Bart Ehrman on the forms of early Christian universalism

Bart Ehrman on the forms of early Christian universalism

"Augustine’s discussion confirms what we find from other sources, that universalism could come in different guises and with sundry perspectives in the early Christian tradition, even if there is some overlap among them:

• The Pauline texts that embrace the incredible scope of salvation: the work of Christ cannot possibly be less extensive than the work of Adam and so (apparently) must be universal. [Note 66: Paul does not always lean toward a universalistic salvation; he clearly states, for example, that at the return of Christ, unbelievers will experience “destruction . . . and they will not escape” (1 Thess 5:3).] 

• Origen’s view, related to Paul’s but rooted less in the scope of salvation than in the sovereignty of God. God is the Lord God Almighty who cannot be resisted by those he created, who, to a person, will return to him as he wills. 

• The Harrowing of Hell tradition as embodied in the Gospel of Nicodemus (as we will see in Chapter 6), which focuses on the power manifest in the Christ event itself. The crucified Christ is far more powerful than the devil and Hades and death, and his atoning work leads to the salvation of all immediately after his crucifixion. 

• A view that focuses not on mercy but on judicial equity: sinners deserve to be punished for their sins, but surely God will not punish sinners forever. An eternity of torment is simply incommensurate with a short life of sin—a view that Augustine mentions only to ridicule (City of God 21.11). 

• And Apocalypse of Peter 14, where ultimate salvation is not a display of sovereignty or power per se but a show of supreme divine mercy, which triumphs over justice when God grants the prayers of his saints and releases all sinners, another view that Augustine maligns in his discussion (City of God 21.18)." (Journeys to Heaven and Hell, chapter 5, p. 202; note at p. 278)

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