Universal reconciliation
Encyclopedia
In Christian theology
, universal reconciliation (also called universal salvation, Christian universalism
, or in context simply universalism
) is the doctrine that all sin
ful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy
—will ultimately be reconciled to God
.
Universal salvation may be related to the perception of a problem of Hell
, standing opposed to ideas such as endless conscious torment in Hell
, but may also include a period of finite punishment similar to a state of purgatory
. Believers in universal reconciliation may support the view that while there may be a real "Hell" of some kind, it is neither a place of endless suffering nor a place where the spirits of human beings are ultimately 'annihilated' after enduring the just amount of divine retribution
.
The concept of reconciliation
is related to the concept of salvation
—i.e., salvation from spiritual and eventually physical death—such that the term "universal salvation," is functionally equivalent. Univeralists espouse various theological beliefs concerning the process or state of salvation, but all adhere to the view that salvation history concludes with the reconciliation of the entire human race to God. Many adherents assert that the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ
constitute the mechanism that provides redemption
for all humanity and atonement for all sins.
Universalism is distinct from modern Unitarian Universalism
, which is a syncretic religion that does not recognize Jesus of Nazareth as the unique savior of humankind
, although the latter is historically derived from a now-defunct Christian denomination which did affirm that all people would eventually come to salvation through Christ.
An alternative to universal reconciliation is the doctrine of annihilationism
, often in combination with Christian conditionalism.
. He outlines the history thus:
were condemned in 544 by the Patriarch Mennas of Constantinople and the condemnation was ratified in 553 by the Fifth Ecumenical Council
. Apocatastasis
was interpreted by 19th Century Universalists such as Hosea Ballou
(1842) to be the same as the beliefs of the Universalist Church of America
. However, until the middle of the sixth century, the word had a broader meaning. While it applied to a number of doctrines regarding salvation, it also referred to a return, both to a location and to an original condition. Thus, the Greek word's application was originally broad and metaphorical. 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 New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia claims that the Fifth Ecumenical Council was contested as being an official and authorized Ecumenical Council, since it was established not by the Pope, but rather by the Emperor, because of the Pope's resistance to it. The Fifth Ecumenical Council addressed what was called "The Three Chapters" and was against a form of Origenism which had nothing to do with Origen and Origenist views. Popes Vigilius, Pelagius I (556-61), Pelagius II (579-90), and Gregory the Great (590-604) were only aware that the Fifth Council specifically dealt with the Three Chapters and they made 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.
Fredrick W. Norris maintains Origen may not have strongly believed in universal reconciliation at all. In an article on Apocatastasis
in The Westminster handbook to Origen (2004) he writes that "As far as we can tell, therefore, Origen never decided to stress exclusive salvation or universal salvation, to the strict exclusion of either case."
(1829), Thomas Whittemore
(1830), John Wesley Hanson
(1899) and George T. Knight
(1911) claimed that Clement of Alexandria
expressed universalist positions in early Christianity
. These claims have been controversial since they were first made. In fact Clement used the term apocatastasis
to refer only to the "restoration" of a select few.
and some traditional and modern Greek orthodox scholars dispute Pierre Batiffol
and George T. Knight's claim that Saint Gregory of Nyssa and Saint Macrina the Younger
, who were brother and sister, believed or taught universal salvation.
However, Gregory of Nyssa, in his book Sermo Catecheticus Magnus, described: The annihilation of evil, the restitution of all things, and the final restoration of evil men and evil spirits to the blessedness of union with God, so that He may be 'all in all,' embracing all things endowed with sense and reason.
He further stated, "when death approaches to life, and darkness to light, and the corruptible to the incorruptible, the inferior is done away with and reduced to non-existence, and the thing purged is benefited, just as the dross is purged from gold by fire. In the same way in the long circuits of time, when the evil of nature which is now mingled and implanted in them has been taken away, whensoever the restoration to their old condition of the things that now lie in wickedness takes place, there will be a unanimous thanksgiving from the whole creation, both of those who have been punished in the purification and of those who have not at all needed purification.
in the 7th century,
stated that 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. In his Schaff
article George T. Knight
stated that "maybe" Johannes Scotus Eriugena
, Johannes Tauler
, Blessed John of Ruysbroeck and Blessed Julian of Norwich had Universalist leanings.
Hans Denck
of universal salvation, but he denied it, and recent research suggests that this is not so.
The Reformation
shows no direct trace of renewed interest in the theological doctrine of the Universal Salvation of all souls. In Universalist literature a German Anabaptist
Hans Denck
has been commonly cited as a universalist, but recent research suggests that "probably he was not". Hans Hut
was deeply influenced by Denck but there is no evidence that he either spread the doctrine of universalism.
in An Humble, Earnest, and Affectionate Address to the Clergy (1761). an Anglican, and James Relly
, a Welsh Methodist, were other significant 18th century Protestant leaders who believed in Universalism.
In 1843 the Universalist Rev J. M. Day published an article "Was John Wesley a Restorationist?" in the Universalist Union magazine suggesting that John Wesley
(d.1791) had made a private conversion to Universalism in his last years but kept it secret. Biographers of Wesley reject this claim.
Universalism was brought to the American colonies in the early eighteenth century by the English-born physician George de Benneville
, attracted by Pennsylvania's Quaker tolerance. North American universalism was active and organized. This was seen as a threat by the orthodox, Calvinist Congregationalists of New England such as Jonathan Edwards, who wrote prolifically against universalist teachings and preachers. John Murray
(1741–1815) and Elhanan Winchester
(1751–1797) are usually credited as founders of the modern Universalist movement and founding teachers of universal salvation. Early American Universalists such as Elhanan Winchester
continued to preach the punishment of souls prior to eventual salvation.
and the Universalist Church of America
.
merged with the American Unitarian Association
in 1961 to form the Unitarian Universalists.
Adolph E. Knoch and William Barclay
were universalists. In 1919 the Swiss F. L. Alexandre Freytag led a breakaway group of the Bible Student movement
.
continues as a minority within Unitarian Universalism
.
In 2004 the Pentecostal bishop Carlton Pearson
received notoriety when he was officially declared a heretic by the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops. Bishop Pearson, who had attended Oral Roberts University
, a Charismatic Christian college, formally declared his belief in the doctrine of universal salvation. His church, called the New Dimensions Church, adopted this doctrine, and in 2008, the congregation was merged into All Souls Unitarian Church
in Tulsa, Oklahoma
, one of the largest Unitarian Universalist congregations in the world.
In 2005, Cardinal Murphy O'Connor, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, expressed his hope that Protestants and non-believers are destined for heaven. and expressed his personal hope that he would be surprised in heaven.
On May 17, 2007, the Christian Universalist Association was founded at the historic Universalist National Memorial Church in Washington, D.C.
This was a move to distinguish the modern Christian Universalist movement from Unitarian Universalism
, and to promote ecumenical unity among Christian believers in universal reconciliation.
In 2008 the Russian Orthodox bishop Hilarion Alfeyev
of Vienna, in his presentation at the First World Apostolic Congress of Divine Mercy (held in Rome in 2008), argued that God's mercy is so great that He does not condemn sinners to everlasting punishment. The Orthodox understanding of hell, said Bishop Hilarion, corresponds roughly to the Roman Catholic notion of purgatory.
Modern Bible-believing teachers of ultimate reconciliation include Thomas Talbott
, Stephen E. Jones, J. Preston Eby and Bill and Elaine Cook.
Christian theology
- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
, universal reconciliation (also called universal salvation, Christian universalism
Christian Universalism
Christian Universalism is a school of Christian theology which includes the belief in the doctrine of universal reconciliation, the view that all human beings or all fallen creatures will ultimately be restored to right relationship with God....
, or in context simply universalism
Universalism
Universalism in its primary meaning refers to religious, theological, and philosophical concepts with universal application or applicability...
) is the doctrine that all sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
ful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy
Love of God
Love of God are central notions in monotheistic and polytheistic religions, and are important in one's personal relationship with God and one's conception of God ....
—will ultimately be reconciled to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
.
Universal salvation may be related to the perception of a problem of Hell
Problem of Hell
The "Problem of Hell" is a possible ethical problem related to religions in which portrayals of Hell are ostensibly cruel, and are thus inconsistent with the concepts of a just, moral and omnibenevolent God...
, standing opposed to ideas such as endless conscious torment in Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, but may also include a period of finite punishment similar to a state of purgatory
Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
. Believers in universal reconciliation may support the view that while there may be a real "Hell" of some kind, it is neither a place of endless suffering nor a place where the spirits of human beings are ultimately 'annihilated' after enduring the just amount of divine retribution
Divine retribution
Divine retribution is supernatural punishment of a person, a group of people, or all humanity by a deity in response to some human action.Many cultures have a story about how a deity exacted punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing their doom.An example of divine retribution is the...
.
The concept of reconciliation
Reconciliation
Reconciliation may variously refer to:* Bank reconciliation* Truth and reconciliation commission-Religion:* Sacrament of Penance , also known as Reconciliation...
is related to the concept of salvation
Salvation
Within religion salvation is the phenomenon of being saved from the undesirable condition of bondage or suffering experienced by the psyche or soul that has arisen as a result of unskillful or immoral actions generically referred to as sins. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or...
—i.e., salvation from spiritual and eventually physical death—such that the term "universal salvation," is functionally equivalent. Univeralists espouse various theological beliefs concerning the process or state of salvation, but all adhere to the view that salvation history concludes with the reconciliation of the entire human race to God. Many adherents assert that the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
constitute the mechanism that provides redemption
Redemption
- Religion :* Redemption , an element of salvation to express deliverance from sin* Redemption, absolution for the past sins and/or protection from damnation* Pidyon haben, redemption of the firstborn son in Judaism...
for all humanity and atonement for all sins.
Universalism is distinct from modern Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
, which is a syncretic religion that does not recognize Jesus of Nazareth as the unique savior of humankind
Solus Christus
Solus Christus , sometimes referred to in the ablative case as Solo Christo , is one of the five solas that summarise the Protestant Reformers' basic belief that salvation is through Christ alone and that Christ is the only mediator between God and man, see also New Covenant.-Protestant-Catholic...
, although the latter is historically derived from a now-defunct Christian denomination which did affirm that all people would eventually come to salvation through Christ.
An alternative to universal reconciliation is the doctrine of annihilationism
Annihilationism
Annihilationism is a Christian belief that apart from salvation the death of human beings results in their total destruction rather than their everlasting torment. It is directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless it is given...
, often in combination with Christian conditionalism.
History
The most recent academic survey of the history of Universal Salvation is by Richard BauckhamRichard Bauckham
Richard Bauckham is a widely published scholar in theology, historical theology and New Testament. He is currently working on New Testament Christology and the Gospel of John as a Senior Scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge....
. He outlines the history thus:
- "The history of the doctrine of universal salvation (or apokatastasis) is a remarkable one. Until the nineteenth century almost all Christian theologians taught the reality of eternal torment in hell. Here and there, outside the theological mainstream, were some who believed that the wicked would be finally annihilated (in its commonest form. this is the doctrine of 'conditional immortalityConditional immortalityIn Christian theology, conditionalism or conditional immortality is a concept of special salvation in which the gift of immortality is attached to belief in Jesus Christ. This doctrine is based in part upon another theological argument, that if the human soul is naturally mortal, immortality is...
'). Even fewer were the advocates of universal salvation, though these few included same major theologians of the early church. Eternal punishment was firmly asserted in official creeds and confessions of the churches. It must have seemed as indispensable a part of universal Christian belief as the doctrines of the Trinity and the incarnation. Since 1800 this situation has entirely changed, and no traditional Christian doctrine has been so widely abandoned as that of eternal punishment. Its advocates among theologians today must be fewer than ever before. The alternative interpretation of hell as annihilation seems to have prevailed even among many of the more conservative theologians.4 Among the less conservativeLiberal ChristianityLiberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
, universal salvation, either as hope or as dogma, is now so widely accepted that many theologians assume it virtually without argument."
Early Christianity
Many early church fathers have been quoted as either embracing or hoping for the ultimate reconciliation of God with His creation. Those that did not embrace the teaching, such as Augustine, acknowledged that it was a common enough belief among Christians of the day.Origen (c.185 – 254)
Origen and a form of apocatastasisApocatastasis
Apocatastasis is reconstitution, restitution, or restoration to the original or primordial condition.-Etymology and definition:The Liddell and Scott Lexicon entry, gives the following examples of usage:* “τοῦ ἐνδεοῦς” Aristotle MM, 1205a4; into its nature εἰς φύσιν id...
were condemned in 544 by the Patriarch Mennas of Constantinople and the condemnation was ratified in 553 by the Fifth Ecumenical Council
Second Council of Constantinople
The Second Council of Constantinople is recognized as the Fifth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Old Catholics, and a number of other Western Christian groups. It was held from May 5 to June 2, 553, having been called by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian...
. Apocatastasis
Apocatastasis
Apocatastasis is reconstitution, restitution, or restoration to the original or primordial condition.-Etymology and definition:The Liddell and Scott Lexicon entry, gives the following examples of usage:* “τοῦ ἐνδεοῦς” Aristotle MM, 1205a4; into its nature εἰς φύσιν id...
was interpreted by 19th Century Universalists such as Hosea Ballou
Hosea Ballou
Hosea Ballou was an American Universalist clergyman and theological writer.-Biography:Hosea Ballou was born in Richmond, New Hampshire, to a family of Huguenot origin...
(1842) to be the same as the beliefs of the Universalist Church of America
Universalist Church of America
The Universalist Church of America was a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States . Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name was changed to the Universalist Church of America in 1942...
. However, until the middle of the sixth century, the word had a broader meaning. While it applied to a number of doctrines regarding salvation, it also referred to a return, both to a location and to an original condition. Thus, the Greek word's application was originally broad and metaphorical. 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 New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia claims that the Fifth Ecumenical Council was contested as being an official and authorized Ecumenical Council, since it was established not by the Pope, but rather by the Emperor, because of the Pope's resistance to it. The Fifth Ecumenical Council addressed what was called "The Three Chapters" and was against a form of Origenism which had nothing to do with Origen and Origenist views. Popes Vigilius, Pelagius I (556-61), Pelagius II (579-90), and Gregory the Great (590-604) were only aware that the Fifth Council specifically dealt with the Three Chapters and they made 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.
Fredrick W. Norris maintains Origen may not have strongly believed in universal reconciliation at all. In an article on Apocatastasis
Apocatastasis
Apocatastasis is reconstitution, restitution, or restoration to the original or primordial condition.-Etymology and definition:The Liddell and Scott Lexicon entry, gives the following examples of usage:* “τοῦ ἐνδεοῦς” Aristotle MM, 1205a4; into its nature εἰς φύσιν id...
in The Westminster handbook to Origen (2004) he writes that "As far as we can tell, therefore, Origen never decided to stress exclusive salvation or universal salvation, to the strict exclusion of either case."
Alexandria
The most important school of Universalist thought 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.Clement of Alexandria (c.150 - c.215)
The Universalists Hosea BallouHosea Ballou
Hosea Ballou was an American Universalist clergyman and theological writer.-Biography:Hosea Ballou was born in Richmond, New Hampshire, to a family of Huguenot origin...
(1829), Thomas Whittemore
Thomas Whittemore (Universalist)
Thomas Whittemore was an influential member of the Universalist Church of America and founder and editor of The Trumpet and Universalist magazine , which succeed the Universalist magazine of Hosea Ballou.Like Ballou and Ballou's grand-nephew, Hosea Ballou 2nd, first president of Tufts College,...
(1830), John Wesley Hanson
John Wesley Hanson
John Wesley Hanson was an American Universalist minister and a notable Universalist historian advancing the claim that Universalism was the belief of early Christianity...
(1899) and George T. Knight
George T. Knight (Universalist)
The Rev. George T. Knight, D.D, was an American Universalist teacher at the Crane Theological School, a Universalist seminary at Tufts University.-References:...
(1911) claimed that Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens , known as Clement of Alexandria , was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen...
expressed universalist positions in early Christianity
Early Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
. These claims have been controversial since they were first made. In fact Clement used the term apocatastasis
Apocatastasis
Apocatastasis is reconstitution, restitution, or restoration to the original or primordial condition.-Etymology and definition:The Liddell and Scott Lexicon entry, gives the following examples of usage:* “τοῦ ἐνδεοῦς” Aristotle MM, 1205a4; into its nature εἰς φύσιν id...
to refer only to the "restoration" of a select few.
Gregory of Nyssa (c.335 – 390s)
Gregory of Nyssa was declared "the father of fathers" by the seventh ecumenical councilSecond Council of Nicaea
The Second Council of Nicaea is regarded as the Seventh Ecumenical Council by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic Churches and various other Western Christian groups...
and some traditional and modern Greek orthodox scholars dispute Pierre Batiffol
Pierre Batiffol
Pierre Batiffol was a prominent French catholic priest and Church historian, known particularly as a historian of dogma....
and George T. Knight's claim that Saint Gregory of Nyssa and Saint Macrina the Younger
Saint Macrina the Younger
Saint Macrina the Younger was born at Caesarea, Cappadocia. Her parents were Basil the Elder and Emmelia, and her grandmother was Saint Macrina the Elder. Among her nine siblings were two of the three Cappadocian Fathers, her younger brothers Basil the Great and Saint Gregory of Nyssa, as well as...
, who were brother and sister, believed or taught universal salvation.
However, Gregory of Nyssa, in his book Sermo Catecheticus Magnus, described: The annihilation of evil, the restitution of all things, and the final restoration of evil men and evil spirits to the blessedness of union with God, so that He may be 'all in all,' embracing all things endowed with sense and reason.
He further stated, "when death approaches to life, and darkness to light, and the corruptible to the incorruptible, the inferior is done away with and reduced to non-existence, and the thing purged is benefited, just as the dross is purged from gold by fire. In the same way in the long circuits of time, when the evil of nature which is now mingled and implanted in them has been taken away, whensoever the restoration to their old condition of the things that now lie in wickedness takes place, there will be a unanimous thanksgiving from the whole creation, both of those who have been punished in the purification and of those who have not at all needed purification.
7th Century - Isaac of Nineveh
One of the documented teachers of universal salvation is St. Isaac the SyrianIsaac of Nineveh
Isaac of Nineveh also remembered as Isaac the Syrian and Isaac Syrus was a Seventh century bishop and theologian best remembered for his written work. He is also regarded as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church...
in the 7th century,
Middle Ages
The Universalist John Wesley HansonJohn Wesley Hanson
John Wesley Hanson was an American Universalist minister and a notable Universalist historian advancing the claim that Universalism was the belief of early Christianity...
stated that even after eternal hell became the normative position of the Church, there were still some Christian thinkers during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
who embraced Universalist ideas. In his Schaff
Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
The Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge is a religious encyclopedia. It is based on an earlier German encyclopedia, the Realencyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche. Like the Realencyklopädie, it focuses on Christianity from a primarily Protestant point of...
article George T. Knight
George T. Knight (Universalist)
The Rev. George T. Knight, D.D, was an American Universalist teacher at the Crane Theological School, a Universalist seminary at Tufts University.-References:...
stated that "maybe" Johannes Scotus Eriugena
Johannes Scotus Eriugena
Johannes Scotus Eriugena was an Irish theologian, Neoplatonist philosopher, and poet. He is known for having translated and made commentaries upon the work of Pseudo-Dionysius.-Name:...
, Johannes Tauler
Johannes Tauler
Johannes Tauler was a German mystic theologian.- Life :He was born about the year 1300 in Strasbourg, and was educated at the Dominican convent in that city, where Meister Eckhart, who greatly influenced him, was professor of theology in the monastery school...
, Blessed John of Ruysbroeck and Blessed Julian of Norwich had Universalist leanings.
16th Century - Reformation era
If ideas about the salvation of all souls after purgatory existed in early Christianity they did not resurface in the Reformation, where the main controversy was between the majority who believed in the immortal soul and eternal punishment in hell such as Calvin and a minority, including Luther, who believed in soul sleep. Joachim Vadian and Johann Kessler accused the German AnabaptistAnabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
Hans Denck
Hans Denck
Hans Denck was a German theologian and Anabaptist leader during the Reformation.Denck was born in 1495 in the Bavarian town of Habach. After a classical education, he became headmaster at the St. Sebaldus school in Nuremberg in 1523...
of universal salvation, but he denied it, and recent research suggests that this is not so.
The Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
shows no direct trace of renewed interest in the theological doctrine of the Universal Salvation of all souls. In Universalist literature a German Anabaptist
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
Hans Denck
Hans Denck
Hans Denck was a German theologian and Anabaptist leader during the Reformation.Denck was born in 1495 in the Bavarian town of Habach. After a classical education, he became headmaster at the St. Sebaldus school in Nuremberg in 1523...
has been commonly cited as a universalist, but recent research suggests that "probably he was not". Hans Hut
Hans Hut
Hans Hut was a very active Anabaptist in Southern Germany and Austria.-Life:Hut was born in Haina near Römhild, south Thuringia and became a travelling bookseller. Hut was for some years sacristan in Bibra to the knight Hans von Bibra...
was deeply influenced by Denck but there is no evidence that he either spread the doctrine of universalism.
17th Century
The 17th Century saw the first verifiable believers in universal salvation since Origen, if Origen did in fact believe in universal reconciliation:- Gerrard WinstanleyGerrard WinstanleyGerrard Winstanley was an English Protestant religious reformer and political activist during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell...
, The Mysterie of God Concerning the Whole Creation, Mankinde (London, 1648); - Richard CoppinRichard CoppinRichard Coppin was a seventeenth century English political and religious writer, and prolific radical pamphleteer and preacher.-Late 1640s to late 1650s:...
A hint of the glorious mysterie of the divine teachings (1649) defended at Worcester Assizes, 1652. - Jane LeadeJane LeadeJane Ward Leade was a Christian mystic born in Norfolk, England. Her spiritual visions, recorded in a series of publications, were central in the founding and philosophy of the Philadelphian Society in London at the time.-Early life:...
A Revelation of the Everlasting Gospel Message (1697) - Jeremy White (chaplain) chaplain to Cromwell, wrote a book, entitled, The Restoration of all things, which was published after his death (1707) published posthumously, 1712.
18th Century (Britain)
George Whitfield in a letter to John Wesley says that Peter Boehler, a bishop in the Moravian Church, had privately confessed in a letter that "all the damned souls would hereafter be brought out of hell" William LawWilliam Law
William Law was an English cleric, divine and theological writer.-Early life:Law was born at Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire in 1686. In 1705 he entered as a sizar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge; in 1711 he was elected fellow of his college and was ordained...
in An Humble, Earnest, and Affectionate Address to the Clergy (1761). an Anglican, and James Relly
James Relly
James Relly was a Methodist minister and mentor of John Murray who spread Universalism in the United States.Relly was born at Jeffreston , Pembrokeshire, Wales...
, a Welsh Methodist, were other significant 18th century Protestant leaders who believed in Universalism.
In 1843 the Universalist Rev J. M. Day published an article "Was John Wesley a Restorationist?" in the Universalist Union magazine suggesting that John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
(d.1791) had made a private conversion to Universalism in his last years but kept it secret. Biographers of Wesley reject this claim.
18th Century (America)
George de Benneville
George de Benneville was born in London in 1703 to aristocratic Huguenot French parents in the court of Queen Anne. While serving as a sailor during his adolescent years, de Benneville traveled around the world and began to question his religion and compare it to other world religions...
, attracted by Pennsylvania's Quaker tolerance. North American universalism was active and organized. This was seen as a threat by the orthodox, Calvinist Congregationalists of New England such as Jonathan Edwards, who wrote prolifically against universalist teachings and preachers. John Murray
John Murray (minister)
John Murray though sometimes recalled as founder of the Universalist denomination in the United States, might more fairly be described as a pioneer minister and an inspirational figure, as his theological legacy to the later Universalist denomination was minimal.-Early life:He was born in Alton,...
(1741–1815) and Elhanan Winchester
Elhanan Winchester
Elhanan Winchester was one of the founders of the United States General Convention of Universalists, later the Universalist Church of America.-External links:* -References:...
(1751–1797) are usually credited as founders of the modern Universalist movement and founding teachers of universal salvation. Early American Universalists such as Elhanan Winchester
Elhanan Winchester
Elhanan Winchester was one of the founders of the United States General Convention of Universalists, later the Universalist Church of America.-External links:* -References:...
continued to preach the punishment of souls prior to eventual salvation.
19th Century
The 19th Century was the heyday of Christian UniversalismChristian Universalism
Christian Universalism is a school of Christian theology which includes the belief in the doctrine of universal reconciliation, the view that all human beings or all fallen creatures will ultimately be restored to right relationship with God....
and the Universalist Church of America
Universalist Church of America
The Universalist Church of America was a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States . Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name was changed to the Universalist Church of America in 1942...
.
20th Century
The Universalist Church of AmericaUniversalist Church of America
The Universalist Church of America was a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States . Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name was changed to the Universalist Church of America in 1942...
merged with the American Unitarian Association
American Unitarian Association
The American Unitarian Association was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.According to Mortimer Rowe, the Secretary...
in 1961 to form the Unitarian Universalists.
Adolph E. Knoch and William Barclay
William Barclay (theologian)
William Barclay was an author, radio and television presenter, Church of Scotland minister, and Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the University of Glasgow.-Life:...
were universalists. In 1919 the Swiss F. L. Alexandre Freytag led a breakaway group of the Bible Student movement
Bible Student movement
The Bible Student movement is the name adopted by a Millennialist Restorationist Christian movement that emerged from the teachings and ministry of Charles Taze Russell, also known as Pastor Russell...
.
21st Century
Christian UniversalismChristian Universalism
Christian Universalism is a school of Christian theology which includes the belief in the doctrine of universal reconciliation, the view that all human beings or all fallen creatures will ultimately be restored to right relationship with God....
continues as a minority within Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
.
In 2004 the Pentecostal bishop Carlton Pearson
Carlton Pearson
Carlton D'Metrius Pearson, DD is an American minister. At one time, he was the pastor of the Higher Dimensions Evangelistic Center, later named it Higher Dimensions Family Church which was one of the largest churches in Tulsa, Oklahoma. During the 1990s, it grew to an average attendance of over...
received notoriety when he was officially declared a heretic by the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops. Bishop Pearson, who had attended Oral Roberts University
Oral Roberts University
Oral Roberts University , based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the United States, is an interdenominational, Charismatic Christian, comprehensive university with an enrollment of about 3,790 students from 49 U.S. states along with a significant number of international students from 70 countries...
, a Charismatic Christian college, formally declared his belief in the doctrine of universal salvation. His church, called the New Dimensions Church, adopted this doctrine, and in 2008, the congregation was merged into All Souls Unitarian Church
All Souls Unitarian Church (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
All Souls Unitarian Church is a Unitarian Universalist church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is one of the largest UU congregations in the world....
in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, one of the largest Unitarian Universalist congregations in the world.
In 2005, Cardinal Murphy O'Connor, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, expressed his hope that Protestants and non-believers are destined for heaven. and expressed his personal hope that he would be surprised in heaven.
On May 17, 2007, the Christian Universalist Association was founded at the historic Universalist National Memorial Church in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
This was a move to distinguish the modern Christian Universalist movement from Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
, and to promote ecumenical unity among Christian believers in universal reconciliation.
In 2008 the Russian Orthodox bishop Hilarion Alfeyev
Hilarion Alfeyev
Hilarion Alfeyev is a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. At present he is the Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations and a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow...
of Vienna, in his presentation at the First World Apostolic Congress of Divine Mercy (held in Rome in 2008), argued that God's mercy is so great that He does not condemn sinners to everlasting punishment. The Orthodox understanding of hell, said Bishop Hilarion, corresponds roughly to the Roman Catholic notion of purgatory.
Modern Bible-believing teachers of ultimate reconciliation include Thomas Talbott
Thomas Talbott
Thomas Talbott is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Willamette University, Salem, Oregon. He is best known for his advocacy of Trinitarian Universalism. Due to his book The Inescapable Love of God and other works he is one of the most prominent Protestant voices today supporting the idea of...
, Stephen E. Jones, J. Preston Eby and Bill and Elaine Cook.
See also
- Christian UniversalismChristian UniversalismChristian Universalism is a school of Christian theology which includes the belief in the doctrine of universal reconciliation, the view that all human beings or all fallen creatures will ultimately be restored to right relationship with God....
- ApokatastasisApocatastasisApocatastasis is reconstitution, restitution, or restoration to the original or primordial condition.-Etymology and definition:The Liddell and Scott Lexicon entry, gives the following examples of usage:* “τοῦ ἐνδεοῦς” Aristotle MM, 1205a4; into its nature εἰς φύσιν id...
- Problem of HellProblem of HellThe "Problem of Hell" is a possible ethical problem related to religions in which portrayals of Hell are ostensibly cruel, and are thus inconsistent with the concepts of a just, moral and omnibenevolent God...
- Unitarian UniversalismUnitarian UniversalismUnitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
- UniversalismUniversalismUniversalism in its primary meaning refers to religious, theological, and philosophical concepts with universal application or applicability...
- Traditionalist SchoolTraditionalist SchoolThe term Traditionalist School is used by Mark Sedgwick and other authors to denote a school of thought, also known as Integral Traditionalism or Perennialism to denote an esoteric movement developed by authors such as French metaphysician René Guénon, German-Swiss...