Finding the True Path of Christ

Millions of people today are coming to the belief in universal salvation. Many of them are sincere, Bible-believing Christians. They attend churches of various denominations and come from diverse backgrounds. Each one has a unique story to tell of how God led them -- sometimes gently, sometimes dramatically -- to move beyond their former belief in eternal hell and rigid church doctrines and to embrace an inclusive view of salvation and an optimistic view of God and His plan for our lives and our universe. My own story is told in this book, and this introduction to Christian Universalism is the fruit of my desire to share what I have learned about the Gospel with others. The reason I wrote it is so that many more people will have their own stories to share -- discovering a different kind of Christianity and being transformed from the inside out by the knowledge of God's unconditional and all-consuming love.

This might be your first time learning of any kind of Christian Gospel other than the harsh message of fundamentalists, who have told you you're going to hell unless you belong to their church, or unless you pray a certain way or believe certain religious teachings -- who have told you your loved ones who died without professing faith in Christ are lost forever. You may have followed this religious system out of fear of doing otherwise or because you were raised to believe it. Or you may have rejected it in disgust and thrown God out of your life along with the nasty fundamentalist Christian creed. I invite you to consider the alternative, the Good News Gospel of Christian Universalism that is the original message of the Christian faith. It is a message that our hurting world desperately needs to hear today. It is a message that can truly change souls rather than just "winning" them.

In this book, we will examine the Biblical alternative to Christian Fundamentalism: the positive and uplifting view of Christianity called Christian Universalism. We will discover that the Bible, when properly translated and interpreted, supports the optimistic view of salvation called universal or ultimate reconciliation, rather than the more popular ideas of eternal damnation or annihilation of the wicked. We will discuss some of the objections people commonly raise to Christian Universalism and answer them. We will explore some of the more profound implications of the universalist interpretation of Christianity for the nature of God, the meaning of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and human nature and destiny. We will survey the history of Christian thought concerning salvation and the fate of those who do not follow Christ in their life on earth, and we will see how the rise of the doctrine of eternal torment led to terrible consequences both in society as a whole and in the lives of individual Christians. We will discuss the rebirth of universalist theology in modern times, and we will consider the importance of the Good News of Christian Universalism in today's world, with the frightening rise of religious fundamentalism -- both fundamentalist Christianity and other extremist forms of faith -- that is the source of increasing levels of division, hatred, and even violence in the name of God.

I hope that readers will see the faith of Christ in a whole new light -- the light of truth as revealed in the Bible and in the human heart and mind, free from the darkness that has been spread by ignorant fundamentalism throughout history and in the present day. Christianity is seen in the popular culture as a religion that offers salvation only for believers and the torments of a never-ending hell for everyone else. That must change. Only the universalist form of Christianity can move people to love God with a true love freely given, and to serve God and their fellow man with a depth of compassion that springs only from the knowledge that all people are God's children and all will meet again one day in our Father's house.

So let's turn off the fiery televangelists and throw out the angry tracts that say "confess Christ or else..." and find a real reason to believe in him and walk in the way he showed us so many centuries ago. It is a path that is often forgotten, but which is ever relevant and leads to an outcome infinitely greater than anything that is usually preached from the pulpit. It is a path that leads out of hell and into heaven -- a path that all souls someday shall tread. The first step is to discover who God really is, who we really are, and how we have been deceived into thinking the divine path is something very different from what it really is. Trusting in the Spirit to lead us to the truth, let's begin the journey!

God's Relationship with the Jews and All Humanity

The Bible is largely a book about the history -- both political and religious -- of the Jewish people. But that doesn't necessarily mean that God only cares about the Jews, or that His character should be different in how He relates to Gentiles. The New Testament emphasizes the idea that God treats the Jews and the Gentiles equally. As the Apostle Paul wrote, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:28). Nevertheless, Paul himself was a Jew, as was Jesus and all the twelve apostles. Nearly the entire Bible, if not all of it, is believed to have been written by Jews. The difference is that the Jews who wrote the New Testament believed that God was expanding His covenant relationship with the Jews to include all people through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, in light of the fact that the story of God's relationship with man as told in the Bible is a story of Jewish people, we should recognize that the Jews are a microcosm of all humanity. How God revealed His character to the Jews is going to be consistent with how God acts toward people in general -- at least that is what Christians believe because of our faith in the message of the New Testament.

So let's examine in greater detail how God dealt with the Jews. The Old Testament tells that story: the selection of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the patriarchal fathers of the people of Israel; the creation of the twelve tribes of Israel and a united loyalty to Moses and the Law he brought from Yahweh, the God of Israel; and the establishment of the Jewish nation-state with the rise of Hebrew kingship and Temple worship in Jerusalem. And then came the fall of Israel. The kings and people became increasingly corrupt and full of sin. To teach them a lesson for their sins, God imposed judgments on Israel in the form of war and exile. The Jewish nation was invaded and conquered by the Babylonians, and Jews were scattered in the Diaspora.

The eternal hell believer might want to stop there and say, "Aha! The fruit of sin is punishment, and that's that. Look what God did to the Jews when they transgressed His Law. No hope for them anymore." But that would be wrong. To the chagrin of fundamentalists who wish their theology could be so tidy, the Bible offers a promise of grace to sinful Israel. God is much more merciful than fundamentalists would have us believe. The same harsh Old Testament God who was full of fiery wrath when His people went astray would one day bring them back into the fold and into their divine inheritance they had squandered due to their own sins. The Bible promises reconciliation between God and His people and restoration of Israel after God's judgments come to a just and reasonable end.

Sure enough, after the Babylonian exile came the return of the Jews to reestablish the nation of Israel in the promised land. They rebuilt the Temple and resumed worshipping God in their holy city of Jerusalem. The pattern of sin, judgment, and salvation repeats itself over and over again in the historical story of the Jews.

In the prophetic books of the Bible, God describes Israel as an adulterous wife and a rebellious son. But He doesn't plan to divorce or disown His people. His judgments are temporary, not eternal and merciless. When Israel falls into sin, God says in anger, "she is not My wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts." (Hos. 2:2). But God's forgiveness overpowers His anger, and after a time of separation and punishment for Israel, He says, "you will call Me 'my husband'; you will no longer call Me 'my master.'... I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion." (vs. 16,19). God's love is so great that He pledges to renew His vows with people who had violated His trust, broken His covenant, and turned away from Him to other gods.

God says to the people of Israel, "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me." (Isa. 1:2). They were "utterly estranged" from their divine Father (vs. 4 NRSV). God marvels at the punishments He had to inflict upon His children: "Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness -- only wounds and welts and open sores... Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you..." (vss. 5-7). But all of these terrible judgments were only temporary, intended to set God's people back on the right track: "I will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry, for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me," says God. "I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him..." (57:16,18). Moses tells us, "Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you." (Deut. 8:5). The fatherly discipline and tough love of God was shown toward Israel when they became ensnared by sin and rebellion.

The Hebrew prophets often used hyperbole to describe God's anger and wrath toward His people Israel. Jeremiah, in particular, is known for his exaggerated rhetoric about divine judgment. He says that the fire of God's wrath against Jerusalem and Judah will not be quenched (Jer. 4:4, 7:20), that the city and nation will be smashed like a potter's jar that "cannot be repaired" (19:11), and that God's anger will burn forever (17:4). He says to his fellow Hebrews, "This is what the Lord says: 'Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing. There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you.'" (30:12-13). Sound familiar? That's some of the same kind of rhetoric used by fundamentalist Christian preachers who teach eternal hell. But even Jeremiah spoke of a merciful God. In the very same chapter where the supposedly "incurable" sins of Israel are mentioned, he also says, "'I am with you and will save you,' declares the Lord" (vs. 11), and "'I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the Lord." (vs. 17). This prophet was obviously very conflicted about his view of God's judgments! One minute he declares that things are utterly hopeless for Israel, and the next he promises restoration. The facts tell the true story. Israel was indeed restored, as history shows.

This passage in the Book of Jeremiah sums up God's attitude rather nicely: "'Return, faithless Israel,' declares the Lord, 'I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,' declares the Lord, 'I will not be angry forever. ... How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation. I thought you would call me "Father" and not turn away from following me. But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,' declares the Lord. ... 'Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.'" (3:12,19-20,22).

The Fatherhood of God and the Parable of the Prodigal Son

One of the best known and most moving parables told by Jesus is the story of the Prodigal Son. In this parable, a young man demands his share of the inheritance from his father so that he can go off and start his own life apart from his family. He leaves for a distant land where he squanders all his money in wild living. Then comes a famine in the country, and he finds himself starving and seeking the food of pigs. He realizes how irresponsible he has been, and decides to go back to his father's house and ask to work as a mere hired servant so that he can eat. He believes that his father will never forgive him and will regard him as unworthy to be part of the family again.

The disobedient son underestimated the grace and forgiveness of his father. As he was returning home, "while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'" (Luke 15:20-24).

The sinner in this parable is the son who left home and wasted his inheritance on a corrupt lifestyle, before repenting, returning, and being blessed with his father's forgiveness. The father of course is God. But there is also another character in the story: the Prodigal Son's older brother, who stayed at home and dutifully obeyed the father all the time. He gets angry when the father is willing to forgive the sins of his irresponsible younger brother who came crawling back home in shame. "When this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!" he cries to the father in fury (vs. 30). The father has to explain to him how willing he is to forgive, because his son has repented of his sins -- and this is a cause for celebration, not further judgment.

Who does the unmerciful older brother represent in this parable? It is the harsh religious fundamentalists, who are never satisfied with God's limited judgment but always demand more and more vindictive retribution, a never-ending wrath without hope of forgiveness. In Jesus' time and religious tradition, the fundamentalists were called Pharisees -- and Jesus was always preaching against their arrogant and judgmental attitudes! The Gospels are full of stories of Jesus mocking the wrathful, self-righteous religiosity of the Pharisees and people who thought like them.

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus was making the point that God is like a loving, compassionate father, who is always willing to forgive us when we make a mistake and are willing to admit it and change direction. Unlike earthly, imperfect fathers who in some cases might disown their rebellious children and never be willing to reconcile with them, God "our Father in heaven" (Mat. 6:9) is better than that. He is so good that He would never, under any circumstances, disown us and condemn us forever. The possibility of reconciliation is always available -- never to be withdrawn. Even while a sinner is still "a long way off," as in the parable of the Prodigal Son, as long as the child of God has decided to return to the Father, He is guaranteed to be "filled with compassion for him" and will celebrate his return and spiritual rebirth. Repentance on our part always produces forgiveness on God's part. That's because God is the perfect Father.

Jesus tells us these words of hope about our relationship with God: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Mat. 7:7-11). Even an "evil" father may be willing to treat his own children well, especially when they please him. God is good and will remain compassionate toward His wayward children, because forbearance, forgiveness and mercy are in His very nature. These characteristics were demonstrated by Jesus Christ, who encouraged us to live the same way. Jesus says that "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." (Luke 17:3-4). He commands us to forgive each other even up to "seventy-seven times." (Mat. 18:22). Surely God, who is infinitely superior to us, could not do any less Himself! As soon as we are willing to ask for His forgiveness, seek Him out, and knock on the door of heaven, He will be there.

The door will always remain open. Whenever we are ready to exit the hell of sin and return to our Father's house, we will find Him standing there waiting for us, with arms wide open, ready to embrace us in joyful reconciliation. Unlike the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son, who is like religious fundamentalists who want God to be harsh and unforgiving to some of our brothers and sisters in the human family, the real God is infinitely more loving and compassionate and would not leave any of us outside His door in the hell of permanent judgment.

No Hell? Party On, Dude!

Now that we have dealt with some of the Biblical issues, let's turn our attention to some more philosophical and practical issues that are raised by people who doubt the teaching of universal reconciliation. Probably the most commonly asked question is, Why should we avoid sin if everyone is saved? Many people seem to think that if God saves everyone in the end, then we might as well sin as much as we want right now. This is used as an objection to Christian Universalism, an attempt to show that there must be an eternal hell or else people would never live a Christian life.

There are two main problems with this viewpoint. First of all, Christian Universalists don't believe there is no such thing as hell. There definitely is divine punishment for anyone who needs it, as much as they need it. As we have already seen, there are many verses in the Bible where Jesus and other prophets and teachers speak of some kind of chastisement of the wicked. In case there is any doubt about sound Biblical teaching on this issue, let this explicit warning of Paul drive home the point: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap [age-lasting] life." (Gal. 6:7-8).

What Christian Universalists believe is that hell is temporary, a reformative punishment rather than vindictive and eternal. It is a question of the purpose of hell, not the existence of hell. Is hell a place where God condemns people who didn't measure up to His standards, and forces them to endure horrific tortures forever and ever as a way to get revenge against them for failing to be or do what He wanted? Or, on the other hand, is hell a way that God purifies us of our imperfections, destroying the sinful nature within us to set us straight, putting us through some necessary corrective experiences such that we may understand our failings and can improve ourselves and be made ready to enter heaven? Christian Universalists would say the latter is the true hell, and the other view is just a perverted fantasy about a sadistic god. Nobody wants to go through any type of hell, but hell is real for unrepentant sinners; it's just not a permanent state of being.

Let's explore the issue further, so that it will be crystal clear why hell need not be eternal to serve as an effective deterrent against sin. If you choose not to go out and commit crimes and break the law because you fear the police, courts and prison, then it is clear that you shouldn't go out and sin against God and your fellow man even though hell is not eternal. A prison term is not eternal torment either, but it is enough to prevent most people from doing a crime and having to serve time. In other words, punishment does not have to be infinite in duration or intensity to deter people from doing bad deeds.

I think all reasonable people can agree that punishments should always fit the crime and be justly measured out, rather than grossly exceeding what is just. For God to throw somebody into an eternal fire with no hope of ever gaining release, just because they committed sins during one short mortal life, would be unjust since the punishment would not fit the crime. If punishment is just, people will fear it and refrain from doing things that incur punishment; but if it is unjustly excessive, people will be no more likely to avoid such actions, but would definitely be filled with more anger and hate for the system and the One who created it. If God wants us to love Him, as the Bible says He does, then He cannot be unjust in punishing, since it is impossible for human beings to truly love one who is unjust, whether another human or any other being.

Secondly, I believe God wants us to avoid sin and act in a righteous manner not because of fear of punishment in the afterlife, but because of our love for God and for what is good, in and of itself. All animals have a natural, biological instinct to avoid pain. If humans are only refraining from sin and doing good deeds because they fear being burned alive in hell for eternity, that does not make us any better than the beasts.

We are called to develop our spiritual faculties, the most important of which is love: love for God, love for our fellow man, and love for what is good, right, and true. In order to grow spiritually and become more like Christ, the example we are trying to follow, we must learn to love rather than fear -- and we must learn how to act out of love rather than fear. Jesus Christ didn't start a ministry to feed the poor, show compassion to the lost and lonely, forgive people of their sins and encourage people to rise to a higher spiritual potential because he was afraid that his Father would burn him with fire if he didn't do so. Certainly not! The fear of endless hellfire was not even in Jesus' mind! He lived the way he did because he wanted to do good, and it was in his nature to love other people and to show them the right way to live through his wonderful example. If we want to call ourselves "Christian," we must strive to be more like Christ, and that means putting aside a fear-based motivation for our actions and lifestyle and instead attempting to live rightly because we love God and we love other people -- not because we are afraid that if we sin too much or we don't perform enough good deeds, God will torture us forever in hell.

The Sonship of Jesus and All People

One of the personas of God is the human form. Specifically, the Bible informs us that the historical man Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ (Hebrew: Mashiach, "Messiah"), who is the very embodiment of the divine essence. "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Col. 2:9). That is why Christians call Jesus "Lord." Jesus Christ is described in the Gospel as the Son of God, which is a title intended to convey his special relationship and kinship with God the Father. The Son is separate from the Father in the sense that a human being is not the same thing as the Infinite Source of all being; yet in a mysterious way, it is still accurate to refer to Christ as God. Perhaps it is similar to the way a cup of water drawn from the ocean is the ocean, yet it is not the entire ocean. Jesus is divine, but as a human being with the limitations of a physical body, he is certainly not the whole sum of divinity. Here's another analogy: The relationship of God the Son and God the Father might be likened to the way that we can look at a painting of a man and say, "There is a man." We can even recognize who it is, if we know the subject. The painting is the image of the man, just as Paul says Christ is the "image of God" (2 Cor. 4:4).

But Jesus Christ's Sonship is more than just that. Because God is the Father, Christ as Son of God is begotten by God. This idea was demonstrated in a miraculous way through the virgin birth of Jesus. God brought this miracle to pass because he wanted to make the point that Jesus' Father truly was God, rather than merely an imperfect man. The point is, Jesus is perfect because his Father is perfect -- and the only Father who brought Jesus into being was God Himself.

Nevertheless, we should not read too much into the title "Son of God." It was intended to set Jesus apart as especially holy, but not as totally unique. In the Old Testament, the king of Israel was also described as God's son. He even was said to have been "begotten" by God, though in a metaphorical rather than literal sense. God says, "I have set my king on Zion, My holy hill." The king of Israel responds, "I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, 'You are My son; today I have begotten you.'" (Ps. 2:6-7 NRSV). This psalm is believed to have been used on occasion of the coronation of a king. It also has significance as a prophecy of the Messiah, who will reign spiritually from Jerusalem over all the nations. It was simultaneously a statement about God's special relationship with the Hebrew king of the day, and with the spiritual King who was yet to come, who came as Jesus and manifested the fullest reality of the concept of a begotten Son of God.

God as Father does not only apply to God's relationship with Jesus. Far from it! God says, "I have found David My servant; with My sacred oil I have anointed him. ... He will call out to Me, 'You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.' I will also appoint him My firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth." (Ps. 89:20,26-27). But not only King David was regarded as God's firstborn son. Long before he ever received this title, Adam was the son of God -- and as the first man on earth, he was the archetype of all men. Unlike other men but like Jesus, Adam had no earthly father. The difference is that Adam fell into sin whereas Jesus overcame it. But that doesn't change the fact that Adam is also regarded as God's offspring. In the New Testament, this archetypal ancestor of the entire human race is referred to as "the son of God" (Luke 3:38). The implication is that since we are all descended from Adam, we all are in some way the children of God.

"Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us?..." asks the prophet Malachi (Mal. 2:10). The Apostle Paul answers the question: There is "one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Eph. 4:6). Paul preached in a sermon to the Athenians that God "is not far from each one of us. 'For in Him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are His offspring.'" (Acts 17:27-28).

The word used in Greek for "offspring" in this verse is genos, which implies the relationship of a father begetting a child. Paul could have chosen a Greek word indicating only physical creation such as one might make an object, but instead he specifically decided to use a word conveying the idea of generation, kinship, same-species birth. By affirming the belief of the Athenian poets and philosophers that humans are intimately related and connected to God -- not mere creatures like the animals but in fact the very kin of God, sons and daughters of the Spirit -- Paul is stating a truth that may strike many Christians today as radical and revolutionary. But this was clearly taught as an important theme of the Gospel in the early church. This idea fits naturally with the teaching in Genesis that Adam and Eve, the first parents of the human race, were made in the image of God and therefore all human beings are God's descendents bearing His divine resemblance. Somehow, this essential Biblical concept has largely escaped the notice of most Christians for hundreds of years.

If sonship is not only for Jesus but for all people, then that means we are all to be like Jesus, manifesting the light and love of our heavenly Father God who is "the Father of our spirits" (Heb. 12:9). Jesus teaches us to "love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." (Luke 6:35). Jesus said to crowds of people in his famous Sermon on the Mount, "You are the light of the world." (Mat. 5:14). Imagine that! How often do we hear traditional Christian ministers preaching that the divine light is not only limited to Jesus but also resides in us? Jesus continues: "A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (vss. 14-16). We are called to openly manifest our sonship even as Jesus did, not hiding it for fear that people may think us arrogant to believe we are the offspring of God. Jesus makes it clear that when we do what is right and good, we are showing our true nature and living up to our station as children of the Divine Light.

Jesus also said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12). He said, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the One who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the One who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." (John 12:44-46). When we call Jesus the Light, we are recognizing that the light of God within him is stronger than our own -- even though Jesus said we can also be the light of the world. Knowing Jesus as the perfect Light who came into this world that is filled with darkness means that we understand our need to follow one who has more light than we do, so that we, too, can learn how to be filled with light and spread it to others until the whole world may be filled with God's Spirit of light and love.

Jesus warned that he was going to die and ascend to his Father, and that after that it would be more difficult for people to follow his path because they would not be able to see his living example. He instructed people to follow him earnestly while he was alive on earth, so that they could learn how to become like him to manifest the divine light as children of God: "The light [Jesus] is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light." (John 12:35-36 NRSV). Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means coming into the knowledge of our own sonship, and developing and practicing our capability of living according to the way of light that Jesus showed during his earthly incarnation.

Indeed, discipleship means both recognition of our station as well as action to live accordingly, which is often difficult. Because we are the children of Adam in addition to the children of God, we also have the fallen Adamic nature within us, not only the divine nature. We must struggle to overcome these sinful tendencies and learn to live according to the spirit (Christ) rather than the flesh (Adam). This means rejecting the temptations of darkness and evil we are prone to fall into, and embracing the spiritual path of Christ. "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord." (Eph. 5:8-10). Our transformation from darkness to light, from our fallen inheritance of corruption and death in Adam to our glorious station of sonship and eternal life in Christ, is a process of awakening to our true potential for which we were originally created. When the morning of spiritual rebirth arrives -- at a time and in a way that is different for each person -- God says, "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." (vs. 14).

Effects of Our Beliefs about Salvation

Imagine if you really, really believed that most people are headed for hell, never to be released from an everlasting torment, because they have the wrong religious beliefs to obtain God's forgiveness for their sins. What would you do about it? How would you live your life? Would you go about your ordinary business, working eight hours a day in a regular job and enjoying the recreational pleasures of a middle-class existence? Would you talk about sports and lawn care with your atheist or Buddhist neighbor, instead of the terrifying message of your religion? If so, you would be an uncaring hypocrite. Yes, that may sound harsh, but think about it.

If the Ruler of the universe really is so merciless and unforgiving that he demands us to find the one and only true religion to escape a fiery doom, then it is everyone's responsibility as a compassionate human being to spend every waking hour warning people about the threat of eternal hell. Moreover, any act that will spare a person from this horrific destiny in the afterlife would be a righteous action -- even if it is profoundly unjust, even evil, by human standards. Getting in people's faces, disturbing the peace and shouting over and over again that "Jesus is the only way to be saved!" is tame in comparison to the actions that would be expected of us according to basic principles of morality, if eternal hell is true. Saving even one individual from this fate would trump all other considerations, because according to the fundamentalist creed, hell is an infinite and unbearable punishment. No amount of earthly suffering, madness and mayhem would be enough to relieve us of our moral duty to live a hell-centered life, focused entirely on saving souls from hell by any means necessary.

Frankly, if eternal hell is the destiny of most people -- or even a possible destiny for anyone -- then it would be criminal to bring new children into this world. Who would be so callous as to risk creating a being that could someday end up being tortured for endless ages? Mere reproduction, a basic human instinct, becomes a heartless and fearsome act in the context of belief in the traditional Christian doctrine of damnation. The birth of every new baby, instead of a cause of celebration, would be an event of sorrow and horror, for we would hear in the precious infant's cries the echo of future shrieks of agony that would go on for billions and trillions and infinite numbers of years in hell.

Andrea Yates, the criminally insane mother who drowned her five young children in a bathtub, committed this absurd and heinous act because she was afraid if they grew up beyond the "age of accountability" they might become possessed by demons and go to eternal hell. According to the logic of fundamentalism, she should be celebrated as a hero. After all, she may well have prevented souls from entering the agonizing, perpetual flames of God's wrath, and ensured their place in heaven.

Jesus defined the purpose of his mission without any reference to saving people from eternal hell: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19). Why can't Christians take their Lord at his word? As Paul said, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all" (Tit. 2:11 NRSV).

Now imagine that this is what you believed. Imagine yourself with a deep and abiding faith in God's plan of salvation for all people, believing that everyone in the world is your brother or sister in God's family and that He loves each and every one of us with a parental love -- a love that can never fail. Imagine that you could see the face of Christ reflected in the face of every person you meet, and that someday that person will be with you in heaven, worthy of great honor and praise, cleansed of all sin and patterned after Christ, your Lord.

If you really believed this, just imagine how happy you would feel, and what a blessing you could be to others. Every mistake or problem in life could be seen as an opportunity for growth, not a chance to put someone down or count someone out -- or to give up and count yourself out. God is a God of second chances, as many chances as we need to get it right. He is a God who never gives up on anyone -- and that includes you. It also includes the homeless man on the street, the woman in the mental ward, the kid born in the ghetto who sought to escape through drugs and petty crime, and even the hardened criminal in maximum-security prison. It includes the ones who, burdened by injustice and anguish and the harshness they have known, have denied God, denied any real meaning in life, denied human dignity, and denied their own divine nature within because they were never told it was there. It includes the billions of people who have lived and died without knowing God and repenting of their sins. They, too, shall someday walk beside us in the Kingdom. No power in the universe, neither sin nor death, can prevent God from saving our souls, according to His magnificent and triumphant plan. We may struggle to remain in the hell of disbelief and rebellion, but eventually God will win us over and we will become who we were meant to be: mature children and heirs of our heavenly Father.

What a wonderful hope! Imagine the positive difference such high expectations -- of our God and ourselves -- can make in our lives, in our world. With a powerful faith in the Good News of Christ and the inner peace it brings, you can make a difference. It's time to stop imagining, and start working to make God's plan of universal redemption and reconciliation a reality. Our beliefs do matter. They make us who we are.