


CONTENTS (Main Book)
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IX
INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapter 1: DARE TO POSSESS THE TRUTH:
What Does the Bible Say Regarding Universal Salvation? . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Conflicting Biblical Voices, 7. A definition of Salvation, 8. Scripture That Raises
Questions About Universal Salvation, 8. Scripture that Supports Universal Salvation, 12.
Making Our Decision, 16.
Chapter 2: SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE:
General Biblical Themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
God’s Quest to Save Us, 17. Judgment, 18. The Grace of God, 21. The Purpose of
Punishment or Suffering, 23. God’s Love, 25. Expiation, 26. Jesus’ Lack of Urgency,
27. Life After Death, 28.
Chapter 3: AMAZING GRACE:
Implications of Universal Salvation Versus Eternal Damnation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
God Is More Gracious Than Humans, 31. God Is More Gracious Than Parents, 33.
Gracious but Not Soft on Sin, 35. Many Lack Opportunities to be Saved, 35. Trying to
Get God Off the Hook, 36. Christ’s Victory Is Complete, 37. A Joyous Affirmation, 38.
Chapter 4: I WANT TO DO IT MYSELF:
Do We Have Free Will?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
God Will Prevail, 41. Salvation for the Worst of Sinners, 42. God Is Not a Monster, 42.
Martin Luther on Free Will, 43. The Idolatry of Free Will, 44. The Irresistible God, 45.
Chapter 5: LAYING A SOLID FOUNDATION:
What God Is Like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Family Deity, 48. Wizard Of Oz, 49. Spirit, 49. Higher Power, 50. Oneness With
Humankind, 52. Ground of Our Being, 55. In Everything, 56. Experienced Through
Nature, 57. Love, 59. More Thoughts about God, 60.
Chapter 6: FREE AT LAST:
From Hell to Heaven--How it is Accomplished. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Heaven and Hell - Spiritual States of Being, 63. Change That Results in Heaven, 66.
Original Sin - Laziness, 66. There Is Hope, 68. Prepare For Heaven, 68. The
Command to Love, 69. About-Face, 70.
Chapter 7: GOING BEYOND WISHFUL THINKING:
The Power of Unconditional Love. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Unconditional Love Is Essential, 73. Jesus’ Transforming Unconditional Love, 75. The
Non-judgmental Nature of God, 79. Risk and Power in Following Jesus, 80. Passive and
Assertive Expressions of Unconditional Love, 84. Putting Everything into God’s Hands,
85. Unconditional Love and Miracles, 86.
Chapter 8: FORGIVENESS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING:
Growing into God’s Likeness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Going Beyond Forgiveness, 89. Healing, 90. Becoming Fully Human, 91. Four Stages
of Spiritual Growth, 93. Don’t Get Stuck in a Lower Spiritual Stage, 94. Growth for
Eternity, 97.
Chapter 9: MISERY LOVES COMPANY:
Why Some People Cling to the Idea of Eternal Damnation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Negative Responses to the Good News, 101. Verbalized Reasons for Opposing
Universalism, 103. Co-dependence, 104. Co-dependence throughout Church History,
106. Co-dependence Today, 109.
Chapter 10: THE ANCIENTS HAVE STOLEN OUR BEST IDEAS:
The History of Universalism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
The Early Church, 114. Augustine, 117. Opposition and Condemnation of Universalism,
119. John Wesley, 122. The American Colonies, 123. Feodor Dostoevsky, 124.
Friedrich Schleiermacher, 125. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 125. Karl Barth, 125. Paul Tillich,
125. A Long Rich History, 126.
Chapter 11: MAKING MOUNTAINS OUT OF MOUNTAINS:
The Significance of this Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Atheism, 128. Communism, 131. Pessimism, 131. Satanism, 132. Lukewarm
Christianity, 133. The Unchurched, 134. Unnecessary Agonizing, 135. Meaninglessness and
Meanness, 136. Making the World a Better Place, 137. Loving Our Enemies, 139.
Fear Versus Hope, 140. Bad News Versus Good News, 141. Jesus Said, “Let Your
Light Shine”, 141.
Appendix: SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN:
A Handbook on Spreading the Wonderful News of Salvation for Everyone. . . . . . . . . .143
Responses You Can Expect, 144. Utilizing Opposition, 146. Hopefulness Through
Faithful Leadership, 148. The Blessing of Persecution, 149.
NOTES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
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