I've been reflecting on the accusation often made against the Christian universalism to which I hold (and which I've laid out in several books, beginning with The Fire and the Rose). After all, what could possibly be more liberal -- more accepting and politically correct -- than insisting that there's no such thing as eternal punishment in the fires of hell and everlasting salvation for every person, ever?
To be sure, there are squishy, politically correct visions of universalism, the belief that we're all on different religious paths journeying up the same mountain. That liberal notion that "All roads lead to God".
But this universalism -- I'm going to call it mine just for simplicity's sake -- is not one of those.
I've come to call it a confessional (or evangelical) universalism. In my vision, Jesus Christ really is the Lord of History. Jesus is the Door, and the only door, through which the sheep can enter the sheepfold. There is a universalism the declares that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that, in the words of Acts 4.12, "salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." Salvation, then, depends upon this confession. And this is the confession which all creation makes: "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave [Jesus Christ] the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2.9-11).
The claims I make about Jesus are not liberal. They certainly aren't politically correct or squishy. It's just not socially acceptable to say that every person -- Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, pagans, and on and on -- will one day confess Jesus Christ is Lord, their Lord. My universalism is the idea -- lovely and inclusive, but lonely and isolating at the same time -- that this exclusive and particular confession about Jesus is the truth of the universe. To many, that chafes against what they conceive religious traditions to do.
It isn't that I'm making a liberal claim about God being big enough to accept every person. It's that I'm making a rather particular, Christian claim that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all humans and of all human history. That the universe will make no sense if it doesn't find its meaning in the confession, "Jesus is Lord".
Sure, there are a thousand ways to flesh that idea out. Mine is just one. And those who know me best know that I'm not particularly committed to expressing this just one way. I simply raise the issue and challenge the notion that universalism has no option but to be liberal and politically correct. I'm not okay and you're not okay. My universalism maintains its shock and scandal because it makes exclusive claims about Jesus Christ, that this crucified Nazarene is the only hope of the universe.
It might seem to some that universalism is just a warm, friendly religious hug, but my claims about Jesus will always cause offense.
To be sure, there are squishy, politically correct visions of universalism, the belief that we're all on different religious paths journeying up the same mountain. That liberal notion that "All roads lead to God".
But this universalism -- I'm going to call it mine just for simplicity's sake -- is not one of those.
I've come to call it a confessional (or evangelical) universalism. In my vision, Jesus Christ really is the Lord of History. Jesus is the Door, and the only door, through which the sheep can enter the sheepfold. There is a universalism the declares that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that, in the words of Acts 4.12, "salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." Salvation, then, depends upon this confession. And this is the confession which all creation makes: "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave [Jesus Christ] the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2.9-11).
The claims I make about Jesus are not liberal. They certainly aren't politically correct or squishy. It's just not socially acceptable to say that every person -- Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, pagans, and on and on -- will one day confess Jesus Christ is Lord, their Lord. My universalism is the idea -- lovely and inclusive, but lonely and isolating at the same time -- that this exclusive and particular confession about Jesus is the truth of the universe. To many, that chafes against what they conceive religious traditions to do.
It isn't that I'm making a liberal claim about God being big enough to accept every person. It's that I'm making a rather particular, Christian claim that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all humans and of all human history. That the universe will make no sense if it doesn't find its meaning in the confession, "Jesus is Lord".
Sure, there are a thousand ways to flesh that idea out. Mine is just one. And those who know me best know that I'm not particularly committed to expressing this just one way. I simply raise the issue and challenge the notion that universalism has no option but to be liberal and politically correct. I'm not okay and you're not okay. My universalism maintains its shock and scandal because it makes exclusive claims about Jesus Christ, that this crucified Nazarene is the only hope of the universe.
It might seem to some that universalism is just a warm, friendly religious hug, but my claims about Jesus will always cause offense.