philosophy actually religion Religion: Christianity Denomination: Protestant God: Only one - a spirit - no visible form - no other being achieves this status Jesus: God was in him and he claimed to be Jehovah Holy Spirit: teaches us all things - we're better off with the Spirit than Jesus Trinity: Possible, but this concept is probably limiting God Angels: non-human beings (good and bad) - controlled by God - maybe artificial intelligence Resurrection: Jesus' followers died for it - accepted on faith Salvation: God achieved it for our spirit by Christ - we achieve it for our flesh by works Bible: It's in the form God wants it. This doesn't mean every word is written as history Heaven: at the end of Revelation we are all on earth with bodies Hell: punishment is for an aion/olam (greek/hebrew), an amount of time unknown Good and Evil: God claims to create both Creationism: Mutations are harmful - statistically impossible to evolve from other creatures The Human Will: Desire (a situation arises),                                Debate (strongest 'want' surges),                                Decision (mentality of character acts)                                This is The Trinidy. We make decisions based on rearing, genetics, and self                                desires. (Even our good works are like filthy rags) Email Neill (neillien@hotmail.com)

If someone tries hard to find the truth but is confused over the dozens of choices, then his wrong choice is not made out of free will but deception. Should not God hold this person accountable the same way we are taught that He holds accountable a mentally challenged person who in their own right also does not have the ability to make the right choice? Accepting Christ is an act done out of selfish motiviation, ie. escaping Hell, seeking a clean conscious. Are we really loving God when we move towards him just to get gain? Do we not criticize a woman who marries for money? She may love the man til the money is gone. If people didn't believe in Hell, would the churches have any members?

The following was published By E. E. Guild in "The Universalist's Book of Reference" in 1859.

A better formatted form can be viewed at http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/partuniv.html

All the various denominations of professing Christians may be classed under three heads: Calvinists, Arminians, and Universalists.
A chart of the agreement and the difference in the religious opinions of these three classes on the most important doctrines of Christianity may be delineated as follows: --
*** CALVINISM: There is one God.
*** ARMINIANISM: There is one God.
*** UNIVERSALISM: There is one God.

*** CALVINISM: There is one Mediator between God and men, and that Mediator is the very and eternal God himself.
*** ARMINIANISM: There is one Mediator between God and men, and that Mediator is the very and eternal God himself.
*** UNIVERSALISM: There is one Mediator between God and men, and that Mediator is "the Man Christ Jesus."

*** CALVINISM: The one Mediator gave himself a ransom for a part only of mankind.
*** ARMINIANISM: The one Mediator gave himself a ransom for all.
*** UNIVERSALISM: The one Mediator gave himself a ransom for all.

*** CALVINISM: All those for whom the Mediator died will be saved.
*** ARMINIANISM: A part only of those for whom the Mediator died will be saved.
*** UNIVERSALISM: All those for whom the Mediator died will be saved.

*** CALVINISM: God's purposes in the creation of the human race embraced the final holiness and happiness of a part, and the endless misery of the rest.
*** ARMINIANISM: God's purposes in the creation of the human race embraced the final holiness and happiness of all mankind.
*** UNIVERSALISM: God's purposes in the creation of the human race embraced the final holiness and happiness of all mankind.

*** CALVINISM: God's purpose in reference to the final destiny of his creatures cannot be defeated.
*** ARMINIANISM: God's purpose in reference to the final destiny of a part of his creatures will be defeated.
*** UNIVERSALISM: God's purpose in reference to the final destiny of his creatures cannot be defeated.

*** CALVINISM: God has the power to make all his creatures holy and happy.
*** ARMINIANISM: God has not the power to make all his creatures holy and happy.
*** UNIVERSALISM: God has the power to make all his creatures holy and happy.

*** CALVINISM: God wills the salvation of a part of his creatures, and the damnation of the rest.
*** ARMINIANISM: God wills the salvation of all his creatures.
*** UNIVERSALISM: God wills the salvation of all his creatures.

*** CALVINISM: God's will in reference to the ultimate destiny of his creatures will be done.
*** ARMINIANISM: God's will in reference to the ultimate destiny of a part of his creatures will not be done.
*** UNIVERSALISM: God's will in reference to the ultimate destiny of his creatures will be done.

*** CALVINISM: God can save all mankind, but will not.
*** ARMINIANISM: God would save all mankind, but cannot.
*** UNIVERSALISM: God can save all mankind, and will.

*** CALVINISM: The object of Christ's mission to our world was to save a part only of mankind from endless misery.
*** ARMINIANISM: The object of Christ's mission to our world was to save all mankind from endless misery.
*** UNIVERSALISM: The object of Christ's mission to our world was to save all mankind from their sins.

*** CALVINISM: Christ will succeed in accomplishing the object of his mission.
*** ARMINIANISM: Christ will succeed in accomplishing a part only of the object of his mission.
*** UNIVERSALISM: Christ will succeed in accomplishing the object of his mission.

*** CALVINISM: All for whom Christ died will be saved.
*** ARMINIANISM: Some for whom Christ died will not be saved.
*** UNIVERSALISM: All for whom Christ died will be saved.

*** CALVINISM: A glorious and happy destiny awaits a portion of the human race, and a most inglorious, unhappy and miserable destiny awaits the rest.
*** ARMINIANISM: A glorious and happy destiny awaits a portion of the human race, and a most inglorious, unhappy and miserable destiny awaits the rest.
*** UNIVERSALISM: A glorious and happy destiny awaits every individual of the entire human race.

------------------------------------- The Conclusion Universalism is altogether preferable to Calvinism. Universalism is altogether preferable to Arminianism. Universalism is infinitely preferable to either Calvinism or Arminianism. Arminianism is supposed by thousands to be a much more consistent and reasonable system of theology than Calvinism. But who cannot see that both systems result in precisely the same thing? Arminianism damns as many as Calvinism, and the Arminian's hell is equally as horrible as the Calvinist's. What boots it then, reader, whether you go to an endless hell by the irreversible decree of the Almighty, or by the use of an agency which God gave you, and which he knew you would use to your own destruction? In other words, what difference will it make with you whether you are lost, and lost forever, because God cannot save you, or because he will not? The truth is, that between Calvinism and Arminianism there is not one cent to choose, but between either of these systems and that of Universalism the difference is infinite. An no man can fail to see that Universalism is infinitely the best.

My core belief is that Christ's blood is efficacious without the help of mankind and his human ability to accept or reject. Following this line of thinking, God's plan of salvation is either to die for all mankind's sins or to die for just the chosen ones. Scriptures will be put forth that lean towards the concept that God wants all to have life after death, and that life without misery.

Have you ever heard someone " command" or "teach" this verse? Most likely not. Why not? Probably because the teachers/preachers are not taught about this verse in seminary.

This verse simply states that there is a salvation for all. Within that salvation is something special for believers. It is fair here to say, then, that there are 2 salvations? Perhaps a place is reserved for believers in the same way that the Holy of Holies was reserved for priests. You see another example within the children of Israel. They were all chosen by God to come out of Egypt and they were under the shekina cloud that was their protection and communication with God, not to mention where God fed them.

But it was only the believers that got to cross over the Jordan into the Promise Land. Not even the Old Testament's greatest hero, Moses, got to cross over. We can take 1 Tim. 4 and un-jazz it up to fit this scenario . . . "God is the savior of all the Israelites, specially of those that believe."

If this idea of Eternity without torture, with a separation of believers and non believers, is foreign to you. You can find it easily by going to the last book of the Bible. The very last thing we are told in Revelation is that the City of Jerusalem comes down and all those whose names are written in the Book of Life are allowed to partake of what is inside the city.

Is there a flaming fire outside of the city in which God's creation is tormented without mercy? No. Instead we are told that there are Kings of the earth that go in and out of the city. Revelation goes on to say that all the rest of the people are not allowed in it. This is a redundant statement if people are supposed to be in a Lake of Fire writhing in pain at this time. And again, in the last chapter of Revelation it proclaims that the filthy will remain filthy. This is also redundant if we are to believe that there is a fire that will hold people throughout their conscious existence.

What of this Lake of Fire and what of Hell?

The idea of Hell is vanquished quickly when we read that Hell gives up all the dead within it (Rev. 20:13).

The Lake of Fire is called the Second Death, and there are people who will have a "part" in this death (21:8). The length of this "part" is not mentioned, (the devil goes in for "ages and ages"). But if there are Kings who rule outside of the City of Jerusalem (surely, God rules inside), then are not their subjects the ones "outside" which are the "fearful and unbelieving?" (21:8). You're not much of a King if all you can do is to tell your people to burn quieter.

These verses probably bring up two questions: How can an eternal punishment not be forever? And how can you be saved without accepting Christ?

Like the answer for Hell, eternal punishment is vanquished quickly when you understand that the greek word that means something will go on forever is not the same as the greek word that scholars translate into the word eternal. The only greek word that is definitive in having no ending is only used once in the Bible and it does not pertain to punishment. But the word that is used to denote God's punishment is Aion. This is quickly recognized as the english word Ion, which is used to mean an age but not used to mean forever.

The Israelites did not have a word to indicate forever. Their concept of time was explained in their word Olam. It only denoted the idea of someone looking off into the distance as far as they could and not seeing beyond what their eyes could see. It did not mean that there wasn't an end. This comes true in many O.T. verses such as a woman being pregnant forever (Olam), or a slave being in servitude forever, or the old covenant lasting forever. These verses make more sense in light of the Hebrew meaning which was to indicate that a certain length of time was unknown.

In the greek versions of the New Testament, the scholars used the word Aion as a word to mean the same as Olam. Ion is simply an amount of time with an unknown end. When you tranlsate the N.T. verses with Ion using the word age, your continuity make more sense. When scripture says that Sodom was an example of eternal destruction, you know immediately that it can't mean forever. Sodom is not burning today, as would be assumed if eternal punishment was to be in a fire that kept going. Also, Sodom will eventually be restored (Ezekiel 16:53). Maybe a slightly easier verse to understand is in Jude where it is said that angels are kept in "eternal chains" until judgement. Here you understand the implication of the writer that these angels are held down until a certain period (or age) passes.

So is not God our God forever? If these words mean that a period of time will eventually end, then will there be a time where His Godhood will end? After all, the Bible says that He will reign for ever. So does this word "ever" indicate his reign will end? No.

The nature of God is not comparable to His dealings with man. The O.T. is filled with many ideas that God is the only one that has being outside of time and space. He claims to Job "where were you" in showing His existence before humanity. "From age to age" is a verse that declares that God's existence has no end in sight and no beginning in sight. We cannot say that man is from age to age. This may trigger the conclusion that what happens to a human within a time parameter does not hold true to God's proclamations.

There's an understandable difference between someone in the house of David forever reigning and God himself forever reigning. The claims of God's feats are not limited to a lifespan. God will reign for ages and ages versus man's punishment for ages and ages. You get the sense from the nature of God that he will continue. This doesn't hold true for a declaration made upon man (pregnancy, slavery, kingdomship, punishment). It may be good to ask yourself with every instance of the word ever (gk. aion), is there anything by reasoning to lead you to the concludsion that the word can mean what it implies (ie. age), or can it be attributed to a meaning beyond time?

A more indepth study is needed for the question "how can you be saved without accepting Christ?"

Throughout the Christian Old Testament we are given the Law. There are hundreds of commands that are given to the person that wants to please God, shall we say, the old fashioned way. And when they broke the Law they had to kill something that was perfect (usually a sheep), and then the blood of the animal was the way the person had absolution from his act and guilt. When Christ came, he told them to be perfect even though they knew they couldn't. With this he hammered into the peoples head that it was impossible to follow this law completely. Therefore, the people would never get away from the constant sacrifice.

But we as Christians are supposed to recognize that Christ did in fact follow the law completely. He was the only one to do so, and in doing this he was able to be that perfect sacrifice. He was a propitiation for our sins. And this one act enabled every ill deed of mankind to be paid for. And every ill deed was paid for whether people accept it or not. Scripture says the he was not only the propitiation for believers, but also for the whole world (1 John 2:2)

The salvation that mankind seeks after is different from the salvation that Christ accomplished.

Jesus healed people without them asking for healing . He forgave people without them asking for forgiveness. He literally saved people from death (woman in adultery) without them asking for help or joining his cause. His lone statement ("sin no more") reflected another command of the flesh that could not be carried out, but was indeed the way of God's righteousness.

While on the cross, Christ did not ask people to drink of the cup of his punishment. Unlike Noah's ark where you had to agree with principle and be smart enough to risk ridicule and climb aboard an ancient "Spruce Goose", the salvation of mankind through sacrifice was done by Christ alone. According to the laws of purification, no one would've been allowed to help even if willing. And a task this big was obviously not intended for man to participate in as we seen all of Christ's followers flee from the scene of the crime.

Man has no ability to save himself in any aspect when it comes to removing the sentence against him; the sentence that produced death in all. At one point, Adam tried to do the work of God by covering his "sin" with a homemade remedy. But in a foreshadowing of Christ, God sacrificed an animal and used the skin to do the actual covering.

did christ go through all of that punishment just to leave the results up to a fallible filthy rag?
adam clothed
abraham and isaac
What are we saved from?


if you break one you are guilty of them all

this salvation is achieved by enduring, believing, baptizing

perhaps like the Holy of Holies that goes beyond the
Does this 'something special' have to do with

John 12:32   I will draw all ('men' not in the greek) unto myself. One pop radio preacher said that this meant all nations.

haanagrafs statement that all other religions are based on works for salvation.