Is Christian Universalism a New Age Religion?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ส.ค. 2024
- Many commentators have identified Christian Universalism as a New Age religion lumping this ancient soteriological theory in with UFOs, superstitions, and occultism. However this ignores that Christian Universalism isn’t a single unified view. At this channel the ancient Christian doctrine of Universal Restoration is defended from scripture, and merely associating it with other beliefs is not sufficient to refute the scriptural basis for this ancient Christian understanding. This presentation highlights why.
I am so grateful for your work. Thank you for making these videos for us. You have helped me so much.
I find the new agers although lost are open to the idea of God saving all people. Whereas hardcore Christians will argue with venom that everyone not doing xyz is going to burn forever they won’t even listen to the idea they just bring up Mathew 25 over and over. That’s what I’ve experienced
I believe many mix up universal restoration with unitarian universalism which is heresy
Indeed, they like to throw around strawman arguments
How do you know whats heresy and whats not?
@@grimlund Very simple.. Unitarian Universalist reject the the fact that Jesus is the ONLY way and that's heresy. Jesus is the ONLY way, no doubt about it, no questions asked
@@justinhodge2847 😅
@@justinhodge2847why should anyone believe what the Bible says or even care if Jesus died for their sins if they are going to Heaven anyways?
Thank you for your continued teaching.
Jesus said it's when you love one another that all men will know that you are my disciples thus making a difference, not by your adhering to correct beliefs and doctrines.
So grateful you talked about this ❤ Bless your heart. Praise Abba Father!
I became convinced by God of universal restoration through Jesus Christ about 12 years ago. I was not dissatisfied with my traditional beliefs and doctrines of Christianity at the time. God hit me upside my head and I instantly knew that it was true. I spent the next year proving all aspects of this position to myself through scripture alone. We must go where the truth leads us and not what we hope it means. This is the peace with God that Jesus and Paul spoke about. I am occasionally asked if all religions lead to God. Now I am convinced that no religions lead to God including Christianity. Any Christians who believe are so in spite of Christianity as it is the great work of God to move upon a heart. Christianity and all other religions are an obstacle to the clarity and clear logic of the truth. It is terribly frustrating to contend against the blindness but God has ordained it so we can take joy in the struggle and truly walk in complete peace knowing that family, friends and all will not be tortured for trillions of years. We will all be judged appropriately by a loving merciful God for the benefit of all and to the glory of God. Grace and peace.
So to summarise your lecture here in a few words, you meant to say " I left Christianity so you also leave it" cuz in the end no matter what whether you are in Christ or without Christ you will be saved from hell and so you became an atheist, thanks, for Proving the Lord Jesus correct in his saying that many will leave the faith by the time he comes back by people like you, you chaffed yourself and did the Lord a favour by sending yourself to hell, happy few days before your destruction comes, so enjoy your little satanic wicked freedom time on earth before being destroyed by the coming of the Lord
could you elaborate a bit more?
Sure thing. Any specific area?
@@user-fw9jm5lq8l in few words he became atheist and left Christianity, what more do you want to know?
True religion leads to God, false religion leads to damnation.
This anti religion, anti authority, anti structure mindset is a liberal impulse and relatively new and has nothing to do with what Jesus taught.
This is wonderful thank you so much for the work you do !!!
Very interesting….I have been leaning towards something along the lines of what you’re teaching here after reading a Doctoral Thesis on a form of universalism.
May I ask what made you want to come back on TH-cam and do this for us again? Also thank you!
There's a lot that needs to be done. The only reason I stopped for a time was because of circumstances in my life. I apologize for keeping everyone waiting.
@thetotalvictoryofchrist9838 as I said before your recent content really did help bring back to christ. Between the conversation with my aithiest marine buddy and your channel. I went and bought a new bible and have been consuming all your content.
BTW being older I understand the Bible so much more, and it kind of makes me sad at the fear and rules alot of mainstream Christians preach. It unfortunately brings to mind the teachers of the law.
In any case I just wanted to say perhaps God brought you back to yt at the correct time.
Our message is the truth and its totally unstoppable
It could be because I'm a more "progressive" Christian, but I honestly don't really care that Christmas at one point may have been a pagan holiday. We chose that day to celebrate Jesus' birth it doesn't really matter what month He actually was born imo. The point is we're celebrating the fact that He was born at all.
Christmas was never related to any pagan holiday. Christmas as we know it today is actually an amalgamation of various traditions all of which are of Christian origin.
Paganism isn't even a unified religion, there are different beliefs that could be called "pagan" across different cultures. When you add them all together there are literally multiple pagan observances every single month. So it wouldn't matter when we observed Christmas, someone could always make some vague association with some pagan observance from some culture somewhere. It's circular reasoning.
Halleluyah! Thank you for this video.
I love these!
Great video as usual. The Christmas excursus was a nice bonus.
Best TH-cam channel
I may sound a tad ignorant here, but did I hear you correctly around the 5:30 mark that you are "a conservative evangelical Christian"? I just refer to myself as either a Universalist (I know you also ascribe to this too, the Universalist part) or a follower of Christ. Again, I'm not at all criticizing here but just a little confused as I'm used to associating conservative Christians with those who don't believe in the doctrine of the restoration of all things as you and I, and many subscribed to your channel do. If you could say a few things on this it would be helpful but I know you're very busy so I'd understand if not. At any regard, I always deeply appreciate your content! Happy Holidays, Michael!
I see no reason why a conservative evangelical could not fully embrace universal restoration, while still retaining conservative views on other issues 👍
even in the old testament salvation was by faith
Thank you. God bless you.
This was super helpful. Thanks!!
Augustine was a great man, a great writter and saint. But he was wrong on many things. Eternal conscious torment with litteral fire was one of them.
I can say as a high Church anglican . I have used scripture and reason to come to the conclusion of universalism. If tradition does not fall in line with the other two then it shall have to keep silent because in this instence it has been beaten.
But of course univeral salvation thru restoration is in the christian tradition, just not as loud as ECT
Well if one goes to a church in which sunday best is expected in jeans and a tee-shirt you will stand out.
I myself have always felt more comfortable in formal clothing, so thats the sort of thing i wear anyway. I dont really have a sunday best as thats just what i always wear. And formal doesnt mean expensive, you can go to a second hand clothes store and get that sort of thing at reasonable prices. Im sure that if one goes toa church which expects sunday best, ( i dont think i have ever been to a church which expects you to wear anything), somone will be more than happy to lend you a few pounds or a spare suit jacket of theirs. High church sorts despite their sommetimes well deserved stereotype of being snobby are for the most part very loving and charitable people.
Do you have an email or some way to interact with your viewers if they wanted to share some materials or discuss things with you?
For example what do you think about the early church father Epistle to Diognetus and within it mentions eternal punishment.
"All man" means "all mankind"! The problem was never the way of translation, it is the understanding of the those reading the translation and those "teachers" of it.
Speaking of the film "Jesus Revolution," does anyone know the name of an indie drama film from about 10 years ago about the Jesus People movement of the 1970s where a woman leaves her husband and has a fling with a writer? Earlier in the film she dabbles in speaking in tongues, health food, etc.
Why did God create evil people? Then punish them, how is that fair he made them this way.
Regarding "Christmas" the word of God doesn't seem to have much esteem for our traditions. In fact, doesn't Yaweh declare how He hates our appointed feasts?
The same ones defending Christmas are usually the same ones dismissing the feasts of God which very feasts actually teach the restoration of all things!
Do you encourage others to look into the feasts of God in order to expound upon the doctrine of apokatastisis? More specifically, have you begun to consider the bigger picture of the three weekly feasts of Ex23?
Exodus 23:14-17
KJV(i) 14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. 15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) 16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field. 17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the LORD God.
@@ba.andersonit still doesn’t mean Christmas.
No, it's the legalistic sense of those observations the Lord hates. That you're doing it out of compulsion, not from the heart. Nothing says you have to observe Christmas. Paul said, "Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God." - Romans 14:6 NIV
@@thetotalvictoryofchrist9838 Well said
@noself7889 We have found our exposing of the errors of the high feast of "Christmas" is a great way to lead into the exposing of the other false narratives of the faith of most of those observing it.
Why celebrate the Jesus who is not the Saviour of the world?
Restoration is less specific then Salvation to me because it isn't clear being restored. Salvation is always presumed to every to individual Salvation. I am also uncomfortable with how tied to specifically Origenism the Apokatastasis language is.
I agree that Salvation comes only through Jesus and that only The Bible is an authentic authoritative supernatural Revelation of God. I also reject the concept Religions lead to God because I believe NO Religions lead to God not even Christian ones, Salvation is Jesus finding us not us finding Jesus.
No one has any idea who wrote the "Nicene-Constantinople Creed" that Creed doesn't appear the Fourth Ecumenical Council so any attempt to attribute to figures of the era of the Second is pseudepigrapha. I only endorse the original Nicene Creed, that later revision includes the 'Begotten before all Ages' teaching which I consider a Semi-Arian Heresy and it also demands loyalty to the Roman State Church as the only true Church.
I believe the Fire is Material, it is the the very presence of God which a Stoic I view as Absolutely Material. Our difference from Infernalists is that we view the punishment as Finite not Endless.
You are not using Evangelical quite how most of, generally speaking being Evangelical and caring about 4th Century Creeds this much are mutually exclusive. The Creeds are important to High Church and Mainline Protestant denominations. The Creeds are also Traditions which I as an Evangelical give no authority to, I happen to agree with he original Nicene Creed but I do not view it as required for being a true Christian.
Your quote of Augustine about Christmas alludes to the Perpetual Virginity of Mary doctrine which the text of Matthew directly refutes. Thinking the magi visited later and not on Christmas Day is also contrary to Scripture, Matthew 2's timing statement is clear.
But yes I also defend Christmas my favorite Christmas Anime is Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha As.
The good news is that you just have to believe in the son of God that he died for your sins Yeshua died for your sins on the cross and rose up again on the third day and have eternal life 🎁 it's a free gift not of works lest anyone shall boast by faith and grace of God ALONE
So there are no ties to astrology with the equinox etc during the Christmas time?
Do Christian Universalist also believe in the Apochrypha just wandering?
Believe in? You mean hold as authoritative scripture? I view it as useful but not authoritative for making doctrine.
3 Kings are not in Scripture but 3 gifts are. 3 Kings are a tradition not scripture
Can someone help me with understanding that Xmas is not pagan? Since coming into the faith I've stopped doing Christmas the last 3 years because of the teachings it is occult constellation crux and sun worship as the sun is at its furthest for those 3 days and the stars make a cross in alignment, saint nick in the old dictionarys meant Satan and Santa is Satan mixed up.. so many other things too so I'm quite brainwashed into firmly believing it's pagan however a part of me doesn't want it to be.. I have a 1 year old boy who would love the lights on the tree etc and to teach him about Jesus.. please do reach out where I can rebuke these things I've mentioned thanks in advance praises to God in Jesus name
Simply none of that is true, every bit of our Christmas tradition is 100% Christian in origin. Santa Claus is merely how you say Saint Nicholas in Dutch, the tradition was brought to America by Dutch immigrates and then exported into the rest of the Christian world. Michael Jones over at the inspiring philosophy channel has done a lot of work debunking those notions, you might want to take a look at that.
Say what you will, but I don't believe that all flying objects have been identified.
FINALLY!
Christianity was certainly new age when it came out in the first century
I wasted a lot of my life thinking about this stuff but I've come to the conclusion that universalism isn't proven. Im not even a true believer i've looked at lot of spiritual stuff and its messed with my mind for no profit
Did you see Jesus in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22? This is God telling us before it came to pass so that you might believe.
Nobody needs a weekly book club meeting to be a decent person who contributes to human flourishing.
We do need to know there is a God, judgement and an eternity to come.
You do need Jesus though, and if you have Jesus you will have the desire to worship and fellowship with others. The Bible describes it perfectly, maybe you should start a book club group and read it sometime.
@@calebnorrick7676 amen….keep dropping the seeds. God will reap the harvest. Shalom
How do you know that? you don't.
You're just assuming that human nature is inherently good.
Show us your face
Yes its the new age religion
Are you an infernalist?
@@jhq9064 are you more loving than God himself?, when he said that the wicked will be destroyed forever in the lake of fire then how can you being a mere man say that God is not saying what God is literally saying that it will happen as he said, and he didn't add to that verse saying later after I destroyed their wickedness I will take em in, no, God said he will destroy the wicked not their wickedness that wickedness will be destroyed with them so read your instead of trying to be more loving than God no one can be more loving that God cause God himself is Love and Just and Merciful and Kind and if he says that a red line it's a red line and no more
@@chetanpaulr learn some Greek as that is what the original New Testament is. I already believed and defended tour bad news "gospel " instituted by roman catholicism and not filtered by the reformation for 10 years. Have a nice weekend.
@@jhq9064 oh conspiracies wow you dare bring the conspiracy that all English are wrong so what in the Greek you tell me oh you learned Greek philosopher jhq9064
@@jhq9064 so you are sad In proclaiming and defending that only through Jesus Christ is the salvation all these years ? And late when you found out that God saves everyone you are sad that you are deceived 🤣🤣 you are an heretic have a sad weekend in your dark mind
Universalism is New Age, and rooted in Gnosticism and Platonism. It is definitely not Christian or biblical. I wrote an article refuting universalism. See the link in my Community section.
Universalism is likely new age, but universal reconciliation is most definitely not new age, nor is it gnosticism. That's like the difference between an elephant and an elephant seal in my opinion.
Ultimate reconciliation beliefs are derived directly from Biblical texts. In fact, the very first school of Christian theology in Alexandria believed in ultimate reconciliation. (Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa) I'm inclined to believe they looked at the texts through a platonic lens to some degree, sure, but I think it is a massive stretch to say that because of this understanding that they couldn't accurately define aion/aionian as an age. They read, wrote, and spoke Koine Greek as their native language.
I would say there is prima facie support for three views of Christian eschatology, depending on the "lens" with which we read the text. Those are annihilation, eternal conscious torment, and universal reconciliation.
Many Christians believe God is all loving, but not all powerful. He wants all to come to repentance, but man has free will that supercedes God's desires. Other Christians believe God is all powerful but not all loving. He has the power to save all, but won't.
What Christian Universalism posits is that God desires for all to come to repentance, and because nothing can thwart His will, all will come to repentance (every knee bow and tongue confess).
The problem I see with calling universal restoration something that stems from gnosticism is that God being loving and God being all powerful are two orthodox positions in and of themselves...and every knee bowing and tongue confessing is in multiple texts both Old Testament and New Testament.
If you meant Universalism, as in pluralism, then I completely agree with you, but the guy running the video is a qualified CU if I don't miss my guess.
We believe there is only one way to the Father and that is through Jesus Christ. We believe Jesus died and rose again as Messiah. These are upper tier Christian beliefs, but (much like Judaism) we do not believe in a partial Messiah. We believe proof texts that seem to indicate annihilation or ECT are mostly derived from symbols, parables, or hyperbole and have alternate meanings.
It's true some Gnostics believed in universalism, they weren't a unified group. But that's just an association fallacy, not a refutation of the doctrine. Mormons believe Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead, therefore all Christians are Mormons? I'm not being disrespectful, I'm merely pointing out that you are using faulty reasoning.
And Irenaeus of Lyons specifically refuted the beliefs of the Valentinian Gnostics, who denied the bodily resurrection of Christ, but he never condemned their universalism. Irenaeus taught all things are "recapitulated" in Christ, he actually taught the restoration of all things in Christ as a refutation of the Gnostic belief that the physical world must be dissolved into a purely spiritual realm.
@@thetotalvictoryofchrist9838 I reside in Australia. I don't have anything to do with traditional christianity nor church life, so I'm not up to date about christendom here.
What I've noticed on nearly all comments and TH-cam video presenters (mostly U.S.A. based) is the idea that the quality of what a follower of the Lord is is his belief, beliefs, right doctrine etc. Whereas Jesus said by THIS shall ALL men know you are my disciples if ye have one for another. I believe the entire body of believers worldwide, including universal reconciliation-ists are missing it altogether. We are to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, but that's not the only thing we are to live by.
Being overly pedantic about right belief structure and doctrine reminds me of the scribes and pharisees who had no love for God or their fellow man.