Thoughts on Christian Universalism?
As I shared in an earlier post, I recently started the process of deconstructing after taking a two-year break from Christianity (going to church, reading my Bible, etc.). Part of this deconstruction process that I’ve been in has involved re-examining many of the beliefs I was raised with, such as Calvinism.
One of the reasons I stepped away from Christianity is that I’ve struggled to make sense of the idea of a loving and good God who creates everyone, yet only chooses to save the so-called “elect.” Under the TULIP framework, it can feel as though some people are created without ever truly having a chance, only to be condemned to hell (which, according to the majority of Calvinists, is eternal conscious torment). Simply put, Calvinism seems as though God creates certain people only to send them to eternal conscious torment.
All this to say, I recently began exploring alternatives not only to Calvinism, but also to the idea of eternal conscious torment. One book that I’ve found particularly compelling, among others, is Grace Saves All: The Necessity of Christian Universalism by David Artman. I especially appreciate how Artman proposes five points of his own (God is a loving parent to all; God sincerely wants to save all; God, in Christ, covers the sin of all; God is sovereign over all; and God will be all in all) while directly challenging Calvinism as, among other things, deeply misguided.
What are your thoughts on Christian Universalism and Artman’s five points?