There has been a spate of books and articles in the last few years advocating universal salvation, and against the common idea of hell as the eternal retributive torment of the wicked. The idea of universal salvation is not a new claim cooked up by modernist liberals. It was taught by some of the most celebrated orthodox theologians of the early church and has been an influential minority view throughout its history. Beginning with the Bible and tracing the idea through history, this class will help you weigh this teaching for yourself.

Suggested (but not required) resources:

1. Grace Saves All, David Artman (most accessible)
2. The Evangelical Universalist, Gregory MacDonald
3. That All Shall Be Saved, David Bentley Hart (more philosophical, brilliant, but can be dense)
4. The Inescapable Love of God, Thomas Talbot (more philosophical)

  Subject: religion

Leonard J. Vander Zee is a retired CRC pastor now serving as interim pastor at Church of the Servant. He is the author of Christ, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper: Recovering the Sacraments for Evangelical Worship. Intervarsity Press, 2004.