Finally, Hart has given us the book those of us in the theology world have been anticipating. That All Shall Be Saved hasn't been touted as the definitive treatise on apokatastasis. You won't find detailed exegesis of the hell passages in the New Testament nor extended discussion of the Church's dogmatic statements that (on the surface) condemn the greater hope.
That All Shall Be Saved is, instead, a very timely and personal reflection about a critical topic. It will bring apokatastasis back to ecumenical center stage. This doesn't mean that universalism has lacked contemporary defenders. Over the past twenty years Thomas Talbott has been its most important and influential exponent. He is a sophisticated analytic philosopher, but unfortunately has not received the hearing in ecumenical circles he deserves. As a result the greater hope has continued to be seen as a fringe phenomenon. Hart, on the other hand, presents a different profile: Christian neoplatonist, student of the Church Fathers, respected philosophical theologian, pugilistic defender of the catholic faith, translator of the New Testament, Orthodox churchman. His theological heroes are Sts Gregory of Nyssa and Maximus the Confessor. Hart is a formidable thinker with deep roots in the Church's tradition.
And he's a brilliant rhetorician. Hart doesn't expect this book will change many minds (though, I suspect, that's Hart's humility and not an honest assessment of the book), but he is clear: Universal salvation is the only conclusion to the story of Jesus Christ that makes any sense.
That's why serious readers like me are excited -- overjoyed! -- to see this book come to print. Because Hart is right: Nothing less than the Gospel of Jesus Christ is at stake.
I'm going to blog my way through the book as I read it in the coming days. So I'm going to ask my readers to do something for me as I do: Bracket your belief in the "traditional" doctrine of the eternal punishment of hell. If Hart's arguments are as probing as I expect, that suspension will be necessary to give him an honest hearing. Let's test his conclusions. If his key arguments should prove probative, then we must conclude that the traditional doctrine of hell is not irreformable teaching. The Church cannot dogmatize falsehood.
In the coming weeks and months, readers will find me engaging Hart in as many ways as I know how. Because I expect lots of theologians and philosophers will be doing the same.
(In a shameless commercial, if these issues are new to you, may I recommend my own book: The Fire and the Rose as a place to begin.)