Links
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- Each of the following links represents a Trinitarian theology as summarized within the historical creeds:
- God’s Love Wins
- History and the Genesis of You An updated version of Epiphany: The Creator That Doesn’t Fail – (Note: This book has been now published and is no longer a free PDF.)
- The Trinity In You – Perichoresis Australia
- Thomas Talbott – Professor Emeritus at Willamette University. Author of The Inescapable Love of God-Second Edition. His book is an excellent place to begin a serious study of the Ultimate Reconciliation perspective.
- Article by Thomas Talbott called “Freedom, Damnation and the Power to Sin With Impunity.” Excellent article on how “the idea of a freely embraced eternal destiny in hell is deeply incoherent and implies that we are free to sin with impunity forever and to defeat God’s justice forever as well.”
- The One Purpose of God – An Answer to the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment. A scholarly work written by Reformed pastor, Jan Bonda.
- Eclectic Orthodoxy – Father Aiden, an Eastern Orthodox priest, talks of universalism, grace and the Trinity among other interesting things! (Scholarly material)
- Escape to Reality: Exploring the Wide Open Spaces of God’s Amazing Grace – blog by Paul Ellis championing the radical grace message for true Christian Freedom and authentic holiness. (Paul does not embrace Christian Universalism but his paradigm logically does. He has however recently embraced annihilationism.)
- Article by Roger Olson: Was Karl Barth A Universalist?
- Perichoresis – The ministry of Dr. C. Baxter Kruger – renewing a vision for the centrality of the Trinity and its inclusion of all mankind.
- The Great Dance – book by Dr. C. Baxter Kruger – A free PDF book
- Evangelical Calvinism – A Trinitarian inclusive view of the Gospel (a theological paradigm which, in our opinion, theologically supports Christian universalism but yet does not confess it. Scholarly material.)
- George W. Sarris – Actor, Storyteller, author and blogger at The Christian Post, (articles on Ultimate Restoration or Christian Universalism and soon to be published book on Ultimate Restoration. Gordon-Conwell alumni.)
- Hope Beyond Hell – Website and free book by missionary Gerry Beauchemin (formerly with YWAM)
- HopeForAllFellowship.com – Same admin as above
- Jesus Creed – The writings of Scot McKnight (his theology logically supports and constructs a global salvation but does not confess universalism).
- Brian Zahnd – Pastor of Word of Life Church, St. Joseph, MO and author of Beauty Will Save the World (Christian universalism deduced from the reality of beauty)
- Echo the Story – site for Biblical Storying. See also the new multi-media “BibleMesh” (Supports the paradigm of Ultimate Restoration through the overall context of Story but does not confess a Christian universalism paradigm)
- Rethinking Hell – A site devoted to challenging the doctrine of Eternal Conscious Torment in defense of annihilation or what is called “Conditional Immortality.” (This site looks at the Scriptural problems with an eternal hell of punishment. Excellent material as it is a move in the direction towards a more merciful view of God. Examples of annihilationist theologians are John Stott and Preston Sprinkle.)
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- NEW!! Reforming Hell “God’s justice compels Him to restore everything to the way it was meant to be—together, wholeheartedly enjoying & praising Him forever!” Great info, book reviews etc., Answers the following questions: How does reforming hell affect our view of who God is and who people are? How does our view of hell relate to our view of justice and the purpose of punishment?
- NEW!! Andrew Murray’s Hope In Universal Restoration! Few Christian’s realize that the beloved Andrew Murray had written of his hope in ultimate reconciliation. This chapter had been omitted by more recent publishers.
- NEW!! Hell In A Nutshell — The Mystery of His Will by Charles Watson Sr. Short book for those desiring a more concise yet thorough look at the nature of hell.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello,
I work with Peter Hiett of the Sanctuary Downtown in Denver. We’re currently putting together a short film series called “Downside Up” that is meant to directly challenge the current paradigm of fear and put forth the theology of God’s Relentless Love and Grace that covers all through Jesus. We are looking to spread the work about this project and hopefully build some partnerships to help us finish what we started.
You can check out our promo here: http://vimeo.com/novelmotionpictures/crf
Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DownsideUpFilms and our pilot short film, “The Flaming Toilet of Death” on our website, http://www.downsideup.com.
Feel free to reach out to me if you’re interested and we could explore how we might help each other. Thanks!
Ben Sullivan
His blessings to you,
You might like to add the site of Peter Hiett:
http://www.tsdowntown.com/
and the teaching videos of Eamon McMullan:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eamon+mcmullan&oq=eamon+mcmullan&gs_l=youtube.3…531.3815.0.5239.14.10.0.3.3.0.141.782.8j2.10.0…0.0…1ac.1.11.youtube.TDJN2vN_ZPs
Ben, Thanks for the links to your film project with Peter. I checked out a couple of the promos–they look fantastic. Peter is one of the best communicators of the gospel we have heard and together with a film artist will make a powerful impact.
Looking forward to seeing the series…
Thanks David, yes Peter Hiett is one of our favorite teachers/preachers as I noted to Ben. We have links to The Sanctuary throughout the site and on our other site, godslovewins.com in reference to specific books, articles and sermons of Peter’s. There is a link to Peter’s book “Epiphany” above.
I am not familiar with Eamon McMullan. Maybe you could give me a little more background on him. I listened briefly but will need to spend more time to be able to comment.
Yes, as I spent more time on your site, I realized that you are well acquainted with Peter Hiett. This is great – the more of his messages I watch, the more blessed I am.
Eamon McMullan lives in London. His primary message is the gift of righteousness. He emphasizes this in just about every video message. He sees that the vast majority of the modern church has “missed it” and has become ensnared in various types and degrees of legalism. He says that if we learn to be established in the “gift” of righteousness, we can actually live the abundant life that Jesus promised us. As he expounds on this main theme it becomes very clear that he also believes in Christian Universalism.
I would recommend these two messages:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPTUBlVugrQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ksnkCkwIbw
Also, two books have been released recently that you may be interested in:
http://www.amazon.com/Dropping-Hell-Embracing-Grace-Concerning/dp/1432777017/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1373128828&sr=8-3&keywords=ivan+rogers
http://www.amazon.com/Flames-Love-Hell-Universal-Salvation/dp/1620320487/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373129038&sr=1-1&keywords=flames+of+love
Blessings to you and thank you so much for your work here!!
David, I haven’t had a chance to listen to those sermons yet but plan to as soon as I have time. I agree that understanding the gift of righteousness is key to dispelling legalism. If our righteousness is in heaven where we are told we are seated with Him then there is no more for us to do but appreciate Him for all He’s done. This is the power for sanctification–we must have an “it is finished” mindset.
I am always encouraged to see more books coming to publication that proclaim the greater hope! I will have to add them to my library.
I believe the center must be Christ and who we are in Him (the “gift of righteousness”) and not how many will be saved in the end. The Bible’s teaching on our union with Christ creates the natural framework for the salvation of all: “In Adam all died; in Christ all are made alive.” When the teaching centers on our identification with Christ and His incarnational representation of us there is no other conclusion than the following: “If one died for all, therefore all died.”
Teachers whom I think unpack this very well are Dr. Baxter Kruger, Francois Du Toit and Andre Rabe.
Grace and peace…
Thank you for these references. I am finding that more than a few believers in CU deny the Trinity. Is this mostly semantics? Do they believe Jesus is God but do not endorse the use of the word Trinity? I even found one who stated plainly that Jesus is not God but the Son of God.
Isaiah 9:6 states that the messiah will be called “the mighty God, the everlasting Father”. Thomas said “My Lord and My God”. Just before Jesus returned to heaven, the scripture says they worshiped Him, yet when John fell before an angel he was told to worship God.
To have finally found the truth of CU and then be blindsided by this controversy is painful to me! I would really appreciate your thoughts on this – thank you!!
David, Thank you for bringing up this observation. When I began this journey I encountered the same unsettling proposal by some–that Jesus was not God.
All along I had been committed to the Trinitarian doctrine but principally because I was convinced that it represented what Scripture taught (I had debated at length JW’s and Mormons) but also because the Trinity is what made the atonement “work” as it had to be God who was the One who offered the sacrifice through the Incarnation of Christ. But I had no idea how much MORE there was to the Trinitarian life of God and how it had staggering implications for all mankind in understanding their origin, value and identity (and then logically their destiny).
I now believe the Trinity is THE most vital and stunning aspect of the Story of God.
I have now come to see that the relationship of the Trinity is the entire context of and backdrop to the Gospel story! It is not just an important doctrine, it is the source of the life-giving power of the Gospel! For it is in the Incarnation that we see our origin as the image and likeness of God born out of a relationship of love between the Father, Son and Spirit. Not first as sinners in Adam but as His image and likeness created by and then redeemed in Christ who has been our Savior from BEFORE the foundation of the world! This moves us from our western Greek legal Augustinian view of salvation to one that is rooted in the relationship within the Godhead.
I will honestly never be the same since I have been given this vision of our life that has been incorporated into the relationship of Father, Son and Spirit. In fact, if I had it to do again I would begin the thesis of this website upon all the aspects and implications of the Trinitarian life on mankind’s behalf. The answer to the question then of “How many in the end will be saved?” becomes obvious: “If one died for all therefore all died…In Christ all shall be made alive.”
I suspect that it is this immense power of the Trinitarian life on mankind’s behalf that has given rise to unitarianism. The Incarnation is at the center of our faith and thus it makes sense that the Enemy would try to veil and destroy its beautiful and life-giving truth.
For further study I would recommend reading the little booklet “On the Incarnation” by Athanasius (who penned the Nicene Creed). You can find it free online. Dr. Baxter Kruger distills the Trinitarian theology of Athanasius and the Torrance brothers at his website “Perichoresis” (the word for the interpenetrating love relationship between the Father, Son and Spirit in which we are included!) He also wrote “The Shack Revisited” –a book revealing the historical Trinitarian theology behind “The Shack.”
I will get back to you on specific videos by Andre and Francois. Their background is from the more charismatic camp and some of their videos are in the context of very loud audiences(!) On the other hand if your background is more of the Reformed/Calvinistic the site “Evangelical Calvinism” (despite its confusing name) communicates the exact same Trinitarian vision but from a more scholarly stance.
Anyway, I find this convergence of Gospel truth by so many various theological camps all rooted in the same belief in the fellowship and love of the Trinity to be extremely encouraging. It seems to be gaining more and more momentum around the world. When people catch sight of it’s enormous vision for their lives it takes their breath away and it will not need to be defended against the bland and impoverished view of unitarianism.
grace to you…
Thank you for this great endorsement of Trinitarian theology. I am encouraged by you and the work of Baxter Kruger. It has been very upsetting to realize that believers in Christian Universalism are manifesting the same kinds of strife and division that are ubiquitous in the traditional churches.
Here is a link that lists John 1:1 in a great many translations. Every one of them says “the Word was God” except for the NLT which says “and He was God”. I suppose this is just further evidence that the accuser of the brethren does not give up. When large numbers of people are rejecting eternal conscious torment, the enemy works to create a new division. I suppose our response must also be that we never give up sharing the truth.
Hi David, glad you are encouraged and I believe there is a great deal to be excited about right now. This message of the Incarnation is sweeping the globe.
As far as “Christian Universalists” dividing over the deity of Christ I would have to say that the unitarians are not in the same category and indeed worship a different god of static sameness–the “faceless Omni-god” as Kruger would say.
That leaves the “strife” factor limited to details about how it all pans out in the end. I see those differences as extremely minor. Especially in comparison to those of today’s Evangelical church which have generated tens of thousands of denominations and represent some of the most diverse interpretations of who God is(!)
Thank you again for the encouragement of your words!!
Highly recommended Universal Reconciliation teacher…
Dr. Stephen E Jones at gods-kingdom-ministries.net
He focuses on why the divine law requires Universal Restoration, as well as prophetic matters
My beliefs were shaped in part by my early childhood experiences with Pentacostalism, where I could not define the dividing line between God and Satan, they appeared to be embodied in one entity at war with itself. Every Sunday our preacher would act out this struggle. The explaination seemed to be that the members of the congregation were rough, poor, working class folks that could not grasp or respond to anything short of this violent drama. I can’t help believe and have for most of my life in a view much like yours. I know you are on the right track, God bless you.
Yes, when you attribute both the greatest act of grace (salvation by self-sacrifice) and the greatest act of evil (eternal torture) to the same divine being you’ve got a problem. It’s the outworking of a pagan dualism mindset.