Universalism - Christianity

Christianity

In Christianity, Universalism can refer to the beliefs that all humans either may or will be saved through Jesus Christ and eventually come to harmony in God's kingdom. This salvation is expressed as offered both to the Jew, and also to the Gentile (Romans 1:16, Romans 9:24-25, Revelation 7:9). It is opposed to the doctrines of reprobation and double-predestination in Calvinism.

The Greek term apokatastasis came to be related by some to the beliefs of Christian Universalism, but in early Patristic usage is distinct. Additionally the term Catholic is derived from the Greek word katholikos, which means universal. The Catholic Church is universal in the sense that it embraces individuals "from every race, nation, language, and people", but does not teach universal salvation.

Universalist writers such as George T. Knight have claimed that Universalism was a widely held view among theologians in Early Christianity However, some examples, such as Origen and Clement of Alexandria, used by Knight and other Universalist writers are contested by writers such as Crouzel, Root, Norris, and Itter.

Christian Universalist ideas are first undisputedly documented in 17th-century England and 18th-century Europe and America. Gerrard Winstanley (1648), Richard Coppin (1652), Jane Leade (1697), and then George de Benneville in America, taught that God would grant all human beings salvation. Those in America teaching this became known as the Universalists.

Some prevalent verses within the Christian Universalist Argument are:

1. 1 Corinthians 15:22
   • "For as in Adam ALL die, so in Christ ALL will be made alive." (NIV; Emphasis Added)
   • "For as in Adam ALL die, so also in Christ shall ALL be made alive" (ESV; Emphasis Added)
2. Romans 5:18-19 (The "one trespass" and the "one man's disobedience" refer to Adam's sin, while the "act of righteousness" and the "one man's obedience" refer to Jesus' voluntary death on the cross).
   • "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." (NIV; Emphasis Added)
   • "Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous." (ESV; Emphasis added)
3. 2 Peter 3:9 (Goes to the character of God, in that He want's everyone to be saved. If He can do anything He wants and He wants everyone to be saved, why wouldn’t He save them?)
   • "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (NIV; Emphasis Added)
   • "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." (ESV; Emphasis Added)
4. 1 Timothy 2:3-6 (Verses 3 & 4 go to the Character of God. Verses 5 & 6 explicitly state that Jesus paid the ransom for "All men")
   • "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for ALL men--the testimony given in its proper time." (NIV; Emphasis Added)
   • "This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for ALL, which is the testimony given at the proper time." (ESV; Emphasis Added)
5. 1 John 2:2
   • "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (NIV)
   • "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." (ESV)
6. 1 Timothy 4:10 (This means that He is the savior of those who believe, but He is ALSO the savior of those who do NOT believe. How can He be the savior of those who do NOT believe, unless he saves them?)
   • "(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe." (NIV; Emphasis Added)
   • "For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe." (ESV; Emphasis Added)
7. Romans 11:32 (Mercy on all, not mercy on some)
   • "For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all." (NIV)
   • "For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all." (ESV)
8. 1 John 4:14 ("The world". Not "Part of the world")
   • "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world." (NIV)
   • "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world." (ESV)

Another key point within the Christian Universalist Argument is the understanding that mistranslations exist within many modern English translations. One of the biggest of such translation errors being that of the Greek word αιών (Lit. aion). This Greek word is the origin from which the modern English word "eon" is derived (synonymous with age). However, this word is often translated "eternal" as in the case of eternal punishment/torment and eternal life. In his tetralogy called "Word Studies in the New Testament", the 19th century theologian Marvin R. Vincent wrote:

'Aion, transliterated aeon, is a period of longer or shorter duration, having a beginning and an end, and complete in itself. Aristotle (peri ouravou, i. 9,15) says: "The period which includes the whole time of one's life is called the aeon of each one." Hence it often means the life of a man, as in Homer, where one's life (aion) is said to leave him or to consume away (Iliad v. 685; Odyssey v. 160). It is not, however, limited to human life; it signifies any period in the course of events, as the period or age before Christ; the period of the millenium; the mythological period before the beginnings of history... The adjective aionios in like manner carries the idea of time. Neither the noun nor the adjective, in themselves, carry the sense of endless or everlasting. They may acquire that sense by their connotation, as, on the other hand, aidios, which means everlasting, has its meaning limited to a given point of time in Jude 6. Aionios means enduring through or pertaining to a period of time. Both the noun and the adjective are applied to limited periods... Words which are habitually applied to things temporal or material cannot carry in themselves the sense of endlessness. Even when applied to God, we are not forced to render aionios everlasting. Of course the life of God is endless; but the question is whether, in describing God as aionios, it was intended to describe the duration of his being, or whether some different and larger idea was not contemplated.