[Uucf-bible] What does Scripture Say About Universal Salvation?

[John Tindal]

Ron and all,

I have really enjoyed this last issue of /The Unitarian Universalist 
Christian/ - especially the article by Duke Gray entitled "What does 
Scripture Say About Universal Salvation?"  I read the article twice and 
mulled over it a great deal. This is an extremely well written article 
and worthy of widespread dissemination. I was especially intrigued by 
his comments on universal restoration.

Darwin's theory of evolution introduced a problem for all of us who hold 
out hope for any survival after death. To put the problem before us 
plainly: just when in our evolutionary history did we acquire souls? 
Will creatures, who lived a billion years ago and who are our ancestors, 
inherit eternal salvation? Will they continue to evolve in the 
hereafter? How about other creatures? Will we continue to evolve in the 
hereafter?

Richard Grigg, in /To Re-Enchant the World/, writes, "the scientific 
attitude toward nature championed by many religious humanist unlocks the 
truth of our deep participation in the natural world. The Darwinian 
theory of evolution did us a huge service in this regard, of course, by 
showing us how we human beings are inextricable connected with the 
entire kingdom of living things upon the earth."

If I am going to believe in a hereafter, it will have to be a 
restoration of all creation - not just an elect few humans. While 
researching the idea of restoration, I ran across an article by Steve 
Jones entitled "A Case for Universal Restoration." I don't know anything 
about Mr. Jones but his article is well worth reading. It can be found 
at: http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/universal_restoration.html

John Tindal
Sumter, South Carolina