Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
History and Religion
Universalism And The Will

Universalism And The Will

Last updated on: November 6, 2022 at 9:16 am by David Schloss

Universalism And The Will 2022-11-06T09:16:40-05:00 David Schloss

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

If God is love, why does He not save everyone? In other words, if God loves human beings, why does He not allow everyone entry into Heaven? In this paper, I will discuss the belief that God does just that.

This belief, known as universalism, has a long and checkered history in Christian theology. I will begin by providing an overview of universalism. I will then suggest that universalism and the biblical teaching on salvation are irreconcilable. Finally, I will attempt to show that universalism renders free will irrelevant.

Universalism

The first six hundred years of Christianity saw as many as four different schools of thought that sought to advance the theory of universalism. Despite their differences, each school had a common underlying philosophy: everyone will eventually be saved.

Therefore, universalism can be defined as the belief that it is impossible for a loving God to save only a portion of humankind and doom the rest to eternal punishment. Therefore, universalists insist that damnation – and punishment – is only for a limited period during which the soul is to be purified and prepared for eternity in the presence of God.

As a logical consequence of this theory, Hell takes on a very different understanding for universalists than it does for other Christians. Since there is no eternal damnation in the universalist theology, Hell becomes a kind of purgatory in which sins are expiated so that, eventually, everyone will be saved. The Origenists (followers of Origen of Alexandria) claimed that “the punishment of devils and wicked men is temporary and will eventually cease, that is to say, that devils or the ungodly will be completely restored to their original state.” There is some dispute within universalism as to whether “devils” includes Satan.

While universalism has always been a minority belief in Christianity, it became prevalent enough that the Church was compelled to act. In 543, the Synod of Constantinople was convened to address the question of universal salvation. Ultimately, the Church condemned the teachings of universalism, yet, its proponents (e.g., Origen) were not anathematized.

In order to understand why the Church condemned universalism and why it is antithetical to Catholicism, we must examine the biblical teaching on salvation as well as free will.

Universalism And The Gospel

The Catholic Church’s rejection that everyone will eventually be saved is in line with the teachings of Christ. Indeed, it is quite difficult to reconcile universalism and what the Bible teaches regarding who will be saved. Christ makes several statements that contradict a universalist theology.

For example, in Matthew 25:46, Jesus states, “They [the unsaved] will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” According to this verse, the punishment of the unsaved is just as eternal as the life of the righteous. Some believe that those in Hell will eventually cease to exist, but the Lord Himself confirms that it will last forever. Matthew 25:41 also describes Hell as “eternal fire” and “unquenchable fire.”

From the biblical record, it is possible to draw two inferences. First, not everyone will be saved. This point is made emphatically in Matthew 7:21. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.”

The second point is that damnation is eternal. This can be a difficult belief to accept. Why should the punishment in Hell be eternal? The answer appears to lie in the fact that repentance is not possible after death. Said differently, the state of the immortal soul is fixed once it is separated from the body.

The fact that salvation relies upon repentance presents another problem for universalism: free will. To that, I turn next.

Universalism And Free Will

Free will is often an abstract concept that has been the subject of much debate and controversy within philosophy. For the purpose of this paper, I will define free will as the capacity of an agent to act unobstructed by external influences.

What does the human capacity for free will have to do with universalism? Quite a bit, as it turns out.

It is the Catholic view – and the biblical teaching – that we are saved by Grace. Yet God’s Grace is a gift that must be accepted by human beings. That is to say that we must freely assent to the gift of salvation. It is the teaching of the Catholic Church that the acceptance of the gift of salvation is evidenced by faith in God and works designed to bring about God’s Kingdom.

I will briefly suggest two verses that support the Catholic teaching that salvation is predicated upon a composite of faith and works. As evidence that faith is necessary for salvation, Jesus says to the sinful woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (See Luke 7:50).

Yet it is clear that works are also necessary. James 2:17 states, “Faith of itself, if it does not have work, is dead.” In verse 24, James says, “See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” And later: “For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (2:26).

The point that I wish to make is that we are required to cooperate with God to effect our salvation. We can choose to do so, or we can reject God’s Grace. Regardless, it is clear that our free will is a necessary component of salvation.

If this is indeed the case, if free will is a necessary condition for salvation, then it seems impossible that everyone will be saved. One need not spend much time observing the history of mankind to see that God’s Grace is often rejected. Therefore, it appears that the existence of free will also militates against the universalist position.

Conclusion

In this paper, I have endeavored to show that despite the attractiveness of its claim that all are saved, universalism contradicts both the biblical teaching on salvation and the human capacity for free will.

Ultimately, Jesus’ own teaching and the human capacity for free will suggest that the gate to Heaven is indeed narrow.

History and Religion

Relationships and Religion

Previous Post

October 30, 2022

Resurrection

Next Post

November 13, 2022 Procession, Appropriation, And The Life Of God

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Atheism Catholicism. Catholicism. God. Theophany. Christmas Eschatology Faith and Works. God. Holy Spirit Intelligent Design Jesus Christ Justice Law Politics Protestantism Religion Sabbath Salvation. Soteriology. The Bible Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "You shall have no other gods before me"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Moses Aaron Joshua God