THE EVANGELICAL UNIVERSALIST
The biblical hope that God's love will save us all
By Gregory MacDonald (pseudonym). SPCK. 202 pages. £12.99
ISBN 978-0-281-05988-1
Surely to be ‘evangelical’ (thus committed to Scripture’s absolute and final authority) and a ‘universalist’ (believing that, ultimately, all will be saved) is a contradiction in terms?
In this disconcerting book, GM (the anonymous author) claims otherwise. There are two sets of Scripture texts, one describing hell in terms of irreversible finality (e.g. Matthew 25.46, Luke 16.26, 2 Thessalonians 1.9, Revelation 14.9-11, etc.) and the other presenting an ultimate future where all people are reconciled to God (Colossians 1.16,20; Romans 5.18, 2 Peter 3.9, etc.). Traditionally, the first group of texts has been ‘taken at face value’ and the second set reinterpreted to fit.
