The Evangelical Universalist Forum

SNIPPETS FROM MY HARD COPY UR LIBRARY

Evangelical Universalism Arguments for Evangelical Universalism
#2242

LESLIE WEATHERHEAD

THE CHRISTIAN AGNOSTIC – DR. LESLIE D. WEATHERHEAD

The following is my all-time favorite quote. I’ve had it memorized for many years and I quote it frequently. As a staunch universalist, Dr. Leslie Weatherhead meant it to include everyone without exception, after everyone who needs it experiences kolasis aionion, or age-during corrective chastisement.

“God’s purposes are so vast and glorious, beyond all guessing now, that when they are achieved and consummated, all our sufferings and sorrows of today, even the agonies that nearly break our faith, the disasters that well nigh overwhelm us, shall, seen from that fair country where God’s age long dreams come true, bulk as little as bulk now the pieces of a broken toy upon a nursery floor, over which, thinking that all our little world was in ruins, we cried ourselves to sleep.”
Dr. Leslie Weatherhead

#2243

A POEM BY WIILIAM WORDSWORTH (1770-1850)
One adequate support
For the calamities of mortal life
Exists, one only; - an assured belief
That the procession of our fate, howe’er
Sad or disturbed, is ordered by a being
Of infinite benevolence and power,
Whose everlasting purposes embrace
All accidents, converting them to good.

#2244

Thanks, Rodger. I always loved Wordsworth - despite being forced, in 4th grade at school, to learn and recite all the verses of “Daffodils” (I wandered lonely as a cloud, etc.).

Norm

#2245

:slightly_smiling_face:

#2246

Alexander von Humboldt (1767-1835) wrote
“The conviction, arising from a firm confidence in Almighty goodness and justice – that death is only the termination of an imperfect state of being, whose purpose cannot be fully carried out here, and that it is the passage to a better and higher condition, should be so constantly present to us, that nothing should be able to obscure it, even for a moment; it is the groundwork of inner peace, and of the loftiest endeavors, and is an inexhaustible spring of comfort in affliction.”

#2247

By preaching from an interpreted version of the Bible
instead of a literally translated Bible, evangelists
are able to get thousands of people to do what they
tell them to do (especially send them money)
to avoid being separated from God forever
or be annihilated or suffer eternal torment.
These people wind up believing that everyone who
does not obey the evangelists will suffer the same fate.
And that includes millions of people who die never
even hearing the message of the evangelists.

Literally (not interpretively) translated Bibles do not teach eternal separation from God.
Neither do literally translated Bibles teach eternal torment or even annihilation.
But instead literally translated Bible teach universal salvation from everything from which we need to be saved including our stubborn wills.

Bible Translations That Do Not Teach Eternal Torment
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/GatesOfHell.html

GOD’S PLAN FOR THE AGES OF TIME
THE EONS OF THE BIBLE WITH CONCORDANCE
http://www.saviourofall.org/Tracts/Eons2.html

#2248

LOUIS ABBOTT – UNIVERSAL SALVATION ASSURED

Interested students of the Word of God will decide if Louis Abbott knows what He is talking about.
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS – LOUIS ABBOTT

In the forward to his book AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS, Louis Abbott wrote, “One key area various denominations are divided over is the final destiny of the ungodly, the wicked, the unsaved, the unregenerate, or however one wishes to phrase it.
There are three views on this subject. Each position claims Scriptural support: (1) eternal torment; (2) eternal destruction; and (3) the ultimate salvation of all. It is obvious that all cannot be correct. Two of them have to be wrong.
I pray this book will be a blessing to all who are struggling with this subject.” (unquote)
Notice how Louis proves that numbers one and two are wrong according to the Bible.

This book can be read online at this link
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/index.html

ENJOY!

Eight interviews with Greek scholar Louis Abbott about his belief that the Bible teaches universal salvation (in eight parts)

Copy and paste the links into your browser.







http://tentmaker.org/video2/tag/athiest/

ENJOY!

WHAT IF WE ARE WRONG
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/Appendix5.html

#2249

LOVE WINS

Here is an analogy that I got from Ray Prinzing (my earthly hero and mentor)

A man courts a lady by continually expressing his love for her week after week, both verbally, and by bringing her gifts.

If he stops trying to persuade her to marry him, he loses everything.
But if he never stops trying to convince her until she says yes, then he goes to her place, gathers up all the gifts he gave her AND HER, and takes them back to his place for the rest of their lives.

Human love sometimes fails to elicit a loving response, but God’s divine love is not hampered by the limitations of human love.

Even if takes kolasis aionios (age-during corrective chastisement) which is a negative expression of His love, God will sooner or later elicit a loving response from everyone.

That is what I believe.
LOVE WINS
http://lovewins.us/388/an-analytical-study-of-words/

#2250

LOYAL HURLEY

The age following The Great White Throne Judgment is sometimes called by theologians ‘the age of consummation,’ or ‘the age of Jubilee,’ or ‘the age of the New Heaven and New Earth.’
By the time that age has ended, all fallen creatures will have been saved from everything from which they need to be saved, including their stubborn will.

A snippet from THE OUTCOME OF INFINITE GRACE – DR. LOYAL F. HURLEY
“Only as one sees God’s Plan of the Ages do they see the beauty of God’s Program for the redemption of the race.

Heb. 11:3 should read, “Through faith we understand that the ages were planned by the Word of God.” The ages will collectively end. A literal translation of Heb. 9:26 is, ‘But now, once for all, with a view to the end of the ages, has He been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.’ (Alexander Thompson’s translation)

Throughout the eons there is sin and evil, condemnation and death. At the end of the eons all will be justified (Rom. 5:18,19), and all will be reconciled through Christ’s blood (Col. 1:20).

GOD’S PLAN FOR THE AGES OF TIME
THE EONS OF THE BIBLE WITH CONCORDANCE
http://www.saviourofall.org/Tracts/Eons2.html

#2251

MARTIN LUTHER

I like what Martin Luther said: “God forbid that I should limit the time of acquiring faith to the present life. In the depth of the Divine mercy there may be opportunity to win it in the future.” (Martin Luther’s letter to Hans von Rechenberg, 1522.)

In the conclusion of THE BONDAGE OF THE WILL, Martin Luther wrote
““Even according to the testimony of reason herself there can be no “Free-will”—in man,—in angel,—or in any creature!”
http://www.truecovenanter.com/truelutheran/luther_bow.html#conc

#2252

“Now in the same manner as God has converted so many to Himself
without destroying their liberty, He can undoubtedly convert whole
nations, or the whole world. And it is as easy to Him to convert a
world as one individual soul.” - John Wesley

#2253

“I frankly confess that, for myself, even if it could be, I should not
want free-will to be given me.…But now that God has taken my salvation
out of the control of my own will, and put it under the control of
His, and promised to save me, not according to my working or running,
but according to His own grace and mercy, I have the comfortable
certainty that He is faithful and will not lie to me, and that He is
also great and powerful, so that no devils or opposition can break Him
or pluck me from Him.” -Martin Luther

#2254

“for the power of “free-will” is nil, and it does no good, nor can do,
without grace. It follows, therefore, that “free-will” is obviously a
term applicable only to Divine Majesty; for only He can do, and does
(as the Psalmist sings) “whatever he wills in heaven and earth”
[Psalms 135:6]. If “free-will” is ascribed to men, it is ascribed with
no more propriety than divinity itself would be - and no blasphemy
could exceed that! So it befits theologians to refrain from using the
term when they want to speak of human ability, and to leave it to be
applied to God only.” –Martin Luther

#2255

“How ironic that those who believe God will not violate the ‘free’
will of man have no problem believing He will violate His own free
will—that all men should be saved!” - David Nuckols

“He does not save men by arbitrary force. He saves by their wills,
through moral influence. God has resources in his universe, the all
conquering agencies of love, to make the unwilling soul willing! He
has light enough to make the blind see, and love enough to melt the
hardened heart.” -Quillen Hamilton Shinn

1 Like
#2256

"The healthy man does not torture others.” Carl Jung

“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” Confucius

“In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be
present.” Sir Francis Bacon

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls. The most massive
characters are seared with scars.” Khalil Gibran

“There can be no good without evil.” Russian proverb

“It is a wise father that knows his own child.” William Shakespeare

“Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects
revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method
is love.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I have always found that mercy bears richer fruit than strict
justice.” Abraham Lincoln

“There is no lasting hope in violence, only temporary relief from
hopelessness.” Kingman Brewster, Jr.

“All humanity is one undivided and indivisible family. I cannot detach
myself from the wickedest soul.” Mahatma Ghandi

“Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of its trouble, attempts what is
above its strength, pleads no excuse for impossibility, for it thinks
all things are lawful for itself and all things are possible.” Thomas
A. Kempis

“No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for
happiness, the good he seeks.” Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

“What really raises one’s indignation against suffering is not
suffering intrinsically, but the senselessness of suffering.”
Frederich Nietzsche

“Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the
things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we truly are.”
Arthur Golden

“I’m for truth no matter who tells it. I’m for justice no matter who
it’s for or against.” Malcolm X

1 Like
#2257

MOTIVATION

Philippians 1:15-18

“Some preach Christ because of envy and strife, and some of good will.
One preaches Christ out of contention, not sincerely, the other out of love.
What then, notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being preached.
And I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.”

ETers and ANers preach Christ out of the false motivation that if they don’t preach many
will suffer forever in “hell” or be annihilated.
But even so, like Paul, I rejoice and, yea, I will rejoice that Christ is being preached.

1 Like
#2258

ETERNAL PUNISHMENT CHRISTIANS VERSUS ETERNAL PUNISHMENT MUSLIMS

As most Christians already know, millions of Christians believe that millions of Muslims (and all other non-Christians too) are going to suffer forever in hell.
They believe it because that’s the way they were taught by their parents and by other people on whom they relied to tell them the truth.

What many Christians do not know is that millions of Muslims believe that millions of Christians (and all non-Muslims) are going to suffer forever in hell too.
And they also believe it because that’s the way they were taught by their parents and by other people on whom they relied to tell them the truth
Quote from THE AFTER LIFE IN ISLAM
“Being a Muslim does not keep one out of Hell, but non-Muslims (kafir), however, will be punished eternally.”
That is why they believe they are doing God’s work when they make a project out of killing non-Muslim “infidels” if they refuse to convert to Islam.

I think the entire dichotomy is ridiculous!
I think that the idea of “eternal hell” may be the cause of more suffering on this earth than any other idea that exists.

In my opinion the greatest of all manifestations of God’s grace in action on this earth is that anyone can believe that God will let anyone choose themselves into an inescapable state of everlasting suffering and not go insane thinking about it.

For anyone who is interested, the following is a very informative link
http://what-the-hell-is-hell.com/topics/hell-scholars-corner/

1 Like
#2259

GOD’S PLAN FOR THE AGES OF TIME

While believers are enjoying life eonian, unbelievers will experience kolasis eonian which means age-during corrective chastisement. When the corrective chastisement has been achieved in everyone who needs it, then both life eonian and chastisement eonian will come to an end and eternity will continue with everyone saved from everything from which they need to be saved, including their stubborn will.

A snippet from
GOD’S PLAN FOR THE AGES OF TIME
“During the present wicked eon (Gal.1:4), Sin reigns, Satan who is said to be “the god of this eon” (2 Cor.4:4) blinds and deceives mankind, and death swallows up the race (1 Cor.15:22). But notwithstanding, God is over all and is in supreme control. He is the eonian God. In due time He will deliver the entire creation and bring good out of all the suffering mankind is called upon to endure (Rom.8;18-23).”

GOD’S PLAN FOR THE AGES OF TIME
THE EONS OF THE BIBLE WITH CONCORDANCE
http://www.saviourofall.org/Tracts/Eons2.html

#2260

The age following The Great White Throne Judgment is sometimes called by theologians ‘the age of consummation,’ or ‘the age of Jubilee,’ or ‘the age of the New Heaven and New Earth.’
By the time that age has ended, all fallen creatures will have been saved from everything from which they need to be saved, including their stubborn will.

A snippet from THE OUTCOME OF INFINITE GRACE – LOYAL F. HURLEY
“Only as one sees God’s Plan of the Ages do they see the beauty of God’s Program for the redemption of the race.

Heb. 11:3 should read, “Through faith we understand that the ages were planned by the Word of God.” The ages will collectively end. A literal translation of Heb. 9:26 is, ‘But now, once for all, with a view to the end of the ages, has He been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.’

Throughout the eons there is sin and evil, condemnation and death. At the end of the eons all will be justified (Rom. 5:18,19), and all will be reconciled through Christ’s blood (Col. 1:20)."

GOD’S PLAN FOR THE AGES OF TIME
THE EONS OF THE BIBLE WITH CONCORDANCE
http://www.saviourofall.org/Tracts/Eons2.html

#2261

I wonder what could be worse.