The Evangelical Universalist: Does everyone get to go to heaven?
I’ve been following with interest Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed blog, where he’s recently begun working through the rather contentious book: The Evangelical Universalist. Since it’s such a controversial theological issue, but also one which often sparks huge interest, I thought I’d draw your attention to Scot’s discussion of the book’s main arguments.
So, as I write in Newport waiting for the colossal snow fall that has been forecast (my pastoral care lectures tomorrow have been cancelled and college has shut up to weather the storm), for those who aren’t in the know here’s some helpful definitions:
Evangelicalism is the stream of Christianity that believes strongly that the bible is authoritative and inspired by God, to the extent that it has no errors.
Universalism, within Christianity, is the belief that all people will eventually be saved and reconciled to God. It generally accepts the idea of a real Heaven, but denies the existence of an eternal Hell.
The US religious landscape survey in 2008 announced that 57% of evangelical Christians believe that “many religions – not just their own – can lead to eternal life.” and whilst those figures have been contested by evangelical groups, it shows a startling number of people who hold a view very different from the mainstream “policy” of the Evangelical movement as a whole.
I find this really interesting, as my belief is this: that no good follower of Jesus should be “happy” or like to believe in hell, or that there are people who will go there. However, my belief is that in the absence of something better to believe there is no real other option. However, the book, The Evangelical Universalist, is an attempt to form some sort of alternative whilst still remaining true to scripture – this makes it a very interesting book, and one that needs a careful exploration and discussion.
Here’s how McKnight defines the “Christian Universalism” described in the book:
Christian universalism believes in all the classic evangelical and orthodox doctrines (Trinity, creation, sin, atonement, return of Christ, salvation through Christ alone, grace alone, faith alone) and also in hell. But, and here’s the big but, one’s eternal destiny is not fixed at death so that those in hell can repent and trust in Christ, and in the end all will make this decision without coercion.
This is Scot’s first post in the series: Let’s get “Universalism” Straight, and here’s the archive of the posts so far.
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pastor mack
