The Evangelical Universalist Forum

List of those of who reject traditional hellism

I’m going to tag [tag]JasonPratt[/tag] for you, Pog, re your question for him in your preceding post.

“Therefore, the Christian message points to an ultimate salvation which cannot be lost because it is reunion with the ground of being. This ultimate salvation is also the ultimate revelation, often described as the 'vision of God”. The mystery of being is present without the paradoxa of every revelation in time and space and beyond anything fragmentary and preliminary.

This does not refer to the individual in isolation. Fulfillment is universal. A limited fulfillment of separated individuals would not be fulfillment at all, not even for these individuals, for no person is separated from other persons and from the whole of reality in such a way that he could be saved apart from the salvation of everyone and everything. One can be saved only within the Kingdom of God which comprises the universe. But the Kingdom of God is also the place where there is complete transparency of everything for the divine to shine through it. In his fulfilled kingdom, God is everything for everything. This is the symbol of ultimate revelation and ultimate salvation in complete unity.
The recognition or nonrecognition of this unity is a decisive test of the character of a theology."

Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology, vol. 1

Thanks Cindy and Dave :slight_smile:

Dave, do you think Tillich should be put as a convinced universalist, yes?

“Tillich should be put as a convinced universalist”?

Yes, as well as being a convinc-ING universalist :smiley:

Bios updated as far as Tutt.

Tillich added.

This is from the book, “The Gospel: Universal Restoration,” by Richard Kirsch …

Dr. [G Campbell] Morgan was dubbed “The Prince of Expositors” and “the leading Bible expositor of the 20th Century” by Revell publishers on the back dust jacket of Morgan’s book, “An Exposition of the Whole Bible” (25th printing, January 1993). Here’s the first of two G. Campbell Morgan UR quotations cited in Kirsch’s book:

G. Campbell Morgan – "We cannot conceive of a Creator who knows the end from the beginning, one who is Love, who has infinite wisdom, and infinite power, giving to any being life, life which is never to end, but to continue in suffering to all eternity. The Bible does not teach it anywhere in the original languages. God’s punishments are remedial and take place within the span of the ages during which He is accomplishing the making of man in His image and likeness. Punishment will last no longer than is necessary to bring man to hate his sin and be reconciled to his Saviour. As the judgment came unto all men, even so the free gift came unto all men [Romans 5:18-19]. – From a sermon in Westminster Chapel, London called “The Cross and the Ages to Come.”

Cheers for the info, Quest for Truth :slight_smile:

I’ll add him into the 20thc convinced universalists (by the sound of that quote). Could you have a look over the entry and see if you think it’s ok for him? I admit to not knowing much about him, so clarification of his views would be helpful. Thanks for the contribution, and apologies for the slowness of my response - I only check in every now and again (my bad).

I’ve double-checked the quote and it’s good to go.

Here’s a little more biographical information from *The Gospel – Universal Restoration *by Richard Kirsch …” G. Campbell Morgan, respected and loved throughout the Christian world, had a vast following in this country from coast to coast. He preached to congregations from Los Angeles to London, making the Bible vibrant and alive to children, ministers, and laymen. His more than fifty books have been read by nearly a million people, and his writings are continuing to bring the light of his incomparable exposition to new generations.

Dr. Morgan’s splendid powers of Biblical analysis and synthesis made him the leading Bible expositor of [the 20th] century.”

He lived from 1863 to 1945. He preached his first sermon at age 13, and by age 15 was preaching regularly in country chapels. About this time he became involved with the ministry of evangelist D. L. Moody. In his later days he persuaded the well known evangelical D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones to join him at Westminster Chapel in London in 1939. My impression is that he was not known as a Christian Universalist during most or all of his lifetime.

Cheers Quest! :slight_smile:

Reminder placeholder for me:

‘She lists the following: “Bardaisan, Clement, Origen, Didymus, St. Anthony, St. Pamphilius Martyr, Methodius, St Macrina, St. Gregory of Nyssa (and probably the two other Cappadocians !]), St Evagrius Ponticus [saint in Oriental Orthodox Churches?], Diodore of Tarsus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, St. John of Jerusalem, Rufinus, St. Jerome [until his famous repudiation of Origen] and St. Augustine (at least initially), Cassian, St. Isaac of Nineveh, St. John of Dalyatha, Ps. Dionysius the Areopagite, probably St. Maximus the Confessor, up to John the Eriugena” (p. 11). St Ambrose of Milan also comes close with his belief in the salvation of the baptized.’

Which Clement is it? Same for the rest … Which Didymus etc

Bios updated as far as Alfeyev,Hilarion.

I’ve added a rough entry for Athanasius under disputed universalists, early church. Help with his entry would be appreciated :slight_smile:

Keith Ward

“God’s will, however, is not destruction, but life: ‘As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive’. This ‘all’ is not to be dismissed lightly. It sets up a correspondence between the universal estrangement of humanity, from which none are exempt, and the universal reconciliation of humanity, which similarly refers to human nature as such, and therefore includes all individuals who share human nature. Elsewhere, Paul stresses the same theme: ‘One man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men’” (Religion & Human Nature, pp.320f.)

Good quote, Andrei - thanks for that. I’ll include it with Keith Ward’s bio :slight_smile:

Maybe Paul Tournier?

Beatrice Bruteau

“Nor is death a cut-off, after which its too late and God has to give up. God never gives up, but pursues people forever, hoping to convince them that they are unconditionally loved. This is God’s ‘radical optimism’!”

I cant say I know the names, Andre.

Could you provide some bios and quotes/sources?

Or if anyone else can, please do so :slight_smile:

Hi pog,

Paul Tournier: danmusicktheology.com/paul_tournier/ - this is a dissertation or thesis project on whether he was a universalist, with the conclusions that yes he was. And hre is a (lengthy, sorry) quote:

"That you say as a theologian that I am a universalist is evident, in the sense that I believe that Jesus was sent into the world to save the sinners that we all are. This is what I understand Saint Paul to say when he mentions that sin has entered the world through one man, Adam, and spread to all men, and that he calls Jesus the second Adam through Whom redemption entered the world for all men, and even as he says ‘all of creation,’ that the redemption of Christ is the victory of God over the Fall. I believe that this great plan of salvation is universal, concerns not only all men but the universality of the world and that Jesus on the Cross has accomplished this Salvation, this reconciliation of men with God, that the ‘chastisement’ as Isaiah says is fallen upon Him to free men from the malediction of the Fall. This plan of God therefore seems to be collective, global, universal.

"But I know well that many believers whom I love and whose fervor I admire and whom I consider as my brothers, are more pre-occupied with individual salvation and can refer to numerous Biblical texts concerning individual perdition, hell, and even Jesus’ words, at least as these have been reported by his disciples.

“I stay away with the greatest efforts from any polemics with these brothers. I have several times refused to speak up on such subjects that could open the door to theological controversies that would separate us from one another. This letter which I am writing to you today is very exceptional and I write it only because you force me to. I have participated with much zeal, sincerity and conviction in religious controversies while I was young, fighting for Calvinistic orthodoxy against liberal theology. It is God, at least I believe so, Who stopped me on this road where I was boasting myself to be right and others wrong, whereas there were as many shortcomings in my piety and my behavior. And I notice that when Jesus spoke of the last Judgement the criterion which he chose to separate those on his left from those on his right is not their theological credo, but their charitable behavior. And as we all recognize to have fallen short of charity we find ourselves altogether able to count only on His grace.”

I speak German and have been unable to find a quote by Jens Adam, I’m afraid, although if someone else can find one I’d be happy to translate it.

Are you still looking for more info on Morwenna Ludlow? I think she must be CofE because her bio at Exeter says she is “a Church of England representative in ecumenical dialogue with the Church of Scotland”. There’s more about her here: humanities.exeter.ac.uk/theology/staff/ludlow/

Cheers Susan that’s great. I’ll have some time (I hope) next week, so I should be able to do a few more updates and add those in.

I know that Jens Adam has a book on Pauline Universalism (in German) - but I don’t own it, nor do I know of any extracts from it.

Perhaps more info from here:
amazon.de/Paulus-die-Vers%C3%B6hnung-aller-Heilsuniversalismus/dp/3788723688/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421417178&sr=8-1&keywords=Paulus+und+die+Vers%C3%B6hnung+aller

Yes. I did read the blurb on amazon and it says that the book is a contribution to the debate on Universal reconciliation by examining the writings of Paul, (but without giving any quotes from the book). It then appeared to say that more recent examination of the findings suggests that Paul having universalist views is not a tenable position, but I will have to check that with someone who actually does theology in German to be sure I didn’t misunderstand something.

That’s interesting - I wonder if we’ve mis-catergorised Jens Adam.

I’ve updated Morwenna Ludlow’s entry (thanks), and created an entry for Tournier - could you have a quick look over it and see if it’s ok?

Regarding Beatrice Bruteau, should she be put under pluralist universalists or convinced universalists (or elsewhere) - I don’t know about her?