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Christian Universalism
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Christian Universalism is a set of theological beliefs about God, Christ, and the origin and destiny of the human soul, emphasizing the unconditional parental love of God and God's plan to redeem, restore, and transform all people through Christ. This spiritual belief system has existed in various forms at various times during the past 2000 years.
Christian Universalists claim that their beliefs were the most common interpretation of Christianity in Early Christianity, prior to the 6th century.
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Encyclopedia
Christian Universalism is a set of theological beliefs about God, Christ, and the origin and destiny of the human soul, emphasizing the unconditional parental love of God and God's plan to redeem, restore, and transform all people through Christ. This spiritual belief system has existed in various forms at various times during the past 2000 years.
Christian Universalists claim that their beliefs were the most common interpretation of Christianity in Early Christianity, prior to the 6th century. Today it is regarded as a heretical view of the Gospel by most Christian denominations. However, a substantial minority of Christians from a diversity of denominations and traditions appear to believe in the controversial tenets of this belief system, such as the reality of an afterlife without the existence of an eternal hell.
Christian Universalism is not the same thing as Unitarian Universalism. In fact, only a small percentage of Unitarian Universalists are Christian. There is currently no single denomination uniting Christian Universalists, but a few denominations teach some of the principles of Christian Universalism or are open to them. In 2007, the Christian Universalist Association was founded to serve as an ecumenical umbrella organization for churches, ministries, and individuals who believe in Christian Universalism.
Beliefs
The central beliefs of Christian Universalism are as follows:
- God is the loving Parent of all people.
- Jesus Christ reveals the nature and character of God and is the spiritual leader of humankind.
- The Bible is an authoritative textual source of divine revelation, but not the only source of spiritual truth.
- Sin has negative consequences for the sinner either in this life or the afterlife (some concept of karma or purgatory), but the penalty for sin is not eternal (i.e. doctrines of damnation to hell and annihilationism are rejected).
- Universal reconciliation: All souls are reconciled to God without condition.
- Theosis as the meaning of salvation: All souls will ultimately be conformed to the image of divine perfection in Christ.
The first five of these beliefs were found in the Five Principles of Faith adopted in 1899 by the Universalist General Convention, a historical Christian denomination which was later called the Universalist Church of America. All six of these beliefs are found in the statement of faith adopted in 2007 by the Christian Universalist Association. The inclusion of the last belief reflects a modern revival of the concept of theosis (often called "Manifest Sonship" or "Christedness") among Christians who believe in universal reconciliation, especially those with a background in the Charismatic movement or the New Age and New Thought movements.
History
Christian Universalism is a religious faith with a rich history. Arguably it dates back to Jesus and the Apostles of the New Testament. It certainly dates back to the first few centuries of the Christian Church. The most active historical periods for Christian Universalism were in the 2nd through 4th centuries C.E., the 18th and 19th centuries, and the latter half of the 20th century through the present day.
Biblical origins
Christian Universalists argue that Jesus taught Universalist principles including universal reconciliation and the divine origin and destiny of all people, and that these teachings were further developed by Saint Paul, Saint Peter, and Saint John the Apostle. They also argue that some Universalist principles were taught or foreshadowed in the Old Testament.
Christian Universalists often point to the following Biblical teachings as evidence of Universalism:
- Jesus' Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18:12-14, Luke 15:1-7)
- Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-31)
- Jesus' prophecy that he will "draw all men" to himself (John 12:32)
- Jesus' teaching that God is "Our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9)
- Jesus' teaching that "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40)
- Jesus' statement that human beings are "gods" (John 10:34, quoting Psalm 82:6)
- Paul's teaching that human beings are God's "offspring" (Acts 17:28)
- Paul's teaching that there is "one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:6)
- Paul's teaching that "from [God] and through him and to him are all things" (Romans 11:36)
- Paul's teaching that Jesus is the "firstborn among many brothers" (Romans 8:29)
- Paul's prophecy that "as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22)
- Paul's teaching that "just as the result of one trespass [by Adam] was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness [by Christ] was justification that brings life for all men. ... through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:18-19)
- Paul's teaching that "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19)
- Paul's prophecy that "every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11)
- Peter's teaching that Jesus "died for sins once for all" and "went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago" (1 Peter 3:18-20), so that they may "live according to God in regard to the spirit" (1 Peter 4:6)
- John's teaching that "God is love" (1 John 4:8,16)
- John's teaching that "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5)
- John's teaching that "[Jesus Christ] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2)
- The angel announcing the birth of Jesus to shepherds, saying, "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." (Luke 2:10)
- Old Testament teaching that men and women are created "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27)
- Old Testament teaching that "[God's] anger lasts only a moment" (Psalm 30:5)
- Old Testament teaching that "[God] is good; his love endures forever" (Psalm 106:1, 107:1)
Non-Universalist Christians interpret these Biblical teachings in ways that do not imply Universalism, or point to other verses in the Bible which seemingly contradict Universalist beliefs. Christian Universalists contend that some key words in the original Greek and Hebrew text of the Bible have been mistranslated to strengthen the traditional argument for eternal hell.
Ancient Church
In the first five or six centuries of Christian history, the majority of theological schools in the East taught Universalism. The most important such school was the Didascalium in Alexandria, Egypt, which was founded by Saint Pantaenus ca. 190 C.E. Alexandria was the center of learning and intellectual discourse in the ancient Mediterranean world, and was the theological center of gravity of Christianity prior to the rise of the imperial Roman Church. Alexandrian Christianity emphasized apocatastasis and theosis as its main teachings.
Saint Clement of Alexandria succeeded Pantaenus as the second head of the Didascalium in the late 2nd century. He was a prolific writer who combined Bible scholarship with Greek philosophy to present a systematic theology based on Christian Universalist beliefs.
Origen was the student and successor of Clement of Alexandria. This 3rd century theologian is generally regarded as the most significant of all the ancient teachers of Christian Universalism. He wrote over 6,000 works including commentaries on almost every book of the Bible, sermons, treatises, letters, apologies, and the Hexapla, a scholarly translation of the Old Testament.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa and Saint Macrina the Younger, who were brother and sister, were both prominent Christian Universalists of the 4th century in the Alexandrian tradition of Clement and Origen. Gregory of Nyssa was a bishop and theologian. Macrina the Younger was the leader of a convent of nuns.
Another branch of Christian Universalism in the ancient church, separate from the Alexandria school, was the Nestorian movement which later became the Assyrian Church of the East. Nestorianism originated in the 5th century in Constantinople and Antioch. Theodore of Mopsuestia was an influential bishop who introduced universal reconciliation into the liturgy of the Nestorians, and who is still honored in the Nestorian tradition as the "Interpreter" of the faith.
Middle Ages
The conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine to Christianity and the legalization of the religion in 313 gave increasing influence to the Roman theological school, which taught eternal torment of the wicked. The centralization of the Christian Church under Roman imperial authority and the rise of Latin translations of the Bible instead of the Greek original of the New Testament were major factors in the decline of Alexandrian Christian Universalism.
Saint Augustine's rise to prominence as a theologian in the 5th century was a further blow to Christian Universalism. Augustine created a systematic theology emphasizing original sin, the ontological separation of man and God, predestination, and the damnation of sinners and non-Christians to eternal punishment. Augustine's ideas became a major part of the theological foundation of Western Christianity. Despite his promotion of the idea of eternal hell, Augustine did however admit that many Christians believed in universal reconciliation and he included them among the orthodox.
The Roman Emperor Justinian chose to enforce the theory of eternal damnation over universalism. In 544, the Roman Emperor Justinian pressured a council in Constantinople to condemn Origen as a heretic because of his Universalist beliefs, but this attempt was initially unsuccessful. Origen and a form of apocatastasis were condemned in 544 by the Patriarch Mennas of Constantinople and the condemnation was ratified in 553 by the Fifth Ecumenical Council.. Many heteroclite views became associated with Origen, and the 15 anathemas against him attributed to the council condemn a form of apocatastasis along with the pre-existence of the soul, animism (a heterodox Christology), and a denial of real and lasting resurrection of the body. Some authorities believe these anathemas belong to an earlier local synod.
The Fifth Ecumenical Council has been contested as being an official and authorized Ecumenical Council because it was established not by the Pope, but the Emperor Justinian due to the Pope's resistance to it. It should also be noted that the Fifth Ecumenical Council addressed what was called "The Three Chapters" and was against a form of Origenism which truly had nothing to do with Origen and Origenist views. In fact, Popes Vigilius, Pelagius I (556-61), Pelagius II (579-90), and Gregory the Great(590-604) were only aware the Fifth Council specifically dealt with the Three Chapters and make no mention of Origenism or Universalism, nor spoke as if they knew of its condemnation even though Gregory the Great was opposed to the belief of universalism.
Even after eternal hell became the normative position of the Church, there were still some Christian thinkers during the Middle Ages who embraced Universalist ideas. For example, Johannes Scotus Eriugena was a 9th century Scotch Irish theologian, philosopher, mystic and poet who was proficient in Greek and translated some early Christian writings and Greek philosophy. He taught that human nature is part divine and part animal, that all creatures reflect attributes of God, and that all things will return to God.
Johannes Tauler was a 14th century German Dominican mystic, theologian and preacher who taught Christian Universalism. He was highly esteemed by Martin Luther, who studied his sermons. Tauler was a student of Blessed John of Ruysbroeck, another mystic who had Universalist leanings.
Blessed Julian of Norwich was another 14th century Christian Universalist mystic. She lived in England and spent her life as an anchoress. She had a near-death experience and wrote down her visions of God's universal love and salvation, becoming the first woman to author a book in the English language.
Reformation era
Christian Universalism experienced a revival in the Protestant Reformation, due to the end of the hegemony of the Roman Catholic Church over Western Christianity. The Anabaptists and the Moravians were two early Protestant groups in which the teaching of universal reconciliation was common.
Hans Denck was a 16th century Anabaptist leader in Germany who promoted a radical version of Christian Universalism. He taught Panentheistic ideas about God and his idea of the "Inner Light" within all beings can be seen as a forerunner to the theology of Quakerism, another movement of the Reformation era that revived some Christian Universalist concepts.
Peter Boehler was a bishop in the Moravian Church in the 18th century who spread Universalist beliefs to England and the American colonies. William Law, an Anglican, and James Relly, a Methodist, were other significant 18th century Protestant leaders who believed in Universalism. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, became sympathetic to the teaching of universal reconciliation and embraced it near the end of his life.
Early modern era
In 18th and 19th century America, Christian Universalism experienced its greatest revival since its heyday in the ancient church. The Universalist Church of America, originally called the Universalist General Convention, emerged in the late 1700s from a mixture of Anabaptists, Moravians, liberal Quakers, and people influenced by Pietist movements such as Methodism. Americans from these religious backgrounds gradually created a new denominational tradition of Christian Universalism during the 1800s. The Universalist Church of America grew to be the sixth largest denomination in the United States at its peak.
John Murray, who is called the "Father of American Universalism," was a disciple of James Relly and promoted Relly's Universalist form of Methodism in America. He was a central figure in the founding of the Universalist Church of America in 1793. He served as pastor of the Universalist Society of Boston and wrote many hymns.
Another important figure in early American Christian Universalism was George de Benneville, a French Huguenot preacher and physician who was imprisoned for advocating Universalism and later emigrated to Pennsylvania where he continued preaching on the subject. De Benneville was noted for his friendly and respectful relationship with Native Americans and his pluralistic and multicultural view of spiritual truth which was well ahead of his time. One of his most significant accomplishments was helping to produce the Sauer Bible, the first German language Bible printed in America. In this Bible version, passages teaching universal reconciliation were marked in boldface.
Other significant early modern Christian Universalist leaders include Elhanan Winchester, a Baptist preacher who wrote several books promoting Universalism, founded the first Universalist church in Philadelphia, and founded a church that ministered to African American slaves in South Carolina; Hosea Ballou, a Universalist preacher and writer in New England;; and Hannah Whitall Smith, a writer and evangelist from a Quaker background who was active in the Holiness movement as well as the women's suffrage and temperance movements.
A separate branch of Christian Universalism that arose in the early 1900's was the Primitive Baptist Universalists, also called "No-Hellers." They were were a group of Baptists in the central and southern Appalachian Mountain region of the United States that taught universal reconciliation and, like Hosea Ballou, embraced the "Ultra-Universalist" position that there is no literal hell beyond earth.
The Unity School of Christianity, founded in 1889 by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, has taught some Universalist beliefs such as God's total goodness, the divine nature of human beings, and the rejection of the traditional Christian belief that God condemns people to hell.
Mid 1900s to present
The Universalist Church of America gradually declined in the early to mid 1900s and merged with the American Unitarian Association in 1961, creating the modern-day Unitarian Universalist Association, an interfaith church that does not teach Christian theology. Christian Universalism largely passed into obscurity for the next few decades with end of the Universalist Church as a separate denomination. However, the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship remains as an organization for Christians from the Unitarian Universalist tradition and liberal Christians interested in Unitarianism and Universalism.
Some Christians from a Pentecostal background who were involved in the Latter Rain Movement of the 1940s and 1950s came to believe in the ideas of Christian Universalism on their own, separately from the Universalist Church tradition. They emphasized the teachings of universal reconciliation and theosis. These ideas were spread primarily through newsletters and traveling evangelists from the 1950s to 1980s, and were not typically identified by the term "Universalism." The only significant organization representing these beliefs that emerged within the Charismatic movement|Charismatic tradition was Home Missions Church, a loosely organized network of ministers and house churches founded in 1944.
The rise of the internet in the 1990s has led to an explosion of interest, discussion, and promotion of Christian Universalism through various online ministries and websites. In 2005, Rick Spencer founded Restoration Nation, a ministry which holds annual conferences of believers from across North America. The conversion of Bishop Carlton Pearson to a form of Universalism and his subsequent excommunication by the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops in 2004 caused Christian Universalism to gain increased media attention because of Pearson's popularity and celebrity status. Numerous books about Christian Universalism have been written since the 1990s by authors from a diversity of denominations and religious backgrounds.
In 2007, Eric Stetson and Kalen Fristad gathered a group of thirteen ministers and evangelists from several denominations to found the Christian Universalist Association, an interdenominational organization for churches, ministries, and individuals who believe in Christian Universalism.
Modern Types
Christian Universalism today can be classified into three general types -- Evangelical Universalism, Charismatic Universalism, and Liberal Christian Universalism -- which by themselves or in combinations with one another describe the vast majority of currently existing and identifiable versions of Christian Universalist belief and practice.
Evangelical Christian Universalism
The type of Christian Universalism that departs the least from orthodox or traditional Christian doctrines is Evangelical (Christian) Universalism, also called Biblical or Trinitarian Universalism. Evangelical Universalists hold to conservative positions on most theological or doctrinal issues except for the doctrine of hell, in which case they assert universal reconciliation instead of eternal torment. They tend to emphasize the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ for the sins of all humanity as the basis for their Universalism.
Evangelical Universalists often derive a large part of their beliefs from Evangelicalism and Reformed theology. Many of them come from an Evangelical Christian background, but they may or may not identify with this movement and seek to remain with it.
Some Evangelical Universalists avoid using the word "Universalism" to describe their beliefs, perhaps because of the negative connotations of this word among conservative Christians. Alternative terms that are in use among Evangelical Universalists include the "Larger Hope" or "Blessed Hope" and the "Victorious Gospel."
Charismatic Christian Universalism
Some Christians with a background in the Charismatic movement or Pentecostalism have developed a version of Universalism which could be called Charismatic (Christian) Universalism. Charismatic Universalists usually do not call their theology "Universalism" but commonly refer to their specific beliefs by the terms "Reconciliation" (shorthand for universal reconciliation, the doctrine of apocatastasis) and "Sonship" (shorthand for "Manifest Sonship" which is a variant of the doctrine of theosis). The term "Feast of Tabernacles" is used by some Charismatic Universalists as a term for their post-Pentecostal spiritual tradition, reflecting a symbolic interpretation of this Jewish festival as an entrance into a fuller knowledge and relationship with God and understanding of God's plan for humanity.
Charismatic Universalism is marked by its emphasis on theosis; the idea that the return of Christ is a body of perfected human beings who are the "Manifested Sons of God" instead of a literal return of the person of Jesus; the idea that these Sons will reign on the earth and transform all other human beings from sin to perfection during an age that is coming soon (a version of Millennialism); and the absolute sovereignty of God, the nonexistence or severe limitation of human free will, and the inevitable triumph of God's plan of universal reconciliation.
Many Charismatic Universalists meet in house churches or do not belong to a church at all. Most of the evidence of Universalism existing as a school of thought within the Charismatic movement is found in a large number of internet-based ministries that are informally networked with one another.
Liberal Christian Universalism
A variety of people who have liberal interpretations of Christianity hold Universalist beliefs and can be considered Liberal Christian Universalists. This category of Christian Universalism includes some members of mainline Protestant denominations, some people influenced by the New Age and New Thought movements, some people in the emerging church movement, some Unitarian Universalists who continue to follow Jesus as their primary spiritual teacher, and some Christians from other religious backgrounds who may or may not attend church.
Liberal Christian Universalism emphasizes the all-inclusive love of God and tends to be more open to finding truth and value in non-Christian spiritual traditions compared to the attitude of other forms of Christian Universalism, while remaining generally Christ-centered. In contrast to Evangelical Universalism, Liberal Christian Universalism views the Bible as an imperfect human document containing divine revelations, is not necessarily Trinitarian, and often downplays or rejects blood atonement theology in its view of the crucifixion of Jesus. Some Liberal Christian Universalists believe in mystical, Gnostic, or New Age ideas such as Panentheism and the preexistence and reincarnation of the soul, and New Thought ideas such as the law of attraction. Liberal Christian Universalists sometimes do not view homosexuality as sinful and may advocate equal rights for gay people in the church and in society.
The Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship is an organization for Liberal Christian Universalists, especially those who belong to the Unitarian Universalist Association. The Liberal Catholic Church and the Unity Church are liberal Christian denominations which teach some Universalist beliefs.
Hybrid types
Former Pentecostal Bishop Carlton Pearson's "Gospel of Inclusion" appears to be a hybrid between Charismatic and Liberal Christian Universalism. He is now a minister in the United Church of Christ, a liberal Christian denomination, but continues to believe in some ideas and practices of Pentecostal or Charismatic forms of Christianity. Pearson has also incorporated some New Age and New Thought teachings into his message.
Marquis Hunt, Christian Universalist Association board member, is founder of LifeXchange, Center for Truth and Inner Peace, and innovative spiritual initiative fostering disciplines of love, relationship and creativity based in Little Rock, Arkansas. A life coach, musician, recording artist, and former church pastor, he travels extensively as a conference speaker and seminar leader in New Thought Chrisitanity, artistic innovations and prophetic communication.
Brian McLaren is a Christian leader in the emerging church movement who leans strongly in the direction of Universalism, drawing from both the Evangelical and Liberal traditions.
A number of ministers and evangelists connected with Restoration Nation conferences are Universalists who draw from both the Evangelical and Charismatic traditions. One notable example is Robert Rutherford, a minister from Georgia who was a finalist on The Learning Channel's 2006 reality TV series "The Messengers." Another example is Dick King, an independent Charismatic Baptist pastor in Little Rock, Arkansas, whose church left the Southern Baptist Convention in 2004.
The Christian Universalist Association is putting forth a message which seeks common ground among all major contemporary types of Christian Universalism.
Issues of disagreement among Christian Universalists
There are many religious issues on which Christian Universalists disagree with each other, depending on their theological background and denominational tradition. Some examples include:
- A wide range of ways of understanding the Bible, such as Biblical inerrancy, Biblical infallibility, Biblical criticism and higher criticism. Also various views of the Biblical canon and apocryphal texts.
- Whether God is best described by the orthodox Christian concept of Trinity or in some other way, such as Modalism, Unitarianism, Panentheism, etc.
- Whether Jesus Christ will literally return at some future time (futurism and dispensationalism), or returns metaphorically in the present (amillennialism) or future, or whether these prophecies were fulfilled in ancient times (preterism).
- The specific nature of the afterlife (literal versus metaphoric heaven and hell, purgatory, reincarnation, other ideas).
- Whether the shed blood of Christ on the cross is a literal atonement for the sins of the world or whether this is metaphorical, and what the atonement accomplished -- Anselm of Canterbury's satisfaction (Roman Catholic view), John Calvin's penal substitution (Reformed and common evangelical view), Hugo Grotius' moral government (classical Arminian and Methodist view), Gustaf Aulen's Christus Victor (Eastern Orthodox view, commonly held by Anabaptists), or Peter Abelard's moral influence (modernist-liberal theological view), etc..
- Whether non-Christians can be saved in Christ (inclusivism), whether salvation in Christ is even necessary for all people (pluralism), or whether salvation occurs only after profession of belief in the Lordship of Jesus Christ (exclusivism).
- Whether homosexual relations should be considered sinful in light of the New Testament.
- Whether Christian Universalists should attend denominational churches in the hope of transforming them, or should start their own new churches, or should leave the organized church entirely.
Status as a new religious movement
Currently, Christian Universalism seems to be entering a phase of increasing organization and outreach to various types of Christians. There are some indications that it may be consolidating into a distinct new religious movement. However, some of the leaders of churches and groups that teach Christian Universalism are strongly opposed to forming any type or form of organization or movement.
It is unclear whether Christian Universalism will eventually develop into a new branch of Christianity with one or more new denominations, or whether Christian Universalist beliefs will become common in one or more existing branches of Christianity, or whether Christian Universalism will remain a little known belief system regarded as heretical by most Christians. A significant question is whether Christian Universalists of various types and backgrounds will rally around their shared beliefs to form a cohesive tradition and movement, or whether Christian Universalism will continue to be fragmented into small and isolated groups, limiting its potential for growth and influence.
See also
External links
- -- An interdenominational organization for churches, ministries, and individuals who believe in Christian Universalism.
- -- A ministry that holds conferences and provides videos of ministers who believe in Christian Universalism, especially from the Evangelical and Charismatic traditions.
- -- A large website full of articles, online books, and other resources promoting Christian Universalism.
- -- A listing of many ministries and websites in the Charismatic Universalist tradition.
- -- An organization for Christians within the Unitarian Universalist Association and other liberal Christians who believe in Universalist and/or Unitarian theology.
- -- A website promoting Universalism from an Evangelical Christian perspective.
- -- A magazine and website promoting Universalism from a liberal Christian perspective.
- -- A prominent minister who teaches Christian Universalist beliefs.
- -- A website promoting Christian Universalism with several articles explaining difficult subjects.
- , Chapter Eight in Stephen Palmquist, (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2000) -- Demonstrates that the Eighteenth Century philosopher, Immanuel Kant, regarded the Christian religion as the only "natural religion" that has the potential to be spread to all human beings.
- -- Keith DeRose, Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, defends universalism on biblical grounds.
- -- L. Ray Smith's "Exposing Those Who Contradict"
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