Gospel Conversations is all about expanding our view of God and that means inquiring into mystery. One of the best ways to inquire is to map out the landscape of a debate—and that is exactly what Robin does in this marvellous talk. He gives us a birds-eye view of the long debate over universalism. But he goes further—and he gives us a map to navigate the territory. He defines what universalism is and is not. He explains the different pathways that have led many orthodox Christians to consider it seriously—Bible, experience, patristics, and ‘gospel logic’. This takes a lot of confusion and heat out of the debate and gives us a clear view of the topic. But it also hints at a bigger view of God, and a broader view of Christian thinking. Robin gives us the gift of years of learning and thought in one hour. This is the first talk from our "Hope & Hell Conference". Podcast (iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, & PodBean): https://GospelConversations.com/podcast Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/GospelConversations https://twitter.com/GospelConvers YouTube Channel: https://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversations Website: https://GospelConversations.com

1. 1. Universal Salvation
A Whistle-stop Introduction
GOSPEL CONVERSATIONS (July 2019)

2. Whatis
Christian
universalism?
 The belief that in the end all people will participate in
the salvation achieved for them by Christ

3. Christian
universalismis
not...
 The belief that all roads lead to God
 The belief that there is no postmortem punishment
 The belief that the Bible is wrong
 The belief that sin isn’t a big deal
 The belief that it doesn’t matter how we live
 The belief that God is loving but not just
 The belief that we don’t need to evangelize

4. Routesinto
universalism
Scripture
Experience
Tradition (inc.
doctrine)

5. Routesinto
universalism:
Scripture
 For most Christian universalists, the Bible played a
key role in their journey towards belief in universal
restoration
 E.g., Elhanan Winchester

6. Routesinto
universalism:
tradition
 For most Christian universalists, reflection on
traditional Christian beliefs was an important reason
they embraced a belief in universal restoration
 Discovering past orthodox Christian universalists is
also important for some

7. Routesinto
universalism:
experience
 For some people, a particular experience was a key
reason they embraced a belief in universal restoration
 E.g., George de Benneville

8. Thediversityof
universalisms
 Universal salvation is a minimalist thesis consistent
with a range of views on theological issues

9. Thecurrent
debate:Bible
 The teaching of specific texts
 How to hold together the diverse theologies of
Scripture

10. Thecurrent
debate:
patristics
 The teaching of specific church fathers
 The origins of apokatastasis
 The anathemas in the appendix of the Fifth
Ecumenical Council:

11. Thecurrent
debate: theology/
philosophy
 The nature of divine justice
 Freewill and divine sovereignty
 Divine love and its implications
 Atonement
 Election

12. Conclusion