the world. We need to be honest, yet gentle, about the aspects of the teaching of Jesus and the whole of the Holy Scriptures that speak of judgment and the separation between followers and non-followers. If we do not take seriously Jesus’ call to embody, demonstrate, and proclaim the rescue and re-creation possible through His Kingdom, the consequences will be catastrophic. Because both the entire Holy Scriptures and teachings of Jesus clearly exhibit a reality of future judgment, I’d say the prospect that some humans will ultimately exclude themselves from the Kingdom is very likely. But while I do believe in final judgement and a separation of those who have rejected God from those who have lived unrepentant, selfish, and rebellious lives, I am compelled by the hyper-lover that is found throughout the Holy Scriptures. While all will face judgement and some will be lost forever to everlasting death. I am certain that the mercy and grace of God is wide, deep, and strong enough to include a multitude of people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and lifestyle at the beloved throne of the Lamb.
Hi Mr.Bourna ,
Fascinating article you have posted .
Let me first make the disclaimer that I am NOT a postmodernist. There are edifying aspects to the emergent church movement, however, postmodernism is not one of them . Postmodernism is a duplicious ideology . (I noticed the reference to postmodernism in the heading of the present website .
Wanted to make that disclaimer– since universalism is *separate * from postmodernism —despite the disturbing tendency of some to make loose associations between the two .
I am someone who (like you do) hopes that there one day will be a universal salvation , though at the same time , emphasizing that we still should (as Christians) still be quite dedicated to the Great Commission to , ‘go and teach all nations ..
PREFACE
Here is a copy of a an essay I posted on another forum that mentions how Moses presented arguments to God in Exodus not to go through with the [tenative] plan to destroy the Israelites, when he witnessed them worshipping the golden calf in the wilderness , and persuaded God to not go through with the planned destruction. If Moses interceeded and persuaded God to not go through with fostering a grim state of affairs for the wayward Israelites in the Sinai , there is a precedent on how God could be persuaded by polite , reasonable argument to reverse some punitive judgement . Thus, the thesis of the essay (I’d like to post below) is that if God was persuaded by argument to reverse a judgement against the Israelites, it is then plausible that God might be persuaded by the prayers and intercession of Christians to let people out of whatever “hell ” they may have been dammed to and send them somewhere else.
Even if that somewhere else is some sort of neutral place which has neither the privations of hell nor the rewards of heaven .
In Exodus 32:7-14 and Numbers 24:11-30 Moses presents respectful arguments to Yahweh (God) for God NOT to go ahead with an apparently tenative plan to destroy the Isrealites after the Isrealites had severely offended their Lord . According to both texts God is evidently persuaded by the arguments presented by Moses and does NOT go ahead with the announced plan to destroy or disinherit the Israelites .
Moses thus interceeds on the behalf of these people who have severely offended God and persuades God to show them mercy / grant them clemency .
THE QUESTION WHICH WE OUGHT TO ASK IS :
If it is a good act for Moses to interceed on behalf of those in Old Testament times who had offended him and to try to persuade God grant them some sort of pardon —wouldn’t it behoove us to take an approach in the spirit of Moses and ask God to pardon the souls of whatever atheists and sinners might be in “hell” and have Jesus redeem those souls out of hell –or at least give them remediation –if not full redemption so that nthey may be taken to another place than a “hell” ?
After all , a person doesn’t have to be Moses to adopt the example of interceeding on behalf of the fallen and /or unbelieving , that Moses adopted .
According to the book of Revelation, Jesus has the keys to death and hell (or Hades —to use the apparent word in the original Greek) . A key can be used to unlock as well as lock in .
Many Fundamentalists like to quote Hebrews 9:27 that reads , ‘It is appointed unto men once to die and after that cometh judgement’ , yet here with the case of Moses interceeding on behalf of the Isrealites we have a case of a Divine Judgement being *reversed*, by someone presenting respectful to God arguments, on behalf of the other people .
(It is interesting to note , by the way, that Hebrews 9:27 does NOT state that the judgement takes place immediately after death —it reads ‘after’ but it does NOT read “immediately after” . It is also interesting when unpacking the concept of divine Judgement in the Bible that Isaiah 1:27 refers to judgement as having a redeeming and NOT just punitive role , ‘Zion shall be redeemed with judgement ‘) .
Perhaps as the Isrealites were shown clemency by Moses interceeding on the behalf of those unbeliving Israelites, perhaps the souls of atheists and sinful hedonists who are in a “hell” might be shown clemency by us, who are Christians asking God to send Jesus to let them out of such a realm of damnation ?
FIXING A TYPO (NOTE)
Whoops. Yours truly accidentally left out the beginning paragraph when he tried to copy and paste the text . Here, below is the beginning paragraph .
In Exodus 32:7-14 and Numbers 24:11-30, Moses presents respectful arguments to Yahweh (God) for God NOT to go ahead with an apparently tenative plan to destroy the Isrealites after the Isrealites had severely offended their Lord . According to both texts God is evidently persuaded by the arguments presented by Moses and does NOT go ahead with the announced plan to destroy or disinherit the Israelites .
Moses thus interceeds on the behalf of these people who have severely offended God and persuades God to show them mercy / grant them clemency .
THE QUESTION WHICH WE OUGHT TO ASK IS :
If it is a good act for Moses to interceed on behalf of those in Old Testament times who had offended him and to try to persuade God grant them some sort of pardon —wouldn’t it behoove us to take an approach in the spirit of Moses and ask God to pardon the souls of whatever atheists and sinners might be in “hell” and have Jesus redeem those souls out of hell –or at least give them remediation –if not full redemption so that nthey may be taken to another place than a “hell” ?
After all , a person doesn’t have to be Moses to adopt the example of interceeding on behalf of the fallen and /or unbelieving , that Moses adopted .
According to the book of Revelation Jesus has the keys to death and hell (or Hades —to use the apparent word in the original Greek) . A key can be used to unlock as well as lock in .
Many Fundamentalists like to quote Hebrews 9:27 that reads , ‘It is appointed unto men once to die and after that cometh judgement’ , yet here with the case of Moses interceeding on behalf of the Isrealites we have a case of a Divine Judgement being reversed by someone presenting RESPECTFUL to God arguments on behalf of the other people .
(It is interesting to note , by the way, that Hebrews 9:27 does NOT state that the judgement takes place immediately after death —it reads after but it does NOT read “immediately after” . It is also interesting when unpacking the concept of divine Judgement in the Bible that Isaiah 1:27 refers to judgement as having a redeeming and NOT just punitive role , ‘Zion shall be redeemed with judgement ‘) .
Perhaps, as the Isrealites were shown clemency by Moses interceeding on the behalf of those unbeliving Israelites, perhaps the souls of atheists and sinful hedonists who are in a “hell” might be shown clemency by us who are Christians asking God to send Jesus to let them out of such a realm of damnation ?
Furthermore, how about having the scriptures that indicate that God desires all mankind to be saved like John 3:17 be the scriptures to interpret the other scriptures that seem to refer to a permanent punishment —instead , of the other way around ?
Jesus repotede that there be few that find the narrow pathy, but he did NOT say there be few that ever find it . It is quite plausible that he meant there be few that find it during the time period of ancient Isreal when he was teaching .