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The Golden Thread: God's Promise of Universal Salvation

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Over the last year or two I have been undertaking a personal study of Universalist Christian thelogy. In fact, I've been reading just about any book I can find on this subject, and hope to eventually review each of them here at Amazon (see my previously posted review of Rev. Kalen Fristad's "Destined for Salvation".) Published in 2005, this particular book, Ken R. Vincent's "The Golden Thread- God's Promise of Universal Salvation", is the most recent Univeralist book that I have found, and also one of the most fascinating - offering some perspectives on Universalism that I have not seen presented by other authors. Vincent's main theme throughout the book is that God's promise to eventually save ALL of humankind (not just a lucky few Christians) is the "golden thread" that binds the entire Bible (Old & New Testaments) together. This may seem like a rather bold, outrageous statement to those who hold to the 'traditional' Church views of Hell and judgement - but the author, to his credit, does a very good job of making his case! In the first six chapters of the book Vincent succinctly lays out all of the basic tenets of Christian Universalism in his own words. He then ends each chapter with a listing of all of the pertinent scriptural references, so that the reader can do more studying and research on his/her own. I found this format to be very helpful in my own studies, and it's one of the main reasons that I would recommend this book to any serious student of Universalist though. In Chapter Seven the author shares some interesting stories from the realm of "Mystical Religious Experience" (or in laymen's terms; man's personal/direct experiences of God in everyday situations.) I found it interesting that Christian mystics throughout history (or at least those we know of) have had a tendency towards Universalism. Chapter Eight was possibly the most interesting for me, titled "The Near-Death Experience and Christian Universalism". Vincent has obviously studied the "Near-Death" phenomenon quite extensively - in fact, it was the subject of one of his previous books ("Visions of God from the Near-Death Experience".) I find it reassuring that Christian Universalist teaching fits in so perfectly with the actual experiences of those who have hovered close to death's door. For instance, it is commonly reported that individuals having a negative near-death experience have seen it change into a positive experience after they simply cried out out to God or Jesus for help. Such results certainly contridict the widely-held Church teaching (Protestant, Evangelical, Catholic, Fundamentalist) that all chances for repentance end at one's death. Instead, they would seem to confirm the Univeralist belief that Hell and judgement are of a finite duration, and intended for the rehabilitation of the sinner, not some pointless, never-ending punishment from which there is no escape. The book ends with several appendinxes, many of which would be useful to Universalists involved in ministry. They include "Funeral Services Stressing Universal Salvation", "Funeral Services for a Non-Christian in a Christian Family", and detailed listings of all of the Biblical verses supporting Universal Reconciliation...All in all, Mr. Vincent has created one of the most readable and useful books that you will find on this subject - although I would probably still rate Rev. Fristad's "Destined For Salvation" as the best place for the novice reader to start their Universalist library. My only real complaint with "The Golden Thread" is that it is just too short! At only 121 pages total, I certainly wouldn't have minded if a few of the shorter chapters had been a bit longer and more detailed. But of course this is only a minor criticism of a very worthwhile read. Highly recommended!

In agreement with the previous review here that this book could have been longer. The author makes a compelling case for universalism with not only scripture but mystical and near death experiences. Fundamentalists will assign near death and mystical experiences to satan but Ken shows that they have been part of the Christian faith since the time of the apostle Paul. Ken has painstakingly organized scripture into what theory of salvation they support. Salvation by works is supported by 551 verses(389 by Jesus alone), 231 verses supporting Universal salvation + 31 stating that hell is not permanent, 139 verses supporting Jesus saves theology, and 77 supporting calvinism. The Old Testament has 110 verses supporting universalism . Being a former fundamentalist for nearly 9 years I can see that this would not agree with mainstream christianity, but there are nuggets here for the openminded or even partially openminded christian to consider.

The God of the near death experience is not concerned with theological hairsplitting but is more concerned with how we treated others and if we loved others. That is pretty consistent with Jesus' message. Remove the preconceived theological idealism and give this book a try.