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Universalism is the belief that every man will be reconciled with God eventually - that people don't go to hell (permanently, at least).

I myself am not a universalist, though with reading the Bible, I am finding more support for it (or possible something that just seems to support the doctrine).

So, I'm not making this thread so that I can debate others, but so others can give me their reasoning for being universalist or for not being universalist. So, do you believe in universalism? Why/why not?

This thread is to help me understand more about universalism. I personally will not be debating, though others are free to debate, and I may ask a few questions from time to time.

God bless!

Edited by Brittany
Some of the users on this site have a habit of becoming nasty when debating, so I just wanted to add in that I would greatly appreciate it if we could not be rude to others in debates, even if you think someone is totally stupid for believing what they do
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45 minutes ago, Brittany said:

Universalism is the belief that every man will be reconciled with God eventually - that people don't go to hell (permanently, at least).

I myself am not a universalist, though with reading the Bible, I am finding more support for it (or possible something that just seems to support the doctrine).

So, I'm not making this thread so that I can debate others, but so others can give me their reasoning for being universalist or for not being universalist. So, do you believe in universalism? Why/why not?

This thread is to help me understand more about universalism. I personally will not be debating, though others are free to debate, and I may ask a few questions from time to time.

God bless!

Universalism is not Biblical. It is false teaching.

Question: "What is Unitarian Universalism?"

Answer:
Unitarian Universalism is a fairly small, yet widely influential, religious group. Having some 300,000 registered members, mostly in the United States, they are becoming more and more popular. Relativism, tolerance, and alternative lifestyles are all buzz words used by Unitarian Universalism.

The Unitarian Universalist name comes from their denial of the doctrine of the Trinity and their belief that all human beings gain salvation. According to Universalists, the mere idea someone might go to hell is not compatible with the character of a loving God. Its roots go all the way back to the sixteenth century when Unitarian beliefs became popular during the Reformation. Unitarian thought and Universal thought were merged together during the late eighteenth-century in America during the Age of Reason. The intellectual elite of that time refused to believe in such biblical teachings as total depravity and eternal damnation, but rather embraced the idea of a loving God who would never cause someone to suffer.

Adherents of Unitarian Universalism base their beliefs primarily upon their own experiences and are not committed to any one religious system. They believe that individuals have the right to decide for themselves what to believe in and that others should not infringe upon this right. As a result, one such believer might lean toward liberal Christianity, while another might lean toward New Age spirituality. There is no real dogma beyond tolerance—for everything except biblical Christianity. Unitarian Universalists view the Bible as a book of poetry, myth, and moral teaching, a completely human book and not truly the Word of God. They reject the Bible’s portrayal of a Triune God, leaving the concept of God up to each individual’s imagination.

To the Unitarian Universalist, Jesus was a good moral teacher, but nothing more. He is not considered to be divine, and every miracle associated with Him is rejected as being outside of human reason. Most sayings of Jesus recorded in the Bible are regarded as embellishments on the part of the authors. Among the Universalist beliefs: Jesus did not die to save mankind from sin, as man is not a fallen sinner; emphasis is placed on humankind's capacity for goodness; sin is completely relative, and the term itself is rarely used; man saves himself through personal improvement, salvation being a purely worldly experience, a "waking up" to the world around oneself. This is very important, for death is final. Most Unitarian Universalists deny the existence of an afterlife, so all we have on earth is all we'll ever get.

The Bible, on the other hand, refutes these falsehoods. Jesus does save mankind, which was in a fallen state since the Garden of Eden and separated from God by sin (John 10:15; Romans 3:24-25; 5:8; 1 Peter 2:24). Man is not good, but sinful and hopelessly lost. It is only through the grace of God and faith in the shed blood of Christ on the cross that mankind can be reconciled to a holy, transcendent God (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-19); John 3:36; Romans 3:23; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 2:13-14; 1 John 1:8).

Unitarian Universalism has nothing in common with biblical Christianity. It is a false gospel, its teachings are contrary to the Bible, and its members strongly oppose traditional, biblical Christian beliefs (while purporting to be free of discrimination or prejudice of any kind). The Bible clearly refutes Unitarian Universalism on all the major points of its teachings.

https://www.gotquestions.org/unitarian-universalism.html

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I don't know for sure. I think not. But I wonder if God cannot undo things if he wants too.And a lot of language is figurative in the bible.

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Just now, Wayne222 said:

I don't know for sure. I think not. But I wonder if God cannot undo things if he wants too.And a lot of language is figurative in the bible.

The Bible is meant to be taken literally. That is the way it was intended by God to be read. Yes, there are some play on words especially in Revelation but those are easily understood.

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49 minutes ago, Brittany said:

So, do you believe in universalism? Why/why not?

No. There's absolutely no support for Universalism in Scripture, so I'm not sure how you could even say that. 

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (Mark 16:15,16).

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I think sister that many things spoken in the bible are not literal. Jesus said rivers of water will come from the belly. Not literally water of course. But he said rivers of water. There is a lot of that in the bible.

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6 minutes ago, Wayne222 said:

I don't know for sure. I think not. But I wonder if God cannot undo things if he wants too. And a lot of language is figurative in the bible.

When it comes to Gospel truth THERE IS NOTHING FIGURATIVE.

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How do you know that ? Jesus said he will come with sword in his mouth. Not literal.  

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7 minutes ago, Wayne222 said:

How do you know that ? Jesus said he will come with sword in his mouth. Not literal.  

Question: "Can / Should we interpret the Bible as literal?"

Answer:
Not only can we take the Bible literally, but we must take the Bible literally. This is the only way to determine what God really is trying to communicate to us. When we read any piece of literature, but especially the Bible, we must determine what the author intended to communicate. Many today will read a verse or passage of Scripture and then give their own definitions to the words, phrases, or paragraphs, ignoring the context and author’s intent. But this is not what God intended, which is why God tells us to correctly handle the Word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

One reason we should take the Bible literally is because the Lord Jesus Christ took it literally. Whenever the Lord Jesus quoted from the Old Testament, it was always clear that He believed in its literal interpretation. As an example, when Jesus was tempted by Satan in Luke 4, He answered by quoting the Old Testament. If God’s commands in Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:13, and 6:16 were not literal, Jesus would not have used them and they would have been powerless to stop Satan’s mouth, which they certainly did.

The disciples also took the commands of Christ (which are part of the Bible) literally. Jesus commanded the disciples to go and make more disciples in Matthew 28:19-20. In Acts 2 and following, we find that the disciples took Jesus' command literally and went throughout the known world of that time preaching the gospel of Christ and telling them to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Just as the disciples took Jesus’ words literally, so must we. How else can we be sure of our salvation if we do not believe Him when He says He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), pay the penalty for our sin (Matthew 26:28), and provide eternal life (John 6:54)?

Although we take the Bible literally, there are still figures of speech within its pages. An example of a figure of speech would be that if someone said "it is raining cats and dogs outside," you would know that they did not really mean that cats and dogs were falling from the sky. They would mean it is raining really hard. There are figures of speech in the Bible which are not to be taken literally, but those are obvious. (See Psalm 17:8 for example.)

Finally, when we make ourselves the final arbiters of which parts of the Bible are to be interpreted literally, we elevate ourselves above God. Who is to say, then, that one person’s interpretation of a biblical event or truth is any more or less valid than another’s? The confusion and distortions that would inevitably result from such a system would essentially render the Scriptures null and void. The Bible is God’s Word to us and He meant it to be believed—literally and completely.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-literal.html

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Why not take it both ways. Because that is how the bible really is. I only like the truth. And if parts of the bible is figurative then I want to take it in that light. God can use figurative language to bring truth into something we can understand better. And what's wrong with figurative language anyway.

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