Saturday 23 October 2010

universalist?

Catriona's comment got me thinking. Am I a universalist? Not really. I think there is such a thing as hell, and that if people choose it, then God will respect their freedom to make that choice.
(Although I do wonder if heaven and hell might actually be the same thing - being in the presence of God...)

What does make me extremely uncomfortable is that when I look at the Gospels, I see Jesus warning a particular group of people they are in serious danger of hell. Who is this group? The tax collectors? The prostitutes? No, it's the Pharisees. In other words, it's the ones who take God and His Scriptures seriously, do all the right things, believe all the right stuff and tell others to do the same, because that's what God wants. It's the ones who think they know the mind of God and are justified in telling everyone else that their way is the only right way, because it's what God himself has said.
And yet, Jesus says to them that they are actually missing the point and in greater danger of hell than the very people they are convinced are going there.
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3 comments:

  1. poetreehugger23 October 2010 at 09:12

    I am happy to (have been guided to) stumble upon your blog.
    This posting touches on a question I am studying, regarding the inclusiveness of Christ's salvation. If everyone is given a free and informed choice regarding acceptance of Jesus, when and how does that choice happen? Specifically, what of socially handicapped, disadvantaged, or even just the seriously misinformed?

    I have often read Jesus's words and wondered if the church is correctly reading them as a warning to "others" or if we should be taking them personally.

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  2. Catriona24 October 2010 at 05:50

    Hi again, I wasn't meaning to suggest you are or ought to be a universalist - I'm not one even though sometimes I wish I was. Of the Universalists I know, most do believe in hell, but is devoid of people - I think maybe the sin gets left there or something.

    One of my friends terms herself a 'Hopeful Universalist' meaning she hopes that all will ultimately be saved, and the logic is roughly this: once you come face to face with God how would/could you say 'no'?

    As I believe firmly in free will, then the option to choose against God has to be real... but I kind of hope if God can't somehow turn that around, that God might be an anihilationist rather than have a firey furnance and worms that never die to punish people with.

    But hey, I'm a heretic.

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  3. Anonymous24 October 2010 at 20:36

    Hi, I am from Australia.

    Of course two thirds of the world's human population are not Christian. Neither are any of the non-humans.

    Are they thus all living in darkness?

    And what in this day and age when every aspect of every known religious and Spiritual tradition is freely available to anyone with an internet connection is the nature of Truth, Reality & The Beautiful?

    Please check out these related references.

    http://www.adidam.org/teaching/aletheon/truth-religion.aspx

    http://www.beezone.com/up/criticismcuresheart.html

    http://www.fearnomorezoo.org/literature/observe_learn.php

    And on the biggest question of them all - namely the meaning & significance of death for Real

    http://www.adidam.org/death_and_dying/index.html

    Plus a unique Understanding of the only unforgivable "sin" via this reference.

    http://www.dabase.org/birthday.htm

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