Robin works for a publisher… 
Sonia, did you download a pdf of that 1830s edition of the book?
(I’m not terribly keen on joining something once just to download a freely available pdf. 
But I would like to have a copy of that edition for compilation purposes.)
At the link I posted above, you have to be a member of their group of universities to download the pdf, but I also found it available from Google Books here: books.google.com/ebooks?id=qqKeSpd9Ll4C
I tried converting the epub to Kindle format at RetroRead.com, but the quality isn’t sufficient for a good conversion. There’s a lot of errors. If anyone wants to try that one it’s here: retroread.com/title/The-univ … ebook.html
I also just found it downloadable in a bunch of formats here: archive.org/details/universalrestora1831winc
I’d be willing to proofread and format this book, or work with a team to do it, and get it uploaded to Gutenberg. It would be a slow project if I did it myself, since I don’t seem to have much free time lately. Has anyone worked with them before? I have no idea how that works.
Sonia
I haven’t decided to buy the Star Wars Blu-rays which were released Friday; but I did decide to buy (and started reading over the weekend) Michael Kaminski’s The Secret History of Star Wars.
It’s a hugely detailed research into the development of the story from the earliest days (when there wasn’t a story at all, only a very loose concept–despite what Lucasfilms and GL himself would have us believe nowadays 
) to the release of Revenge of the Sith. A massive project, pretty well written and demonstrably argued with sourcing out the wazoo.
Not only am I interested as an epic-fiction author myself (so can compare and contrast the creative processes)–and as someone who likes Star Wars of course–but it’s an amazing exercise in what’s called “source criticism” and “redaction criticism”, which has some bearing on Gospel studies (and to a lesser extent OT studies). Except Kaminski has access to mountains more raw data leading to the finished project, thus inadvertently illustrating why all such Gospel projects are doomed to (sometimes hilarious) failure.
Also, he’s a self-published (semi-)success story, and as a self-published author myself I’m glad to support this more polished edition.
Having read several chapters and thumbed through other portions, I can say that anyone interested in the story and its themes (I’m thinking of Gene/Auggybendoggy! ) ought to order a copy pronto.
Currently I’m reading:
I’ve finished Malcolm by George MacDonald, and started the sequel. Malcolm is one of my favorite MacDonald characters.
I also finished by Eric Flint1632
I don’t very often indulge in purely entertainment fiction, (unless I’m reading to the kids) but sometimes I do. This is a fun, sci-fi/time travel/historical fiction story: what happens when a 6 mile diameter chunk of West Virginia gets transported to 1632 Germany? I probably gets an “R” rating for violence/language/sex, but it really wasn’t overdone, considering the setting in the midst of the 30 Years War. It’s probably unrealistically optimistic, but like I said, a fun read. And there’s a sequel, but I don’t get to read that till I get some overdue projects done around the house.
(Editing to say: When I say “Rated R”, remember I’m a mom of 6 and always thinking in terms of the kids, LOL. I’d be fine with my mid-teens reading it, but wouldn’t hand it to my younger kiddos. People particularly sensitive to violence won’t like it, but It’s no worse than what you find in the Bible.)
Still slowly reading Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton
Started The Universal Restoration by Elhanan Winchester
Reading aloud to my kids:
Darke, by Angie Sage, book 6 of the Septimus Heap series. Not recommended if you have a problem with Magyk, witches, ghosts, etc.
Sonia
close to finishing Julie’s ‘‘raising hell’’ , and I’m right in the middle of Chester Russell ‘‘was Jesus a pacifist’’ big 
Still working occasionally through Jim’s draft of Conditional Prophecy.
Finished Kaminsky’s book on how the Star Wars movies were written. Not only highly interesting for anyone who likes the movies (and some of the auxiliary story material), but also an excellent example of how source and redaction criticism should be done–and why such criticism will always be tenuously speculative at best when working on Biblical texts.
Started and read through most of Cardinal John Henry Newman’s Apologia Pro Vita Sua, although I lost some patience with it eventually and didn’t quite finish it. (I may still go back later and finish out; I’ve got about 20% to go.) Now picking through the specifically RC portions of Peter Kreeft’s Catholic Christianity.
I consider Roman Catholicism to be the last major opponent to Christian universalism, as they make appeal against it based on the ground of special revelatory interpretation (or possibly special revelatory judgment between cases). Being a Protestant, this is not exactly a problem for me (it’s one of the main things Protestants Protest about ), but I generally respect the RCC and the Eastern Orthodox as Catholic bodies, along with other ancient trinitarian branches of the Church–and of course of those ancient branches only the RCC is definitely against “katholicism”, so to speak. (And appears to be moderating its stance on that in recent decades, closer in line with the dogmatic agnosticism of the EOx on that topic.)
I can’t say I’m very impressed with the case for special Papal prerogatives in this matter so far–I can understand and sympathize with Newman’s argument that ideally this (or something like it) ought to be the case, but I think his argument falters when it comes to practical practice. It reminds me of Lewis’ criticism on another but related topic: the argument that this is best, God always does what is best, therefore God has done this, may have to be revised in light of actual evidence otherwise.
Anyway. Right now I’m hopping back and forth between Kreeft and Jim (i.e. James Goetz, one of our admins and co-creator of the forum).
Not knowing anything about the Papal position you’re referring to, I’m guessing that it’s pretty much entirely based on appeal to tradition?
Pretty much, although it also involves a too-simplistic reading of scripture.
Of course!
It was interesting to note what many of you here are reading. I am interested in reading Winchester’s book. Thanks Sonja for the link.
I am lately reading books by evangelicals that to me display their “flirtacious relationship” with UR. For instance I recently read Scot McKnight’s book *Embracing Grace *where he makes sweeping statements about the extent and power of God’s grace and redemption with very little attempt to retract and qualify any of it. Also I just finished *Surprised by Grace *by Tullian Tchividjian (a grandson of Billy Graham) a book entirely about Jonah. You can just imagine the power of that story and it’s markers for UR, and they are strikingly blatant in this book!
Wow, it’s quite astonishing to watch these traditional theologians running with the themes of restoration and the missional nature of God and the Church and then try and skid to a stop. They can’t and they usually don’t. Their words of hope and restoration are so powerful I believe they are intuitively not willing to take back the hope. Sometimes you will see some qualifier several chapters later or at the end of the book. However when they do it is usually a very soft version of the traditional view or they just hint at it briefly.
This has been one of the points of our website, using our traditional theologians to show how close many are to teaching UR without realizing it! Among them are Tim Keller and Cornelius Plantinga, but new books are being written on these themes everyday as the “missional” strategy is emphasized and the cosmic scope of the gospel is understood with its implications.
I am wondering if anyone else has read books that reveal this walking on the brink of UR by more recent traditional evangelicals?
phillip
Jesus and the undoing of adam’’ C Baxter kruger
‘‘who in hell was hell prepared for?’’ [a story of GODS love for his creation] , you would think by the title you could guess what he is going to be addressing but he is going on about the gap theory ,it’s one of the very few books where I have skim read bits of it because it simply isn’t dealing with the topic you think it would be
re-reading bits of ‘‘when GOD says war is right’’ 
‘‘GODS boycott of sin’’- a consideration of the doctrine of hell and pacifism’’
“In search of a way” by Gerard W. Hughes. Not universalistic, but some very insightful spiritual stuff that I would say is compatible. (Thanks Jeff)
I haven’t got much time to read books anymore 
And I haven’t done much UR study recently. But I’m very slowly working my way though:
- ‘The Meaning of Peace’ (1992), Yoder and Swartley. This book might actually interest some URers (especially those who have a pacifist-UR). This book endeavours to explain what Biblical shalom/eirene is, not our washy and introspective (rather Eastern) notion of “peace”. [Edit: Biblical peace is largely what I presume Jason calls fair-togetherness between persons – hence my recommendation for some URers]
- ‘Covenant of Peace: The Missing Peace in New Testament Theology and Ethics’ (2006), Swartley
- ‘Hope Beyond Hell’ (2010), Beauchemin. I started reading this ages ago, I’ve nearly finished it, but I just need to sit down and conquer it!
- ’Christ Triumphant’ (1890?), Allin. I’ve only started flicking through this, reading bits and pieces that catch my eye.
- And finally, ‘CS Lewis Signature Compendium’ (2002). This is an ongoing thing (over years now!)
Hope Beyond Hell by Gerard Beauchemin to be followed by The Shack (Thanks Melchi)
“Different Eyes - The Art of Living Beautifully” by Steve Chalke and Alan Mann
“The Lord of the Rings” by JRR Tolkien (I got bored with this as a teenager, so I thought its about time I gave it another chance!)
“Theology as Conversation” Bruce McCormack and Kimlyn Bender (eds) (includes a great pro-universalism chapter by Moltmann and many other gems.)
Hope Beyond Hell by Gerry Beauchemin is next up on my long list
and then The Gospel Reloaded and The Matrix Revelations (I’m in a Matrix phase, if you can gather from my avatar pic)
and then At The End Of The Ages by Bob Evely
and then this site’s namesake by one of the guys featured at the top of the page
and I may also start reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (the only one I haven’t read yet) sometime next month, so that way I can mix a little fiction in with all the non-fiction for fun
and this is only a start 
blessings to you
Matt
My recommendation from someone who also got bored with it as a tween?
Skip the descriptions. Especially the scenery descriptions. They read much better after I was familiar with (and enjoyed) the actual story.
I loved them as a tween, I even read the silmarillion. Just read it again a couple years ago.