tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post829971179216657387..comments2024-01-29T14:24:46.852-05:00Comments on Wes Ellis: How To Be Evangelical Without Being Conservative 2wellis68http://www.blogger.com/profile/06087588494600746854noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-38975854525146852622010-07-26T11:55:06.047-04:002010-07-26T11:55:06.047-04:00Steve,
That's kinda how I think of it. There&#...Steve,<br />That's kinda how I think of it. There's room to hope but there's not enough in scripture for us to build a doctrine. <br /><br />In the end, we still need a call to repentance. Not merely because people might go to hell if they don't (and I'm open to that possibility) but because the world is not as it should be.<br /><br />Here's a quote from Barth: <br /><br />"The proclamation of the Church must make allowance for this freedom of grace. Apokatastasis Panton? No, for a grace which automatically would ultimately have to embrace each and every one would certainly not be free grace. It surely would not be God's grace. But would it be God's free grace if we could absolutely deny that it could do that? Has Christ been sacrified only for our sins? Has he not ... been sacrificed for the whole world? ... [Thus] the freedom of grace is preserved on both these sides." _Karl Barthwellis68https://www.blogger.com/profile/06087588494600746854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-16669913752502489432010-07-25T20:51:39.265-04:002010-07-25T20:51:39.265-04:00I don't know about universalism in Barth - and...I don't know about universalism in Barth - and I do know it's not an idea typical of evangelicals, or much appreciated in those circles.<br /><br />In fact, scripture is ambivalent about it, if taken altogether. Jesus does enter hell, according to 1 Peter, to preach to (and convert?) the souls who died before the Flood. But there's nothing specific about a post-Jesus, post-death possibility for repentance that I can recall.<br /><br />Still, there's also nothing that prevents it, scripturally. And it would seem that a God who "works in mysterious ways" can make a way for whatever God wants - namely, the redemption of humanity.swope.steven@yahoo.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723126408024300817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-76612703706403920972010-07-25T11:13:29.997-04:002010-07-25T11:13:29.997-04:00I am embarrassed to admit that I have not read The...I am embarrassed to admit that I have not read The Great Divorce. In my research on Hell, the closest I really got to Lewis was a couple articles about his view and some excerpts. Lewis is surprisingly open and seems to have room to hope toward universalism (possibly much in the same as Barth). It's ironic how much respect evangelicals tend to have for him.wellis68https://www.blogger.com/profile/06087588494600746854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-34179298952200057492010-07-25T09:29:22.701-04:002010-07-25T09:29:22.701-04:00Wes, I haven't read this book yet, though I di...Wes, I haven't read this book yet, though I did see your "challenge" in the previous post. ;-) Man, the longer we stay in touch, the longer my reading list gets!<br /><br />A thought on Hell, however: read C. S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce," if you haven't already. It was eye-opening for me - very open, almost universalistic in its sense of possibility for salvation, but comes from a champion of traditional Christian thought and one beloved by evangelicals, generally.swope.steven@yahoo.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723126408024300817noreply@blogger.com