The Argument for Universal Salvation (#43)

This is the episode that some of you have been waiting 40-some episodes for. Many of you know that I identify as a universalist, meaning that I believe that everyone will be saved in the end, whatever we mean by the word “saved.” There are a lot of reasons that people believe in Hell, and there are a lot of reasons that people don’t. Many of those reasons, maybe even MOST of the reasons, I would argue have nothing to do with actual arguments or theological reasoning, or even a close reading of the Biblical text. Most reasons, I think, are psychological. Why people ACTUALLY believe in Hell, at a more psychological level, is a very interesting question, but not one that we are spending much time on today. This episode is about the arguments themselves. The most central question is: Does Hell make sense, given the God of Christianity? The next one is - how do we make sense of various sayings of Jesus that seem to teach a painful judgement? My guest today is Brad Jersak. Brad is a Canadian theologian, author, and pastor, and his book “Her Gates Will Never Be Shut” is widely considered one of the best treatments of this question. Our first 15 min or so are spent getting our bearings with the current landscape on this topic, including some term explaining, and introducing David Bentley Hart’s new book as a centerpiece of both our conversation, and the wider theological conversation. If you want to go straight to the arguments themselves, you could skip ahead to about 18:00.Hellbound? -- https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B00D1NE8L0/ref=atv_dl_rdrThe Evangelical Universalist: https://www.amazon.com/Evangelical-Universalist-Second-Gregory-MacDonald/dp/1620322390/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=evangelical+universalist&qid=1572843722&sr=8-1Her Gates Shall Never Be Shut: https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirect/picassoRedirect.html/ref=pa_sp_atf_aps_sr_pg1_1?ie=UTF8&adId=A09982251H1HAKCB4QUV8&url=%2FHer-Gates-Will-Never-Shut-ebook%2Fdp%2FB00IGGZRJY%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1_sspa%3Fkeywords%3Dbrad%2Bjersak%26qid%3D1572843756%26sr%3D8-1-spons%26psc%3D1&qualifier=1572843755&id=5413906602847107&widgetName=sp_atfIn: https://www.amazon.com/Incarnation-Inclusion-Abba-Lamb/dp/1082461733/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=brad+jersak&qid=1572843756&sr=8-2A More Christlike God: https://www.amazon.com/More-Christlike-God-Beautiful-Gospel/dp/1889973165/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=brad+jersak&qid=1572843756&sr=8-3Athanasius, On the Incarnation: http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/theology/incarnation_st_athanasius.pdfRazing Hell: https://smile.amazon.com/Razing-Hell-Rethinking-Everything-Judgment/dp/0664236545/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sharon+baker+hell&qid=1572843854&sr=8-1Edited by Josh Gilbert (Gwall.Gilbert11@gmail.com)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/

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