Category Archives: Universalism

Available Light So this inevitably brings up the question of “available light” — the theory that God saves those who’ve never heard of Jesus, at least, those who are good people. I debated this question with Al Maxey back in … Continue reading →

Pre-resurrection Gentiles, again If I’m right that the sinned-against deserve justice from God, then we have to admit that, so far as the scriptures reveal, there is no justice pre-Jesus. If the evil people of the pre-Jesus Gentile world simply … Continue reading →

Has Paul prophesied that the Jews will eventually be saved? The hard question is whether God has promised that the Jews will enter the Kingdom sometime  in the future. N.T. Wright says no — It is at this point, of … Continue reading →

The fate of the Jews Now, I suppose I should address whether the Jews are a special case. And the great theologians differ. But I think we can lay a few principles down pretty clearly, even if we can’t answer … Continue reading →

Justice vs. forgiveness Ah, but there is a problem with Wright’s thesis. The saved — Christians — will have the opportunity to forgive those who’ve sinned against them, thereby releasing themselves from the hold that the sin of others has … Continue reading →

N. T. Wright on God’s solution for evil I read N. T. Wright’s Evil and the Justice of God a few years ago, and I was disappointed. I just didn’t find the answers very satisfying. After all, I’m a chronic-pain suffering … Continue reading →

The fate of those without God before the Resurrection of Jesus This may be overkill, but the question few people address in these sorts of discussions is the fate of Gentiles before the resurrection. Some of these people were doubtlessly … Continue reading →

When I first advised Richard Beck that I’d be critiquing Hart’s article, he asked me this — As far as any advice I’d offer you as [you] take on that task is to give your readers a clear and specific answer … Continue reading →

How could Paul believe in Universal Reconciliation while writing Rom 9 – 11, agonizing over the damnation of Jews who deny Jesus? And how could Paul characterize the damned, over and over, as “destroyed” if their fate is to be punished … Continue reading →

Back on September 17, 2015, Richard Beck at his essential “Experimental Theology” blog wrote, I have argued, for many long and lonely years, to any who would hear, that the doctrine (or hope) of universal reconciliation (UR) has more to … Continue reading →