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

At no other point in the world’s history has humanity been as interconnected and interdependent as it is at the start of the 21st century thanks to the phenomenon of globalization. This summer, bomb blasts in Nigeria brought Grand Rapids commuters to their knees with a spike in gas prices. Droughts in the South Pacific forced rice rationing in California. Chrysler cars are produced in The United Mexican States, while Honda cars roll off assembly lines in the State of Ohio. The world is more interconnected spiritually, too. People of Buddhist, Muslim, and Sikh faiths are no longer thought of (entirely) as a “them” across two oceans, but rather live just over privacy fences from Maine to Kansas to New Mexico. Furthermore, through internet social communities, like chat rooms and MySpace, these other “faith stories” have crowded out the Christian story, preventing any one faith from legitimately claiming to be the sine qua non of reality defining stories. Though immediate assumptions of globalization relate to world economic aland political interconnectedness, the Church is beginning to feel the full weight of global religious and spiritual connected, too. Consequently, it has become far more difficult to write-off people of differing religious faiths and is forcing conversations about the nature of salvation, the character of God, and ultimately God’s judgement of humans upon the return of Christ. Because Muslims are now neighbors to Catholics and Buddhists co-workers of Evangelicals, conversations about who is “in” and who is “out”—in other words, who is saved or not—are taking on new meaning, and taking interesting twists.

Brian McLaren, for instance, in The Secret Message of Jesus, wonders aloud if people of other faiths “get it” better than Christians do, leading him to suggest Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and even former atheists will come from every corner of the earth “to enjoy the feast of the Kingdom in ways that those bearing the name Christian” will not. Similarly, Franciscan priest Brennan Manning suggests there will be a multitude at the feast of the Kingdom who wanted to be faithful, but were “defeated, soiled by life, and bested by trials.” He explains that because salvation is by grace through faith, a diverse crowd will stand before the Lamb, because they have had their robes washed by the blood of the Lamb, without explain how this is so:

I shall see the prostitute from the Kit-Kat Ranch in Carson City, Nevada, who tearfully told me she could find no other employment to support her two-year-old son. I shall see the woman who had an abortion and is haunted by guilt and remorse but did the best she could faced with grueling alternatives; the sexually-abused teen molested by his father and now selling his body on the street, who, as he falls asleep each night after his ‘trick,’ whispers the name of the unknown God he learned about in Sunday school; the deathbed convert who for decades had his cake and ate it, broke every law of God and man, wallowed in lust and raped the earth.

Both authors illustrate a contemporary trend within mostly evangelical discourse to re-think the nature of salvation, the character of God, and outcome of final judgement. This “re-thinking” effort has led to a resurgence of Christocentric Universalism. While this idea is not entirely innovative and new, it does come during a time of intense multiculturalism and sensitivities within the broader culture toward other faiths. Because the broader culture is hyper-sensitive to the belief and faith systems of “the other,” so too is the Church becoming as sensitive and accepting. This renewed form of universalism is countered by others, especially within evangelicalism, who insist that salvation comes through conscious faith in Christ, God clearly insists some will be saved and others not, and judgement and its consequence are real. I. Howard Marshall frames the response to Christocentric Universalists by Exclusivists by saying, “The New Testament does not teach nor imply universal salvation. It teaches the reality of final judgement on the impenitent and sadly it states that some will be lost. That is why there is such an urgency to proclaim the gospel to all the world.”

Christocentric Universalism and Exclusivism, then, bookend a broader conversation on the doctrines of salvation, final judgement, and to a lesser extent God Himself. While both claim to be theologically valid, how should we assess these two polarized positions in light of the broad narrative of the Holy Scriptures, historical discourse on doctrine, and existential encounter with the global other? Likewise, might there be a third way that affirms what is real from either positions? This paper will assess Christocentric Universalism and Exclusivism biblically, theologically, and practically, while providing a possible third way. While not exhaustively explored, these three categories will help assess what might be true from each to provide a framework for talking about the nature of salvation, the character of God, and results of final judgement upon the return of Jesus Christ within our twenty-first century global culture.