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Christian Universalism: God's Good News For All People

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Before reading this book, I didn't think it was possible to be a Bible believing Christian and believe that everyone will be saved. After reading Christian Universalism, I wonder why most Christians DON'T believe this! This book makes a compelling case that Hell is meant to reform sinners and no soul will be lost forever, and it's filled with Bible quotes to PROVE IT!

This book talks about major themes of the Bible like the nature of God and man, the incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, the meaning of sin, judgment, grace, atonement, the afterlife, etc. It ties it all together in a framework that is the most wonderful presentation of Christian theology I've ever seen -- a God of love who will never give up until the entire human race is redeemed and transformed in the image of Christ! It also tells how this theology was already taught by saints in the early church but was forgotten after the church became dominated by Rome.

I feel much more comfortable sharing my faith in Christ after reading this book, because now I have an answer when somebody asks "How can you love and worship a God who would condemn me to Hell if I don't believe in your religion?" The answer is the Bible simply doesn't teach this! The Gospel truly is good news for ALL people. I will be giving copies of Christian Universalism to my friends who have left the church or are questioning their faith. This is also THE book I will give from now on to non-Christians as an introduction to Christianity. My faith in God and Christ and my desire to tell others about my faith has been strengthened greatly by reading this book!

Belief in Universal Salvation-- the doctrine that ALL will be saved through Christ has renewed my faith, given me hope, and enabled me to continue as a Christian. I became a Christian in my youth in a hell-fire type church-- which was most common to the rural deep south where I grew up. I loved Jesus with all my heart but had a problem, a gnawing aching problem with the idea that anyone would burn forever and ever and ever without any hope of escape. The Bible does NOT actually teach that concept. The Greek is clear on that matter. ALL will be saved. The fire of God is for purification, not condemnation. God is love. Love is a fire. God is a consuming fire. It all flows together.

This book is an excellent introduction to the concept of "Christian Universalism," also known as "ultimate reconcilliation" or "universal salvation." After the World Wars, this beautiful old concept was largely abandoned, and a deep cynicsim set in throughout the world. Today, it is being embraced by many.

This book gives a clear understanding of the scriptural, historical, and spiritual arguments for Christian Universalism.

I knew virtually nothing about Christian Universalism until about a year ago. I was vaguely familiar with the concept of Unitarian Universalism, but found it weak as it was based upon human ideals and the need to squeeze God into a concept that we can control. Yet as a Christian, I always found myself very uncomfortable with the notion that God would punish people eternally for not choosing Him in this lifetime, no matter what the circumstances of their life. It just made no sense, particularly since I kept reading over and over again in both the Old and New Testaments about universal reconciliation for all...in fact, both books are loaded with references to universal reconciliation, as you'll discover when you start reading the Bible with a Universalist viewpoint. Christian Universalism makes startlingly good sense, and in fact is completely consistent with every doctrinal point of "regular" Christianity except for the notion that the punishment of Hell is remedial and corrective, but not eternal. God's fire is a refining fire, not a destructive one (Malachi 3:2). Furthermore, when you match up the Universalist passages with the "eternal damnation" passages, the universalist message is far better supported by Scripture.

Although the argument is much deeper than a single issue, the crux of the argument boils down to the true meaning of the Greek word "aionos," which in our English Bibles is translated as "eternal." The word, as near as historians can tell, originated with Aristotle and was never used in Greek literature to mean everlasting, but always referred to a finite period of time. There's no sound reason to assume the apostles (as well as the Hellenistic writers of the Septuagint) meant it any other way. There are about 18 New Testament verses that speak of "eternal" damnation and spiritual death (all using some version of "aionos") but literally hundreds through both the Old and New Testaments that speak of God reconciling ALL to Himself. The Greek Orthodox church, which refuses to this day to join with the Catholic Church of Rome, supports Christian Universalism on the grounds that the original Greek word never implied eternal damnation, but "age-enduring" with ultimate reconciliation for all. It's also interesting to note that for most of the first 400 years of Christianity, before becoming the "state religion" of the Roman Empire, the traditional teaching on salvation was the apostolic tradition of ultimate reconciliation, as taught throughout the New Testament.

Regardless of your views on the subject, consider this point: Why would a God who instructs us to forgive someone not once, but over and over and over again (Matthew 18:21-22), be Himself inconsistent with His own commandments? Why would God instruct us to love our fellow men and women unconditionally, no matter what they do to us, and then do something quite the opposite Himself? And why would Christ (in John 6:39) say: "And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given me, but raise them up at the last day." Simple reason (not human reason, but reason driven by a sound reading of Scripture) tells us that eternal damnation makes no Biblical sense, and in fact is inconsistent with the teaching of unconditional love. All it requires is to put aside a traditional doctrinal interpretation, and instead take the Bible at exactly what it says.

Stetson has laid out a sound argument for Christian Universalism with this book and it's easy to grasp. If you're looking for a "starter" book to read more about the subject, this is the one to buy. I think every Christian, as well as any interested and religiously-curious skeptic, should read this book as it allows you to view Christianity in an amazing new perspective.

Lastly, here's just one of the many verses supporting Christian Universalism. In the passage below, how can one claim that "all" has two different meanings? We know from previous Scripture that ALL mankind suffered the effects of the Fall, not some, but all, which creates a contextual precedent that makes it impossible for the second "all" to mean anything else. It's a hermeneutical slam-dunk, so to speak. Additionally, the "conditional" phrase "but each in his own turn" is completely consistent with the Universalist notion that salvation won't come to all right away, but over time, as God's plan unfolds.

"For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive, but each in his own turn."
1 Corinthians 15:22

Just something to think about for all the skeptics (Christian or otherwise) before closing the door on the idea. Read this book before writing it off. If you're curious enough, it'll drive you to read more, as it did me.

Christian Universalism is a study in the biblical doctrine of salvation. In this view, supported by hundreds of Bible verses, Jesus is the Savior of all mankind. All will be saved. This is an excellent book and introduction to the topic. Solidly Christian, solidly biblical. I think I was most surprised by the vast numbers of Christians who believed this concept from the earliest of times-- Origen, Clement, both Gregories, Monica. Also, during the reformation, many anabaptists and protestants were Christian Universalists. This is an excellent book.

Eric Stetson has written a book much like one Jesus would write today if He were still walking the earth. The style is conversational as if the author is having a fireside chat with the reader. Eric makes us look deeper at our own Christain beliefs, and challenges us to boldly cast aside ideas that do not agree with the consistent themes of an all loving, all powerful God proclaimed by the Bible. Of particular interest are the historical issues of the early church that diminished universalism and promoted the doctrine of eternal damnation. I encourage readers to buy this book, read it, and make it part of your Christian library to help bring the Bible to life for this generation.

Eric Stetson's book "Christian Universalism: God's Good News for all people" is prolific both in its intellectual content and its stirring testimony of one man's journey into the fullness of the Gospel.

While Eric's tone toward fundamentalists can be overly combative at times, his passion for God's love, wholly compensates. I was especially impressed by his thorough examination into the greek origins of the word "hell", proving in my mind beyond a shadow of a doubt that the original church, never meant for hell to be eternal.

In summary, this book affirmed my deepest convictions about a loving and yet all powerful God, while inspiring me to even greater depths and heights of universalist consciousness.

Not long ago, somebody called me as a "Universalist," because I expressed the idea that God should able to, and would in fact, redeem all of His children. I went to the Internet to research the topic, found the Christian Universalist website, and ordered a copy of Eric Stetson's book by the same name.

What I found was the best summary of the Christian faith that I have read in several years. Stetson explains the concepts of sin, judgment, and salvation from a Christian perspective. He goes on to show how all Christians, indeed all human beings, can and will be recipients of Divine grace and reconciliation. Of particular interest to me is Stetson's treatment of the gradual evolution of Christian thought, from it's original all-inclusive message to today's splintered and sometimes exclusive mindset.

The book Christian Universalism offers answers and comfort to those with questions and worries about their standing with God. It cites all of the Bible references you need to study the scriptural passages for yourself. And it warns against the insidious influence of fundamentalism, which hurts the Christian cause and bruises many sincere hearts.

Stetson is no scholar or theologian, nor does he claim to be. In fact, his Christology gave me a migraine. He tried to touch on all the different views on who and what Jesus was. That's a sure recipe for confusion and contradiction. I appreciated his effort, nonetheless.

Stetson is an evangelist in the truest sense of the word. He includes his own story in the book. Read it and judge for yourself. If you're going to believe in a God, you might as well choose the one that loves you like a parent and guides you along a path toward eternal life. Christian Universalism is a great book on that subject.

This book was a very interesting read. I have never really agreed with the standard Christian view of eternal damnation for sins committed in one finite lifetime. This book lines out several arguments, with biblical and historical evidence, for universal salvation. I have several books on this subject, and many of them are argued, but are a more challenging read. This book a well written and flows together nicely, making the arguments powerful and easily understandable.

I love this book. I am so happy that Mr. Stetson wrote on this vastly under-reported subject. Christians are realizing something great, that God loves everyone and wills that they join Him eternally in heaven.

I have to say that this book has helped to restore my love for the Christian faith, and grounded my intuition that God's love is an inexorable force that will draw all beings to rest in Him. Mr. Stetson has communicated well how this is a very biblical truth, reporting on such things as the origins of the modern concept of hell.

All in all this is a straightforward book, and stays well focused on the topic without much straying. It would be a great book for a small group to read together, or to give away to friends. It is a great service to Christianity that sober treatments of this subject are in print, and I would only humbly suggest that we readers do our part to spread this message to others by making gifts of such works as these.

I have been a Christian since I was five years old, and growing up in the Faith, I always had a nagging feeling that all the talk of eternal hellfire couldn't possibly be true coming from a God whose very nature was love. Unfortunately, the mainstream Church does little to address this question: either they avoid it entirely, or they make some evasive answer that fails to define God's love and satisfies nobody.

Now, finally, someone has done the research and come up with the truth. As I read this book, I realized that I had always known what I was reading to be the truth, but I needed someone to put it down in black and white.

Awesome book that everyone should read.