Beliefs of Universalism: God, Sin, and Salvation
The Christian Universalist Association (CUA) expressed on their website the belief that God, “is Love, Light, Truth, and Spirit, the Creator of the universe, whom we are called to seek, know, and love; and whose nature was revealed to the world in the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.” Also on their statement of faith, CUA says that “no human being will be condemned or allowed to suffer pain and separation [from God] forever.”
Christian Universalists agree that Jesus is the way to God and heaven, but that one can die in denial of Christ and will still get to heaven. This might happen immediately after death for all believers and non-believers. On the other hand, a non-believer might “convert to Christianity in the afterlife after suffering varying degrees of punishment,” Matt Slick explained on CARM.org. Christian Universalists believe Jesus implied there would be a “limited, corrective punishment” after which he would bring people out of Hell.
Universalists reason that, while there must be a “law of justice by which actions generate consequences,” God’s love has “ultimately overcome the law of justice,” according to the Christian Universalist Association. “The Bible and other great texts of spiritual and moral wisdom” so that “we may all gain a greater understanding of truth, which should be applied for the betterment of ourselves and our world,” the CUA said.
Forms of Universalism: Moral Universalist and Unitarian Universalist
Moral Universalism
Moral Universalism says there is a God who created an “absolute, universal, perfect and unchangeable” system of right and wrong against which our “modern human rights” were established, as stated on PhilosophyBasics.com. This could be the God of Islam, of Christianity, or any religion which establishes fundamental moral laws through a religious system.
Unitarian Universalist Association(UUA)
The (UUA) takes a politically correct, culturally popular view that truth is relative and personal, depending on your individual beliefs. As stated on the UUA website, they consider themselves “religiously progressive and radically inclusive,” wanting to “know who you are and what matters most to you.” They “respect [] religious diversity,” study “many faiths and honor the holidays of many faith traditions,” they said.
Also, Unitarian Universalists do not affirm the biblical concept of original sin (Psalm 51:5, Jeremiah 17:9, Ephesians 2:1-3) They uphold the belief of humanity’s inherent goodness, rather than humanity’s sin nature.
Universalist tradition modifies religious teaching based on human reason and “the discoveries of science,” according to Britannica. Jesus was a “great teacher and an example worthy of imitation,” Britannicareported of Universalist beliefs, but Unitarian Universalists say one should not believe Jesus was born of a virgin, resurrected from the dead, or an equal part of the Trinity. Unitarian Universalists assert these biblical beliefs are incompatible with modern scientific understanding.
Origins of Universalism and Unitarian Universalism
Numerous theological figures throughout the past two millennia have influenced what we now call Universalism, which is closely associated in the United States with Unitarianism, but neither of these religions was organized until the 18th Century.
The Enlightenment in Europe
The establishment of these two belief systems into organized religions coincided with the Enlightenment in Europe, a century-long process where, at different periods across the mainland and in the British Isles, rulers and influential thinkers weighed-in on topics such as the nature of God. During this age of scientific discovery, “Christians sought to reposition their faith along rational lines,” according to History.com. The Enlightenment was “responsible for mitigating the sterner aspects of Calvinistic theology and preparing the way for the reemergenceof the doctrine of universal salvation,” Britannicasaid.
John Murray and Hosea Ballou in America
Preacher John Murray moved to America from England in 1770 where he spread the idea of Universalism “against much opposition from orthodox Christians who believed that Universalism would lead to immorality,” according to Britannica.
Hosea Ballou succeeded him with a “Unitarian conception of God and reinterpretation of atonement,” which said that “the death of Jesus was not a vicarious atonement for the sins of mankind” but instead showed “God’s infinite and unchangeable love for his children,” Britannicareported. Ballou also emphasized human reason in religion.
The BBC reports that Unitarianismemerged around the 1560s from the Protestant Reformation. Notable Unitarian figures included a former minister of the Church of England, Theophilus Lindsey, and William Ellery Channing whose sermon “Unitarian Christianity” would become “the key text for liberal religion in North America,” according to the BBC.
Universalism and Unitarianism have been closely allied, especially in North America, eventually unifying in the United States as the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Canadian Unitarian Council in Canada, both formally created in 1961 to provide a “continental voice to the movement,” Britannicasaid.
While there is no single right way to worship and each church “is free to choose its own form of worship,” most Universalist-Unitarian churches place “emphasis on the sermon,” according to Britannica.
Scriptural Problems with Universalism
1. One can deny Jesus and still enter heaven.
To support their belief that those who die without trusting in Jesus may still enter heaven, Universalists cite 1 Peter 4:6: “…the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead…” This is not literal death but spiritual death. Scripture often refers to people who are dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1, Romans 6:11).
Being “dead in sin” means “the life of a person who has not experienced new life in Christ is characterized by spiritual death. This means that a person is separated from God's salvation,” Brandon O’Brien wrote at ChristianityToday.com. A dead, unsaved person will not be taken up to heaven. 1 John 4:2-3 says “every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” John 3:16 also tells us that eternal life is reserved for “anyone who believes in [Jesus].”
Universalism looks friendly and accessible, but it is a lie. As Matt Slickwrote, doctrine that does not include eternal damnation “is wrong and against Scripture.” Not everyone is going to heaven. And one is not saved by being more “good” than “bad.”
The Bible gives hope for salvation: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).
2. Jesus was only a good teacher.
Some proponents of Universalism-Unitarianism believe Jesus was just a good man and to believe in the resurrection is unreasonable. C.S. Lewis responded to the old heretical idea that Jesus was merely a great moral teacher, not divine: “Either this man was, and is, the son of God: or else a madman or something worse,” he said, quoted on CRU.org. Lewis argued that seeking middle ground is irrational; rational people must define Christ as either divine or unworthy of worship and praise.
3. People are basically good and without original sin.
Genesis 3 recounts the first sin which propelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden where they had previously lived a life of perfect unity with God. From that time until the resurrection of Christ, “at regular times throughout the year, the High Priest, who was the only one capable of going before the presence of God on behalf of the people, regulated the atonement,” Laura Gambino stated on CBN.com. If not for that first, original sin, we would not have needed regular blood sacrifice in the Old Testament or the ultimate, atoning blood of Jesus Christ.
Universalist-Unitarians do not acknowledge the sinful nature of man, so they believe there’s no need to ask forgiveness or to worship the risen Christ. In other words, they negate His purpose and deny the holy nature of God.
4. There’s no need for Jesus to receive the judgment of sins on the cross.
A tenet which the Christian Universalist Association published on their websiteis that owing to the “law of justice,” there will be consequences to our actions in this life or in “the life to come,” but they also say that all will be saved. In this case, there is no need for the cross.
But Romans 3:10 says “there is no one righteous, not even one.” In other words, even people who do good works cannot earn heaven. No one is judged “good” and no one is saved except through his or her acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice.
“And you,” wrote the Apostle Paul “who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,” but this is not a universal gift. The gift of salvation is available, Paul added, “if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.” (Colossians 1:21-23).
God’s truth is not relative and cannot be personally defined, but it must be accepted in the person of Christ Jesus if anyone wishes to live for eternity in Heaven with the Father.
Candice Lucey lives with her husband and daughters in (mostly) tranquil Salmon Arm, BC, Canada. Here, she enjoys digging into God’s word when not working or taking part in ministry activities. Her prose and poetry has previously appeared in such publications as Purpose and Creation Illustrated, and her short plays were performed at Christmas by Sunday School students for several years. Catch up with Candice’s scriptural studies at her blog Wordwell.ca.
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