I’m often surprised how many protests I get from my atheist friends about Christianity that I can effectively deactivate by just saying, “I’m a universalist so I don’t think that.” I write, “deactivate,” instead of, “answer,” because I don’t think many theological questions can be definitively answered with pithy responses. It takes a lifetime of… Continue reading Beyond Judgement
Category: Universal Salvation
Support for Universalism in Scripture, Logic and Love
I describe myself as a universalist. What do I mean by that? First, I don’t mean Unitarian Universalist, although I tried that once and hold them all in high regard. I’m a Jesus freak schooled in primarily UCC theology, a mystic at heart and I currently attend a very loving Lutheran church. I happen to… Continue reading Support for Universalism in Scripture, Logic and Love
The Word Became Flesh
The birth story in the Gospel of John is barely a story at all. You don’t get singing angels, shepherds in the field or gift-bearing magi. What you do get is one of the most profound statements of Christian theology ever written. And you get a little bit of John the Baptist. It’s not sentimental.… Continue reading The Word Became Flesh
For God So Loves All
A dear friend once shared that whenever she sees someone carrying a sign that says, “John 3:16,” she assumes it implies bigotry and exclusion. I was surprised because in my privileged white, straight, CIS-gendered bubble, I’ve only ever thought of this verse as being about God’s love. In case you’re unfamiliar with arguably the most… Continue reading For God So Loves All
Puzzle Pieces and Bridges
Sometimes I think Protestants have approached theology like the Bible is a big box of jigsaw puzzle pieces and if we just had enough time and patience, we’d be able to fit everything together. This is what some scholars would call a presumption of univocality. In other words, God is the ultimate author of the… Continue reading Puzzle Pieces and Bridges
Are You Saved?
Has another Christian — probably an Evangelical — ever asked you, “are you saved?” Sometimes conversing with other Christians makes me more uncomfortable than any other kind of human interaction. Invariably the small differences in our theology seem large in the context of our mutual love of Jesus. At some point in talking with an… Continue reading Are You Saved?