Download or read book The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis written by Ilaria Ramelli and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2013-08-05 with total page 910 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The theory of apokatastasis (restoration), most famously defended by the Alexandrian exegete, philosopher and theologian Origen, has its roots in both Greek philosophy and Jewish-Christian Scriptures and literature, and became a major theologico-soteriological doctrine in patristics. This monograph—the first comprehensive, systematic scholarly study of the history of the Christian apokatastasis doctrine—argues its presence and Christological and Biblical foundation in numerous Christian thinkers, including Syriac, and analyses its origins, meaning, and development over eight centuries, from the New Testament to Eriugena, the last patristic philosopher. Surprises await readers of this book, which results from fifteen years of research. For instance, they will discover that even Augustine, in his anti-Manichaean phase, supported the theory of universal restoration.

Download or read book A Larger Hope Volume 1 written by Ilaria L. E. Ramelli and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-07-15 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the minds of some, universal salvation is a heretical idea that was imported into Christianity from pagan philosophies by Origen (c.185–253/4). Ilaria Ramelli argues that this picture is completely mistaken. She maintains that Christian theologians were the first people to proclaim that all will be saved and that their reasons for doing so were rooted in their faith in Christ. She demonstrates that, in fact, the idea of the final restoration of all creation (apokatastasis) was grounded upon the teachings of the Bible and the church’s beliefs about Jesus’ total triumph over sin, death, and evil through his incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Ramelli traces the Christian roots of Origen’s teaching on apokatastasis. She argues that he was drawing on texts from Scripture and from various Christians who preceded him, theologians such as Bardaisan, Irenaeus, and Clement. She outlines Origen’s often-misunderstood theology in some detail and then follows the legacy of his Christian universalism through the centuries that followed. We are treated to explorations of Origenian universal salvation in a host of Christian disciples, including Athanasius, Didymus the Blind, the Cappadocian fathers, Evagrius, Maximus the Confessor, John Scotus Eriugena, and Julian of Norwich.

Download or read book That All Shall Be Saved written by David Bentley Hart and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-09-24 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A stunning reexamination of one of the essential tenets of Christian belief from one of the most provocative and admired writers on religion today “A scathing, vigorous, eloquent attack on those who hold that that there is such a thing as eternal damnation.”—Karen Kilby, Commonweal The great fourth-century church father Basil of Caesarea once observed that, in his time, most Christians believed that hell was not everlasting, and that all would eventually attain salvation. But today, this view is no longer prevalent within Christian communities. In this momentous book, David Bentley Hart makes the case that nearly two millennia of dogmatic tradition have misled readers on the crucial matter of universal salvation. On the basis of the earliest Christian writings, theological tradition, scripture, and logic, Hart argues that if God is the good creator of all, he is the savior of all, without fail. And if he is not the savior of all, the Kingdom is only a dream, and creation something considerably worse than a nightmare. But it is not so. There is no such thing as eternal damnation; all will be saved. With great rhetorical power, wit, and emotional range, Hart offers a new perspective on one of Christianity’s most important themes.

Download or read book The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition written by Andrew Louth and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2007-01-25 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Andrew Louth traces the Christian mystic tradition from Plato, through figures such as Origen, Gregory of Nyssa and Augustine and explores the diverse and conflicting influences to be found in Christian spirituality.

Download or read book The Devil s Redemption 2 volumes written by Michael J. McClymond and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2018-06-05 with total page 1376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Will all evil finally turn to good, or does some evil remain stubbornly opposed to God and God's goodness? Will even the devil be redeemed? Addressing a theological issue of perennial interest, this comprehensive book (in two volumes) surveys the history of Christian universalism from the second to the twenty-first century and offers an interpretation of how and why universalist belief arose. The author explores what the church has taught about universal salvation and hell and critiques universalism from a biblical, philosophical, and theological standpoint. He shows that the effort to extend grace to everyone undermines the principle of grace for anyone.

Download or read book Universalism the Prevailing Doctrine of the Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years written by John Wesley Hanson and published by Wentworth Press. This book was released on 2019-02-21 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Download or read book Barth Origen and Universal Salvation written by Tom Greggs and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2009-05-14 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Barth, Origen, and Universal Salvation offers a bold new presentation of universal salvation. Building constructively from the third- century theologian, Origen, and the twentieth-century Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, Tom Greggs offers a defence of universalism as rooted in Christian theology, showing this belief does not have to be at the expense of human particularity, freedom, and Christian faith. Examining Barth's doctrine of election and Origen's understanding of apokatastasis, Greggs proposes that a proper understanding of the eternal salvific plan of God in the person of Jesus Christ points towards universal salvation. The relationship between the work of the Spirit and the Son in salvation is central to this understanding. Universal salvation is grounded in the person of Christ as himself historic and particular, and the Spirit makes the reality of that universal work of Christ present to individuals and communities in the present. The discussion includes creative suggestions for the political and ecclesial implications of such a presentation of salvation.

Download or read book Rethinking Hell written by Christopher Date and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2014-04-15 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most evangelical Christians believe that those people who are not saved before they die will be punished in hell forever. But is this what the Bible truly teaches? Do Christians need to rethink their understanding of hell? In the late twentieth century, a growing number of evangelical theologians, biblical scholars, and philosophers began to reject the traditional doctrine of eternal conscious torment in hell in favor of a minority theological perspective called conditional immortality. This view contends that the unsaved are resurrected to face divine judgment, just as Christians have always believed, but due to the fact that immortality is only given to those who are in Christ, the unsaved do not exist forever in hell. Instead, they face the punishment of the "second death"--an end to their conscious existence. This volume brings together excerpts from a variety of well-respected evangelical thinkers, including John Stott, John Wenham, and E. Earl Ellis, as they articulate the biblical, theological, and philosophical arguments for conditionalism. These readings will give thoughtful Christians strong evidence that there are indeed compelling reasons for rethinking hell.

Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to Karl Rahner written by Declan Marmion and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-06-16 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Karl Rahner (1904–84) was one of the most significant theological voices of the twentieth century. For many his theology has come to symbolise the Catholic Church's entry into modernity. Part of his enduring appeal lies in his ability to reflect on a whole variety of issues in theology and spirituality and concentrate this plurality into a few basic convictions. This Cambridge Companion provides an accessible introduction to the main themes of Rahner's work. Written by an international array of experts, it will be of interest to both students and scholars alike. Each chapter serves as a guide to its topic and recommends further reading for additional study. The contributors also assess Rahner's significance for contemporary theology by bringing his thought into dialogue with many current concerns including: religious pluralism, spirituality, postmodernism, ecumenism, ethics and developments in political and feminist theologies.

Download or read book The Hope of the Early Church written by Brian E. Daley and published by CUP Archive. This book was released on 1991-04-04 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an outline of the development of eschatological thought in the first seven centuries of Christianity. It is the first attempt, in any language, to give a comprehensive description of the origins of Christian eschatology, as it expanded from its Jewish roots and Jesus' preaching, and as it drew upon the philosophical and folkloric notions of death and its aftermath held by the peoples of the Mediterranean. Based on a study of the original texts, the book considers not only the eschatology of the Greek and Latin fathers, but also what can be known from the early Syriac, Coptic, and Armenian Christian literature. Brief and clearly-focused in its range of subjects, the book provides an accessible historical survey of a centrally important aspect of early Christian doctrine.This book is an outline of the development of eschatological thought in the first seven centuries of Christianity. It is the first attempt, in any language, to give a comprehensive description of the origins of Christian eschatology, as it expanded from its Jewish roots and Jesus' preaching, and as it drew upon the philosophical and folkloric notions of death and its aftermath held by the peoples of the Mediterranean. Based on a study of the original texts, the book considers not only the eschatology of the Greek and Latin fathers, but also what can be known from the early Syriac, Coptic, and Armenian Christian literature. Brief and clearly-focused in its range of subjects, the book provides an accessible historical survey of a centrally important aspect of early Christian doctrine.

Download or read book Dare We Hope 2nd Edition written by Hans Urs von Balthasar and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2014-11-20 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is perhaps one of the most misunderstood works of Catholic theology of our time. Critics contend that von Balthasar espouses universalism, the idea that all men will certainly be saved. Yet, as von Balthasar insists, damnation is a real possibility for anyone. Indeed, he explores the nature of damnation with sobering clarity. At the same time, he contends that a deep understanding of God’s merciful love and human freedom, and a careful reading of the Catholic tradition, point to the possibility—not the certainty—that, in the end, all men will accept the salvation Christ won for all. For this all-embracing salvation, von Balthasar says, we may dare hope, we must pray and with God’s help we must work. The Catholic Church’s teaching on hell has been generally neglected by theologians, with the notable exception of von Balthasar. He grounds his reflections clearly in Sacred Scripture and Catholic teaching. While the Church asserts that certain individuals are in heaven (the saints), she never declares a specific individual to be in hell. In fact, the Church hopes that in their final moments of life, even the greatest sinners would have repented of their terrible sins, and be saved. Sacred Scripture states, “God ... desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:4–5).

Download or read book The Seventh Book of the Stromateis written by Matyáš Havrda and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2012-09-06 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The seventh book of the Stromateis is the culmination of Clement of Alexandria's ethic. Introduced as an apology of the piety of the perfect Christian (the 'gnostic'), it broaches such topics as divine pedagogy, angelology, superstition, prayer, assimilation to God, martyrdom, eschatology, and the criteria of orthodoxy. This volume contains sixteen studies dealing with all major themes of the seventh book and the method of their presentation. It includes a Clementine bibliography of the last fifteen years and two appendices concerned with Clement's 'Hymn to Christ the Saviour.' The publication may serve as a companion to the reader of Stromateis VII and as a compendium of contemporary scholarship dealing with major aspects of Clement's thought in general.

Download or read book The Inescapable Love of God written by Thomas Talbott and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2014-11-17 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Will the love of God save us all? In this book Thomas Talbott seeks to expose the extent to which the Western theological tradition has managed to twist the New Testament message of love, forgiveness, and hope into a message of fear and guilt. According to the New Testament proclamation, he argues, God's love is both unconditional in its nature and unlimited in its scope; hence, no one need fear, for example, that God's love might suddenly turn into loveless hatred at the moment of one's physical death. For God's love remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. But neither should one ignore the New Testament theme of divine judgment, which Talbott thinks the Western theological tradition has misunderstood entirely. He argues in particular that certain patterns of fallacious reasoning, which crop up repeatedly in the works of various theologians and Bible scholars, have prevented many from appreciating St. Paul's explicit teaching that God is merciful to all in the end. This second edition of Talbott's classic work is fully revised, updated, and substantially expanded with new material. ALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIO FORMAT The Inescapable Love of God is also available as an unabridged audiobook wonderfully narrated by the actor George W. Sarris (running time: 11 hours and 2 minutes). The audiobook can be downloaded from christianaudio.com and Audible.

Download or read book Esoteric Teaching in the Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria written by Andrew C. Itter and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2009 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The "Stromateis" of Clement of Alexandria (c.150-215 CE) has received much scholarly debate over whether it can be accorded the role of the third and highest phase of his pedagogy. This was a treatise that promised an account of the true philosophy of Christ set down for Christians seeking higher knowledge of doctrine. This book takes a new approach to deciphering the nature and purpose of these enigmatic books concentrating on the close relationship between method and doctrine, and the number and sequence of the texts as they have come down to us. The outcome is a concise summary of current scholarship on Clement s method and a fresh picture of how he applies it to the transmission of esoteric doctrines.

Download or read book The Mosaic of Christian Belief written by Roger E. Olson and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2016-03-21 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this second edition of Roger E. Olson's classic work, he thematically traces the contours of Christian belief down through the ages, revealing a pattern of both unity and diversity. He finds a consensus of teaching that is both unitive and able to incorporate a faithful diversity when not forced into the molds of false either-or alternatives.

Download or read book The Origenist Controversy written by Elizabeth A. Clark and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2014-07-14 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Around the turn of the fifth century, Christian theologians and churchmen contested each other's orthodoxy and good repute by hurling charges of "Origenism" at their opponents. And although orthodoxy was more narrowly defined by that era than during Origen's lifetime in the third century, his speculative, Platonizing theology was not the only issue at stake in the Origenist controversy: "Origen" became a code word for nontheological complaints as well. Elizabeth Clark explores the theological and extra-theological implications of the dispute, uses social network analysis to explain the personal alliances and enmities of its participants, and suggests how it prefigured modern concerns with the status of representation, the social construction of the body, and praxis vis--vis theory. Shaped by the Trinitarian and ascetic debates, and later to influence clashes between Augustine and the Pelagians, the Origenist controversy intersected with patristic campaigns against pagan "idolatry" and Manichean and astrological determinism. Discussing Evagrius Ponticus, Epiphanius, Theophilus, Jerome, Shenute, and Rufinus in turn, Clark concludes by showing how Augustine's theory of original sin reconstructed the Origenist theory of the soul's pre-existence and "fall" into the body. Originally published in 1992. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Download or read book A Larger Hope Volume 2 written by Robin A. Parry and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-03-15 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book aims to uncover and explore the ideas of notable people in the story of Christian universalism from the time of the Reformation until the end of the nineteenth century. It is a story that is largely unknown in both the church and the academy, and the characters that populate it have for the most part passed into obscurity. With carefully located bore holes drilled to release the long-hidden theologies of key people and texts, the volume seeks to display and historically situate the roots, shapes, and diversity of Christian universalism. Here we discover a diverse and motley crew of mystics and scholars, social prophets and end-time sectarians, evangelicals and liberals, orthodox and heretics, Calvinists and Arminians, Puritans, Pietists, and a host of others. The story crisscrosses Continental Europe, Britain, and America, and its reverberations remain with us to this day.