Universalism: A Critical Step Toward Spiritual Freedom

How This Ancient Belief Sparks a New Kind of Faith

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Back in the late 1990s, while I was attending a Presbyterian congregation, I had a conversation with my Associate Pastor. Somehow the topic of “election” came up. (For those unfamiliar with "Presby-speak," the “elect” are those chosen by God for heaven. Meanwhile, the “reprobate” are the, um, "not so chosen.")

That’s when he said, "Some people believe God's Grace is so ultimate that, in the end, everybody is elect."

I think I felt my brain explode inside my skull.

I was stunned. But I had to know more.

When I got home, I hopped on the internet, and over the next several days spent many hours researching.

And that’s how I stumbled upon the concept of “universalism”.

The front line

From what I’ve seen, universalism stands on the front line between conservative and progressive Christian theologies.

Conservatives tend to take a traditional approach to the afterlife: some people go to heaven, others go to hell. The criteria might differ across conservative camps, but the basic idea stays the same: there’s a sorting at the end.

Progressives, on the other hand, typically reject the idea of an eternal hell altogether. This changes everything. It radically shifts one’s entire theological orientation and posture.

My main interest in universalism isn’t just about what it says; it’s about what it does. Universalism marks a turning point. From what I’ve witnessed, once someone genuinely embraces universalism, they almost always become a progressive.

Why is that?

First, a little history.

Origin

The first known Christian universalist was a man named Origen, way back in the 3rd Century. He believed that ultimately everyone—including demons, believe it or not—would find themselves going to heaven. For Origen, Divine Justice was never about retribution. It was always about restoration. And this continued into the afterlife.

For better or worse, his universalism was never embraced by mainstream Christianity, but it continued to linger on the edges of Christian thought through the centuries.

Fast forward to modern times…

In 2011, Rob Bell (former pastor at Mars Hill, a popular Evangelical congregation) published Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, which presented the possibility of universal salvation. I admit I didn’t read it, but apparently many Evangelicals did. And, from what I gather, it became quite the catalyst for many within wider Christianity to at least consider the universalist option. I can’t help but wonder how many of those who deconstructed did so after encountering Bell’s book.

A personal paradigm shift

I’ve talked before about the cultural paradigm shift happening around us. But individuals go through their own personal paradigm shifts, too.

Think of it like this…

Before a paradigm shift, you might change your religious beliefs the way a football team changes plays. Maybe you come to the conclusion you don’t believe something (such as the virgin birth) anymore, so you ditch the belief or swap it out for another one. Or, maybe you make a more extreme change like ditching one theological playbook for another (from a Presbyterian one to a Methodist one).

Those may feel like drastic changes, but they are just “changes”. They are not a “paradigm shift”.

A paradigm shift is like changing sports entirely. One minute you’re playing football, and the next baseball. When people shift paradigms, they often use the same language as before, but they don’t mean the same thing. So if you have a football player and a baseball player talking about “the ball”, they would be referencing two different objects.

And that can make cross-paradigmatic theological discussions quite confusing.

Postmodern culture is experiencing a meaning crisis.

Why have we lost sight of Meaning?
Is there any hope of getting it back?
Better yet, is the loss of Meaning really a bad thing?

If you long for a path forward, my theology book Drinking from an Empty Glass: Living Out of a Meaningless Spirituality is the book you’re looking for.