What Is Universalism - Essay Example

Running head: UNIVERSALISM Universalism Christian Universalism is the belief that all people living in the world can and will be saved. Although it is often criticised for the fact that it leads to spiritual laziness and sin, in fact this belief is traced back to the roots of Christianity, and was most fully formed by the Christian theologist Origen (3rd century A.D.). (Stetson, np) However, as the organised movement it appeared in the North America during the epoch of Enlightenment. According to them, Christs death should be perceived as the sign of God’s love to humanity, and they stuck to the belief that all humans are punished for their sins in their earthly lives, and once the death comes, the soul becomes blessed by the higher love of God and hence goes directly to Heaven. As Edwards has it: “Without spirit from God there is nothing- no earth, no sun, no man and no manifestation of any kind. God is all in all, but we cannot fully realized this YET. [T]here isn’t a single moment we become spirit in this world, but instead, each of us is spirit that is maturing to the level high enough to know God and enter the Kingdom of God.” (Edwards, np) The ultimate goal of every human being is theosis, or deification – that is, full acquisition of God’s likeness and “becom[ing] by grace what God is by nature”. (Zgourides, np) Theosis is “the restoration of man/woman as a true son of God” (Escobar, np), and it is not a static condition: “it is a never-ending growth, a process, an ascent towards God”. (Escobar, np) Theosis presupposes that “all human beings were created in divine perfection like Christ, have fallen into a state of rebellion, and may be restored to perfection and conformed to the image of Christ in the fullness of time.” (Stetson, np) Where does the idea of Universalism originate from, and how is it justified by its followers? The Prayer of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane (“Abba, My Father, the Father of the One whom Thou sent to unite the people of Israel and the scattered children of God, the heathens, in order to create out of two peoples a new people, and to reconcile them both with Thyself through the Cross. Everything is possible for Thee, everything that corresponds to Thy boundless perfection”. (I Peter 3:10)) was the last God’s will that has been violated by the traditional Christianity: by dividing the Eastern and the Western religion, by separating the sinners from the saints… At the same time, Universalism aims at making people united in one big power – the God’s Love. The only criterion for entering the Kingdom of Heaven is for the universalists that the people are united in love in the name of God. Universalism opposes confessional restraint and formality. The true Church is the Universal Church that makes it possible to the divine humankind to emerge – which results in the situation when the divine incarnation is possible “not only in Christ but also in all humanity.” (Sunderland, np) In fact, God, according to some scholars, places himself not only in humanity but also in all things and objects of the world: “Do you ask, How is God in all things? I think we must answer: In the lowest objects, that is, in the whole inorganic world, he is present as simply Force or Energy. In objects higher, that is, in the organic world, he is present as Force or Energy and Life. In man his manifestation is still more complete and on still higher planes. That is to say, in man God is present as Energy, as Life, and also as Self-Consciousness, Will, Moral Nature, and highest of all, Love.” (Sunderland, np) Why do I consider the accusations against Universalism to be irrelevant? Because this belief is connected not with apostasy, compromising with the believers’ consciousness or re-organization of the Church but solely with the universal character of the doctrine. Universalism is perhaps the only Christian doctrine able to overcome the segregation of people in the society and religious confessions while preserving all their peculiarities and diversity. The name Universalism can be attributed not only to the fact that it promises the universal bliss to every human soul but also to the universal character of accepting, understanding and justifying everyone on this Earth, not only the believers but also atheists. Gavazzoni says: “…weve all been conceived in and birthed out of God. Rebirth, or being born again, or born from above in our creaturely, time-oriented existence and experience, is about being reconnected to, remembering, being awakened to, and realizing in time the truth that we have been, in and from eternity, born of God.” (Gavazzoni, np) Of course this position might be doubted and accused of causing spiritual unawareness and laziness among the believers. However, I believe that it had at least one major advantage: it increases the amount of Love in the world – the love of humans to God and to each other. And this result is certainly what matters most of all. Love is the eternal feeling of the divine nature whose spiritual power is the only thing that makes it possible for the Kingdom of God to come. Universalism does not see any contradictions between the sinners and the righteous men – and moreover, different confessions do not exclude each other but rather make each other complete. There are no principal differences between various Christian confessions, they might be diverse but not antagonistic – therefore all believers can unite in a free union. Universalism presupposes the possibility to utilise religious principles when tackling social issues. However, it is crucial to pinpoint the fact that Christian Universalism is being traditionally misunderstood by the wider public – people tend to think that if the doctrine targets different peoples and nations, it automatically makes it adjustable to any cultural traditions, all lifestyles, all forms of states, etc. However, this is not so, and Universalism should not be mistaken for multiculturalism or the desire to level down the differences between people. The idea of Christian Universalism is different – there is not a single person in the whole Universe who would not be able to accept the Good News if they want to. There is not a single person who lacks the opportunity or ability to adapt to Christianity. Therefore there can be no artificial universality in Universalism – since all people, no matter what their cultural or social background is, are equal in the face of God. Sunderland in his article says, defending Universalism: “Am I not right in claiming that this doctrine is in harmony with science, in harmony with philosophy, in harmony with the thought of evolution and a law-governed universe, in harmony with the real teaching of Jesus and his disciples? May we not justly claim that it is the teaching of the New Testament restored to the world? And does it not meet the needs of the human soul as the old doctrine does not? It removes the distance between us and God. It lifts the human up to the divine. It makes our very life the life of God in us. And thus it teaches us to say with Jesus, "I and my Father are one."” (Sunderland, np) Christian Universalism presupposes missionary character, and it is very normal as to believe that the Evangel is true in fact means to accept that it is universal, targets everyone, is able to touch a cord in the hearts of every human being and corresponds to the deep needs and desires of everyone who has access to it. Therefore Universalism aims at spreading the Good News everywhere, not just among certain privileged people. It is also reflected in the New Testament, in the words of apostle Paul “Christ is all and in all.” (Coloss., 3:11) Universal character of Christian doctrine is exceptionally important nowadays, when religion is often viewed as something that is particular rather than universal, something that always should be adjusted to the ethnic, cultural, psychological or other background of each particular person. Therefore it becomes particularly important to talk about the general and common ground that unite all Christians. Christian Universalism needs to be clarified and fully explained to the wider public. First of all, the very notion of Universalism needs to be clarified. Speaking of it, we first of all mean the universal character of all ethical norms and principles determining the relationships between people. Secondly, it is very important to remember about the general human values that Universalism aims to maintain and defend. Of course there is a problem that within the framework of Christianity, there are various doctrines that utilize different approaches to Christian traditions. They tend to understand Christianity in different ways, and consequently they treat differently the human beings within these Christian traditions. What Universalism proclaims is that at the end all human souls will be relieved from their sins and saved. All people are loved by God, and therefore the sinners will be cleared off their sins and will be restored for their further eternal lives – this means that even if a person was far from Christianity when living on Earth, he or she has the chance to accept God after death and therefore be saved. In the book If God is Love – Rediscovering Grace in an Ungracious World, Phillip Gulley and James Mulholland touch upon the topic of Universalism and proclaim “the theology of love”, stating that “all people are God’s cherished children and deserving of love”. (Gulley & Mulholland, 2004) In their book, Gulley and Mulholland show to the reader that the Church has distorted the messages of Jesus that only brought love, and substituted them for hate and fear. This tendency to accuse traditional church seems to have become very popular nowadays – it’s easy to remember the famous books by Dan Brown, from Angels and Demons and The Lost Symbol to the widely popular The Da Vinci Code – the novel revealing how the Church deliberately “crossed out” women from being influential in Christianity. And these accusations seem to have a solid ground as it is, indeed, true that instead of inspiring people to follow our Heavenly Father in his Divine Love, people are told to live in constant fear and struggle through their lives – still having little chances to deserve Heaven. But what God truly is – is pure Love in itself: “We love because he first loved us. Those who say ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers and sisters, are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” (John, 4:19-20) Love is the universal and utmost power that makes this world go round. Therefore for Ph. Gulley and J. Mulholland, God is synonymous to Love, is the source of Love. And Love is the only possible salvation for all human beings, no matter if they sinned or not: “Jesus demonstrated his love for the outcasts, those many considered unlovable. Regrettably, many Christians have been unwilling to adopt the ethic of Jesus — a theology of inclusion, acceptance, and love. We’ve been unwilling to love and accept our enemies. We haven’t even been excited about loving our neighbor.” (Gulley & Mulholland, 2004) Gulley and Mulholland say in their book that the Church has become ungracious and merciless in the eyes of the believers nowadays. As an example, many gay people are convinced that God hates them, and of course this simply cannot go in line with the idea of gracious, loving and all-forgiving Lord. “Weighing Scripture has allowed me to avoid the all-or nothing approach to the Bible. …to reject the Bible completely is to miss its proclamation of God’s love, but to accept it uncritically is to support some ugly notions about God.” (Gulley & Mulholland 2004, pp. 52-53) God is not the power to be used by anyone to keep other people within certain frames, or to keep them in fear. God is there to be the merciful and gracious source of Love, Inspiration and Light – in other words, to make people’s lives better, happier, and therefore holier and closer to the divine power. The Church, vice versa, tends to depict God as the power that is able – and, which is more, willing – to destroy, punish and restrict. Look at the religion-based conflicts and wars worldwide. Look at the miserable lives full of fear many righteous people lead. Religion seems to be the source of pain rather than love and salvation… and that is exactly what Universalism is trying to change. It is trying to get it across to all people in the world that at the end, all of us will be saved by God: "Long before I believed God would save every person, I claimed God as a loving father. It took many years for me to accept that if God is a loving father, his love will persist until every one of his children is reconciled to him. I understand now why it took so long for me to recognize this truth. I had to sort through the vast variety of images of God until I found the one that matched my experience. It finally occurred to me to trust someone I believe knew Gods heart – Jesus." (Gulley & Mulholland, 2004) That is why for me Universalism is perhaps the most humane belief, the one that eliminates any possibility of religion-based conflicts, and the one that is able to enrich the lives of people with the most divine feeling – the love to God and, which is crucial to achieve the love to God, - the love to each other. Universalism restores grace in the religious doctrine and makes Christianity appealing to as many people as possible, since its very name presupposes that it is universal. It does not restrict anyone from entering this religion – something that not all confessions can boast. It makes all people equal in the face of God. It allows everyone to discover God within their souls – and I believe this is the most important condition of true Faith. Theosis is a way to show people that God is not some distant power that can only be feared of and blindly believed in, but part of everything in the world, and most importantly their own souls. And this, to my mind, is the best stimulus to become religious and faithful. References Edwards, Brad. Born of the Spirit: The Offspring and Heirs of God. Retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://www.savioroftheworld.net/Born%20of%20the%20Spirit.htm Escobar, Ángel F. Sánchez. Theosis: The Fusion of Man/Woman and God? Retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://www.christianuniversalist.org/connection/theosis-fusion.html Gavazzoni, John. Born of God – Really? Retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://www.christianuniversalist.org/articles/bornofgod.html Gulley, Philipp & Mulholland, James. (2004). If God is Love: Rediscovering Grace in the Controversial World. Stetson, Eric. The Body of Christ: A Universalist Perspective on Divine Manifestation and Human Destiny. Retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://www.christianuniversalist.org/articles/bodyofchrist.html Sunderland, Jabez T. The Divine Incarnation. Retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://www.americanunitarian.org/sunderlandincarnation.htm Zgourides, George. Dr. The Destiny of the Race of Man: An Orthodox Christian Understanding. Retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://www.christianuniversalist.org/articles/destinyofman.html Read More