The Evangelical Universalist Forum

If UR is true, why the emphasis on HOPE??

Theology General Theology
#1

Hello All:

I know this question has been touched upon in various places, but for some reason I’m having a hard time coming up with a good rational for the emphasis on HOPE if in fact Paul really taught UR.

I don’t hope Christmas is coming, I know it is. So I’d never speak of the hope of Christmas coming.
I hope that the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl, but that will depend on lots and lots of factors (one being their terrible defense!)

The introduction of the concept of “hope” in Christian Theology seems almost a direct swipe at the notion of Universal Reconciliation. Yes, we talk about certain UR, or hopeful UR, but I’m finding those distinctions less and less useful. It’s as if UR is not an idea I can tentatively endorse, or tepidly embrace. Hope seems to diminish what I’ve come to see as a future reality. Hope in one sense can seem to diminish certainty.

Further, what exactly IS it that I’m supposed to hope for/in?
– that God exists?
– that God is truthful?
– that God can do it? (ie bring ALL to the point of repentance and redemption…)
– that the Saving Life, Death, Resurrection of Our Lord actually happened?
– that the critics/skeptics are wrong?
– that I’ve been a good enough boy to have my name written in the BOL???
– that I won’t be in that number to whom the Master says “depart from me…”??

As I’ve come to see things, God is completely Victorious in recreating His entire creation eventually. Thus any concept of hope inevitably tends to detract from and diminish that certain victory. It’s almost as if doubt is automatically introduced the moment one entertains the idea of hope…

How do you see it??

Bobx3

#2

The Greek word translated “hope” has the sense/ meaning of “expectation”, which is certainly much stronger than the English word “hope” conveys. Consider the difference (in English) between saying I expect something to happen, and I hope something happens.

We lose so much clear meaning through dodgy translation, it’s not even funny…

#3

TV, various theologians reject Augustine’s doctrine of irrevocable hell without believing that Paul taught dogmatic universalism. This leads to the doctrine of the hope of universalism instead dogmatic universalism.
addition
Also, UR could be true even if it no Bible writer ever taught it dogmatically. In my case, UR is conjecture based on biblical teachings of the hope of universalism and philosophy.

#4

Hello to all from Barcelona!

We open our hearts to God’s love and to His faith in us as revealed by His Son, we must surely have hope, whatever the circumstances, in suffering whether by illness, hunger, war, disaster, and how blessed we are when all seems lost…Yes! Christ’s promise fulfilled! The Holy Spirit is there to comfort and restore our hopes, our expectations. And to whom did Christ bring hope? The sick, the hungry, the poor, the despised, …Without that love, without that faith, would we have hope?

Michael W

#5

Yes, I remember hearing this in a sermon before. Anyway, this ties into something I was recently told be a friend. They said they more than a hope in UR, they had an expectation, both from the revealed nature of the loving triune God and His promises in Scripture. He said, we don’t know everything for sure, and there might be something we’ve misunderstood or haven’t been shown, but we should can certainly expect everyone to be saved.

I think certainty is a relative spectrum that can be hard to pin down e.g. Do I exist or am I in the Matrix? Does God exist? Did Jesus exist? Personally I’m as certain about UR as I am about my self existence i.e. as certain as I can be about anything, but obviously I still can’t rule out being corrected…

Yes, it’s a pity we don’t all natively speak Koine Greek, but I assume God has good reasons why we don’t.

Amen :sunglasses:

There also seems to be some need for faith/trust, which is why God doesn’t give us the answer to every question.