Hi I'm Alex Smith

[Alex Smith]

As I've posted a few things now, I thought I should introduce myself

When I asked to join the Christian Reformed church, I gave the leadership the letter below (which while they don't hold my views, they at least acknowledge they are within the bounds of orthodox Christian). It's far from perfect, but hopefully gives you a clearer idea of where I'm coming from.

Comparing Christian Evangelical Universalism & mainstream Reformed Christianity

There are many forms of Universalism, however, below I am describing the form I hold. I have done my best to present some of the things I see as common ground and areas of difference, however, please ask me if you wish me to clarify anything. I was asked not to include the justifications here, as that would make it way too long, however, feel free to ask me anytime

Common Ground?

God-I believe the Trinity is the best description of the one true God, revealed throughout the Bible.. I believe God is infinitely & perfectly loving, merciful, holy, glorious, wise, powerful, knowing & just. I believe God deserves all (heart, mind & body) our praise and worship.

Christ Jesus- I believe in the incarnation, the physical birth, death, resurrection & ascension of Jesus of Nazareth, about 2000 years ago.

The Bible- I believe the Bible was intentionally created by God & man, that it has been well preserved, and when read in it's original languages and rightly understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, is authoritative in both matters of faith & practice.

Sin- I believe any opposition to God is sin. I believe everyone, from Adam onwards, (except Christ) has sinned. I believe sin taints and affects every aspect of our lives. I believe we need God to free us from slavery to sin. I believe sin deserves punishment. I believe God has the desire & ability to rid the universe of sin.

Judgement- I believe God will Judge and that some will go to eternal life & others to a place of God’s punishment.

Salvation- I believe Christ is the only Saviour, that salvation is a gift of grace, received by repentance & faith (with the Spirit's help), and that it can not be earned.

Missional- I believe God wants us to be actively involved in reconciling people to God, through our love & prayer for others and the proclamation of the Gospel.

Ecumenical Councils & Early Creeds- I have a high regard for them, however, like most Protestants, I don’t believe they are infallible, and disagree with some points. e.g. veneration of icons. I believe EU complies with them and therefore remains within the bounds of orthodox Christian faith.

Areas of Difference?

The Scope of God’s Intertrinitarian Love- I believe God loves everyone, as a Father loves their child, even those He punishes in order to bring about repentance (by the Holy Spirit's help).

Postmortem Repentance and Salvation through Christ- I believe that those who go to Hell after Judgement Day, will eventually (by the Holy Spirit's help) come to repentance and salvation through faith in Christ.

"Aionios" should be translated as "of the age(s)" not "eternal/everlasting/forever"- however for many other reasons/verses, I still believe God is eternal and so is life with Him.

[RoyS]

God- I believe the Trinity is the best description of the God...

THE god? you lost me right there. There is only one. Welcome to CWS.

[Titus]

Hi Alex,
Those of us who have been with the forum a long time, and we have become few, are well acquainted with Universalism. We had many long, heated and at times, and mostly unfruitful debates with a sick puppy by the name of Gabe, although he should change his name to Legion for he came back many times under different aliases after being banned and found his way back once more after the site crashed and was re-created.
You are welcome here, as long as your motives are do not include creating division, as did Gabe and the many other universalists that he encouraged to come here and help him do battle.

[Hansc]

Hi, Alex, welcome to the board.

[Benjie]

Alex Smith? Hmmm. . . You wouldn't happen to be from Nevada, would you?

[Alex Smith]

God- I believe the Trinity is the best description of the God revealed the Bible.

THE god? you lost me right there. There is only one.

I agree Roy, the wording of that sentence is a little ambiguos :-/ I wrote it that way to try to make it clear that I don't believe in the "the god revealed in the Quaran", nor "the god revealed in the Book of Mormon", nor "the god found in nature", nor "the god found within oneself", etc.

However, I also want it to be clear I only believe there is one God, so please could you use you Moderator powers to change that sentence to "God- I believe the Trinity is the best description of the one true God, revealed throughout the Bible."?

[RoyS]

I agree Roy, the wording of that sentence is a little ambiguos :-/ I wrote it that way to try to make it clear that I don't believe in the "the god revealed in the Quaran", nor "the god revealed in the Book of Mormon", nor "the god found in nature", nor "the god found within oneself", etc.

However, I also want it to be clear I only believe there is one God, so please could you use you Moderator powers to change that sentence to "God- I believe the Trinity is the best description of the one true God, revealed throughout the Bible."?

Done. Thanks for clearing that up.

[Alex Smith]

Those of us who have been with the forum a long time, and we have become few, are well acquainted with Universalism. We had many long, heated and at times, and mostly unfruitful debates with a sick puppy by the name of Gabe, although he should change his name to Legion for he came back many times under different aliases after being banned and found his way back once more after the site crashed and was re-created.
You are welcome here, as long as your motives are do not include creating division, as did Gabe and the many other universalists that he encouraged to come here and help him do battle.

Sorry to hear about universalists causing trouble I've been running a forum for a few years now, and understand just how frustrating some people can be, particularly when they have an axe to grind. Anyway, I have no intention of creating division & starting a battle. I usually don't have time to branch out to new forums, as FaceBook & my own forum (& my family, & my work, & my church) keep me busy enough

I should also explain that there are a quite a few types of Universalism, I don't believe some are within the bounds of orthodox Christianity e.g. Pluralism, Unitarian Universalism, Mormonism, and some forms of Ultra-Universalism.

There's also the quite common (particularly amongst Catholics & the Eastern Orthodox, although I've come across it in Protestant circles e.g. Rob Bell) Soteriological Agnosticism (i.e. that one can't know if everyone will or won't be saved) that sometimes is mistaken for Universalism.

[Alex Smith]

Alex Smith? Hmmm. . . You wouldn't happen to be from Nevada, would you?

No sorry, it's a pretty "popular" name, I even know of others with it in my town here in Australia

[Alex Smith]

Done. Thanks for clearing that up.

Thanks for making that change.