Fearsome Pirate writes:
Travis, I think you’re moving the goalposts. 99% of universalism is of the “God is just too nice and kindly to do something as awful as cast you into the darkness or let the Babylonians take down Jerusalem” sort, not “You deserve damnation for your sins, and God has every right to, but he’s not going to because Jesus paid for it all and advocates for you in heaven, even though you believe it’s just a hokey story superstitious fishermen invented.”
I have no problem with “wideness of God’s mercy” type of thinking. In fact, I think it meshes well with the story of Naaman and some of Romans. But universalism simply doesn’t. “If you deny me before men” isn’t followed by “then I will affirm you before my Father in heaven anyway,” and there’s no way to make it do that. To get to universalism, you pretty much need to dispense with Scripture and go with wishful thinking to decide what God is like. That’s why most universalists take the “God is just too darn nice” approach.
Jason, if Calvinists could be cured of their delusions, they’d be Lutherans. ;)
