The Near-Death Experience and Universal Salvation Research
by Ken R. Vincent
ABSTRACT:
I explore the near-death experience (NDE) in
the context of the theology of
Christian Universalism.
I provide
data on various models of Christian theology,
and present the model of Restorative Universalism
as the one most compatible with reports of afterlife
in the NDE. I interface quotations from actual
NDE accounts with New Testament verses to illustrate
these similarities. Restorative Universalism
includes a judgment ("life
review"
in NDE terminology), followed by punishment
for some but eventual universal salvation for
all. I present an analysis of New Testament
verses supporting the theologies of "Jesus
Saves," Predestination, Good Works, and
Universal Salvation, which reveals Salvation
by Good Works to be supported by the greatest
number of verses, followed by verses advocating
Universal Salvation for All. Christian Restorative
Universalism is based upon these two predominant
New Testament teachings and affords the greatest
harmony with the NDE.
KEYWORDS:
near-death experience;
Universalist; Restorative Universalism; Christianity.
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Of all the
theological explanations for the near-death experience (NDE),
the
Doctrine of Universal Salvation,
also known as Universalism, is the most compatible with
contemporary NDE accounts. Universalism embraces the idea
that God is too good to condemn humankind to Eternal
Hell
and that, sooner or later, all humanity will be saved. Interestingly,
a belief in Universal Salvation can be found in virtually
all the world's major religions (Vincent,
2000, pp. 6-8). It
is particularly essential to
Zoroastrianism,
the religion of the
Magi
(Vincent,
1999, pp. 9-10 and 46-47).
The Universalist theology that
acknowledges a
temporary Hellish state
for those who need some "shaping up" before proceeding
to their ultimate reward is termed more specifically "Restorative
Universalism." In my book Visions of God from the Near-Death
Experience, I included a chapter on frightening NDEs, coupled
with Hell as portrayed in sacred scriptures. My intention
then was to present the topic of Universal Salvation in
the world's religions from a spiritual perspective (Vincent,
1994). In this article,
I want to show that Christian Universalism, a doctrine with
solid support in the New Testament, blends seamlessly with
the experience of NDErs.
By exploring the connections between
the NDE and Universalist theology, I have no interest in
reviving the so-called "Religious Wars" in the
NDE movement (Ellwood,
2000;
Ring, 2000;
Sabom, 2000a,
2000b).
I do hope to offer a source of comfort to NDErs, both Christian
and non-Christian, who may have had their experience marginalized
by assaults from Fundamentalist or Conservative Christians.
They can be assured that a more loving alternative to Christian "exclusivity"
(that is, "only Christians go to Heaven") exists
within the same New Testament they have known since childhood.
In a recent national poll for
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly and U. S. News & World
Report (Mitofsky
International and Edison Media Research, 2002),
only 19 percent of Christians and 7 percent of non-Christians
stated a belief that their religion was the only true religion.
This contrasted with a 1965 poll in which 65 percent of
Protestants and 51 percent of Catholics reported that "belief
in Jesus Christ as Savior was absolutely necessary for Salvation"
(Glock
and Stark, 1965).
Americans appear to be becoming
more Universalist in their orientation. The 2002 study also
found that "an individual's spiritual experience (as
opposed to doctrines and beliefs) is the most important
part of religion" was answered in the affirmative by
69 percent of Christians and 73 percent of non-Christians
(Mitofsky
International and Edison Media Research, 2002).
Americans also appear to be more spiritually aware, or at
least more willing to admit it. In 2002, 86 percent of Americans
stated that they had "experienced God's presence or
a spiritual force that felt very close to you one or more
times" (Mitofsky
International and Edison Media Research, 2002).
Spirituality
has always been part of religious experience. In this article,
I will explore how Universalist ideas are expressed in the
Bible, and, more importantly, how Universalism helps place
the near-death experience within the context of Christian
theology.
To examine
these questions, we must first consider the status of the
Bible and theological interpretations of it. In polls regarding
the validity of the Bible, about one-third of Americans
reported a belief that the Bible is "the actual Word
of God" (about as many as report being Fundamentalist).
One-sixth (about the number of non-Christians in America)
described it as a "book of fables, legends, history,
and moral precepts." One-half believed it to be the "inspired
Word of God but that not everything should be taken literally"
(Mitofsky
International and Edison Media Research, 2002, p.2;
Wood, 1989, pp. 130 and 361).
These views of the general population reflect modern scholarship
regarding the Bible. Today,
Biblical inerrancy
is a view adhered to by only the most Fundamentalist scholars
(Borg, 2001).
The Bible contains a treasure
trove of ancient accounts of mystical religious experiences.
Conservative Christian scholar
Luke Timothy Johnson
(1998)
correctly noted that modern studies of Christian origins
ignore the mystical religious experiences so clearly described
in the New Testament. Moderate Christian scholar James D.
G. Dunn noted, in referring to Jesus, that "there is
no incidence of a healing miracle that falls clearly outside
the general character of psycho-somatic illness" (1975/1997,
p. 71). Nevertheless,
his book is a study on what may be called "communicative
theism," the direct contact between God and humanity
in the New Testament. Even the liberal Jesus Seminar voiced
no doubt that Jesus appeared to some of his followers after
his death (Funk
and The Jesus Seminar, 1998).
From the time the Bible was written
to the present, individuals have reported mystical experiences
(Argyle,
2000;
Hick, 1999;
James, 1901/ 1958).
The NDE is unique among the categories of mystical union
with God (Borg,
1997) because of its
identifiable "trigger." The big question is: How
much credibility should one give to reports of mystical
experiences in the Bible, as most are not first-person accounts
but rather written down as "much-told tales" following
many years of oral tradition?
As stated above, most scholars
do not consider the Bible to be inerrant. In light of this,
it becomes untenable in theological interpretation to base
one's theological program on one or two Bible verses. For
example, the basis of papal authority is inferred from two
verses in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew
16:18-19). Even more difficult is justification for
the Trinity, which is not in the Bible and can at best only
be inferred by the fact that God, God's Spirit, and Jesus
are mentioned together in two verses (Matthew
28:19;
2 Corinthians 13:13). I will discuss further below how
theology can be based on a preponderance of verses in the
New Testament.
At this time,
let me state that I am a
Unitarian Universalist
Christian and, like most Liberal Christians, I believe that
God was in Jesus, but not that Jesus was God. Universalism
as a theological system traces its history back to
Origen
(185-254
CE) (Origen,
1885/ 1994). The Universalist
Church in North America was, for a time during the 19th
Century, the fifth or sixth largest denomination in the
United States (Howe,
1993). The
Universalist Church merged with
the Unitarians in 1961,
and Unitarian Universalist Christians still make up a majority
of our members worldwide. In the United States, ours has
developed into an interfaith church in which Unitarian Universalist
Christians comprise only a minority.
As stated above, there are several
variants of Christian Universalism. Some Universalists believe
that God will save you "no matter what." This
is a variant of "Jesus Saves" theology, except
that "Jesus
Saves Everybody (1)"
by his atoning sacrifice (Howe,
1993, pp. 34-35). Another
variant is the belief that Christians will be saved immediately,
and all others will be saved after becoming believers (Howe,
1993). Restorative
Universalism assumes a judgment ("life
review" in NDE
terminology) and punishment for some, followed by Universal
Salvation for all.
Today, most Christians who profess
a belief in Universal Salvation belong to variety of other
denominations. Despite their questions about doctrine, most
Liberal Christians choose to remain within more mainline
denominations, most often for reasons of tradition. Examples
of prominent contemporary Universalist Christian theologians
in other denominations are
Jan Bonda
of the
Dutch Reformed Church
(1993/1998);
Tom Harpur,
an
Anglican
(1986);
John Hick
of the
United Reformed Church
(Hick,
Pinnock, McGrath, Geivett, and Phillips, 1995),
and
Thomas Talbott,
an
Independent Christian
(Talbott,
1999).
It is noteworthy that, in a addition
to being a Christian scholar, Tom Harpur is a near-death
researcher, and he included a strong Universalist Christian
statement at the end of his book,
Life After Death
(1991).
Christian theologies are systems
created to explain the diverse and conflicting accounts
given by the various authors of the New Testament. Often
theologians will arrive at differing interpretations of
what the words in a particular Bible verse mean. For example, "I
am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me" (John
14:6) is a primary verse used by "Jesus Saves"
theologians; however, this verse has been interpreted by
Liberal Christians as meaning that salvation comes from
following the teachings of Jesus, rather than through his
death on the cross (Borg, 2001;
Harpur, 1986;
Hick, 1993a).
In an article in Christianity
Today entitled, "The
Gift of Salvation,"
Timothy George (1997) made the case for "Jesus Saves"
theology by citing just 23 verses from the New Testament.
By my own calculations,' there were 139 verses in the New
Testament supporting "Jesus Saves" , theology;
551 verses supporting
Salvation by Good Works,
with 389 of those verses being the words of Jesus himself;
and 178 verses supporting
Universal Salvation
(1)(2)(3)(4),
including 31 verses that speak to
Hell not being permanent.
It is worth noting that a fourth theological position, the
Doctrine of Predestination,
has 77 verses to support it (Hastings,
Grant, and Rowley, 1953).
One can see from the sheer magnitude of data that
Salvation by Good Works
has the most support, followed by
Universal Salvation
for All. The two taken together form the case for Christian
Restorative Universalism.
When it comes to
the near-death experience, Universalism appears to be the
most compatible theological position. Why is that so? Let
us explore some basics of Christian Restorative Universalism
and the NDE.
NDEs often begin with an "out-of-body"
experience (OBE). The Bible records this 2000-year-old OBE
by St. Paul:
"I know a person
in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught
up to the third Heaven-whether in the body or
out of the body I do not know; God knows. And
I know that such a person - whether in the body
or out of the body 1 do not know; God knows
- was caught up into Paradise and heard things
that were not to be told, that no mortal is
permitted to repeat."
(2
Corinthians 12:2-5)
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One of the most commonly reported
characteristics of a deep NDE is the experience of
Light
or
Being of Light
(Vincent, 1994). Some NDErs feel that this Light represents
God or God's emissary, as in the following:
"I was
in the Universe and I was Light. It
takes all the fear of dying out of you.
It was Heavenly. I was in the Presence
of God."
(Vincent,
1994, p.27)
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"I went
directly into the Light, and my pain
ceased. There was a feeling of extreme
peace."
(Vincent,
1994, p. 27)
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"God
is light, and in him there is no darkness
at all." (1
John 1:5)
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"Every
generous act of giving, with every perfect
gift, is from above, coming down from
the Father of lights." (James
1:17)
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"He who
is the blessed and only Sovereign, the
King of kings and Lord of lords. It
is he alone who has immortality and
dwells in unapproachable light."
(1
Timothy 6:15-16)
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NDErs routinely report an immense
amount of unconditional love radiating from the Being of
Light:
"An absolute
white Light that is God-all loving.
The unification of us with our Creator."
(Vincent,
1994, p. 27)
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"I left
my body, and I was surrounded by God.
It didn't feel male or female, young
or old, just me. I was surrounded by
Love ... I looked down at the little
girl in bed ... Later when I realized
it was me, I was back in my body."
(Vincent,
1994, p. 21)
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"Beloved,
let us love one another, because love
is from God; everyone who loves is born
of God and knows God. Whoever does not
love does not know God, for God is love."
(1
John 4:7-8)
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"The steadfast
love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies
never come to an end." (Lamentations
3:22)
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Near-death experiencers report a
feeling of "Oneness with God" and a sensation
of being "In God":
"It is
something which becomes you and you
become it. I could say, "I was
peace; I was love." It was the
brightness ... It was part of me."
(Vincent,
1994, p. 29)
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"For
in him we live and move and have our
being." (Acts
17:28)
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"For
from him and through him and to him
are all things." (Romans
11:36)
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"One
God and Father of all, who is above
all and through all and in all."
(Ephesians
4:6)
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Sometimes NDErs encounter Jesus
in the Light:
"The
light was in me and between the molecules,
the cells in my body. He was in me -
I was in him ... I knew all things.
I saw all things. I was all things.
But not me; Jesus had this. As long
as I was "in Him," and he
was "in me," I had this power,
this glory (for lack of a better word)."
(Vincent
1994, p. 57)
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"I left
but stood there wanting to help this
poor soul (which was in effect me).
Then I was on the third level and a
voice said, "choose." I saw
Jesus, the Blessed Mother, and the archangel
Michael. My message was unconditional
love; learn to love your family; you
love others, but learn to love your
family." (Vincent,
1994, p. 59)
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These accounts recall the Apostle
Paul's experience of Jesus. Many scholars consider his account
in
1 Corinthians 15:5-8 as the only first-hand account
of the resurrection of Jesus (Funk
and the Jesus Seminar, 1998;
Harpur, 1986;
Hick, 1993b).
Paul also provided verified secondhand accounts of Jesus'
appearance to Peter and James. In Acts, we have a description
of Paul's experience of Jesus:
"Now as he was
going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly
a light from Heaven flashed around him. He fell
to the ground and heard a voice saying, "Saul,
Saul, why do you persecute me?"
(Acts
9:3-4; also
22:6-7;
26:12-14)
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Researcher
Philip Wiebe
(1997) maintained that there is (no difference between modern-day
visions of Jesus and similar visions of Jesus described
in the Bible. Although Wiebe excluded NDEs from his research,
numerous NDE accounts over the past quarter century attest
to face-to-face meetings with Jesus. Curiously, even people
of religions other than Christianity have described encounters
with Jesus (Rommer,
2000).
Before turning our attention from
the Light, it is worth noting that Fundamentalists often
counter this common NDE phenomenon with a verse from St.
Paul:
This is of dubious relevance for
NDEs for two reasons: first, it places too much weight on
a single Bible verse; and second, the overwhelming amount
of data leaves no doubt that the Light experienced by the
NDEr radiates love. Jesus told us how to distinguish false
prophets:
When Jesus himself was accused of
being Satanic, he explained:
"And
the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said,
'He has Beelzebub and by the ruler of the demons
he casts out demons.'
"And he called
to them and spoke to them in parables, "How
can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided
against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And
if a house is divided against itself, that house
will not be able to stand. And if Satan has
risen up against himself and is divided, he
cannot stand, but his end is come."
(Mark
3:22-26)
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Fundamentalist Christians cannot
have it both ways. The Light cannot represent goodness for
a Christian and deception for non Christians. Satan may
be a neon sign, but God is the Light of the Universe.
Jesus told us that God is our Father
too:
"I am
ascending to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God."
(John
20:17)
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"You
have one Father - the one in heaven."
(Matthew
23:9)
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"'I will
be your Father and you shall be my Sons
and Daughters' says the Lord Almighty."
(2
Corinthians 6:18)
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"Is there
anyone among you who, if your child
asks for bread, would give him a stone?
Or if the child asks for a fish, would
give a snake? If you then who are evil,
know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father
in Heaven give good things to those
who ask Him?" (Matthew
7:9-10)
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What kind of parent abandons his
or her child? Surely not the loving God Jesus talked about.
Judgment, in NDE terminology,
is called "life
review." This
is usually a positive experience:
"I found myself
in a corridor. The corridor did not end. I was
not afraid. There was a white light. Very clear
white colors of light. Off to the side, I could
see shades of gray. Off to the side, I could
see my childhood passing, going left to right.
I thought to myself, "I am getting younger."
I did not see my adult life. I felt like I was
not alone, but I did not see anybody."
(Vincent,
1994, p. 95)
"During the Judgment
[it was] like on a Rolodex. I could feel the
person by me. I was waiting for the bad to come
up, but nothing bad was coming up." (Vincent,
1994, p. 93)
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For others, there is a perception
of one's effect on other people:
"I saw this life
pass in front of my eyes, like watching a movie.
I felt others' pain, joy, sorrows."
(Vincent,
1994, p. 93)
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For some, life review is a negative
experience:
"It was not peaceful,
much baggage, much unfinished business. All
things are connected. You are not your body,
you are a soul; mine was in limbo. I knew I
would be in limbo for a long time. I had a life
review and was sent to the void."
(Vincent
1994, p. 119)
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In Christianity, sometimes God
is seen as Judge of the World, but more often, Jesus is
seen as the Judge (Ma'sumian
1996). In Jesus' parable
of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke
16:19-31), he stated that judgment began prior to him,
was ongoing, and occurred immediately after death. In the
Judgment of the Nations (Matthew
25:31-46), Jesus is Judge of all the world, both Christian
and non Christian. Judgment is based on good works done
to the "least of these" (Matthew
25:40).
Jesus taught that we must be judged,
but that God is Light and goodness:
"God is light,
and in Him there is no darkness at all."
(1
John 1:5) |
NDErs often note that the Being
of Light in the life review offers total acceptance:
"My near-death
experience was before Moody's book came out.
When it did, I said, "Oh my God! Mine is
pretty classic - just like the book. It was
incredibly clear - my life - going through what
happened. There were figures around I did not
know. The white Light was wonderful! It was
just love. I knew my life would be reviewed.
It was like flipping pages. I knew I had done
things I was not proud of, but there was total
acceptance. I wanted to stay, but I was told
to go back and be loving."
(Vincent
1994, p. 91)
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I have already noted above that
this is also true when the Being of Light is specifically
identified as Jesus. This is the picture that the New Testament
presents of Jesus. In the mystic Gospel of John we read:
"You judge my
human standards. I judge no one."
(John
8:15)
"And I, when
I am lifted up from the Earth, will draw all
people to myself." (John
12:32)
Jesus said: "My
yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
(Matthew
11:30)
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The following makes it clear that
Jesus is an advocate for both Christians and non-Christians:
"My children,
I am writing these things to you so that you
may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have
an advocate with the Father; Jesus Christ the
Righteous. He is the atoning sacrifice for our
sins, and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world." (1
John 2:1-2)
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With Jesus as Judge, no one is
ever abandoned - Christian or non-Christian. Jesus told
us that the Kingdom of God is not only for the pure (Matthew
5:8) but also for the impure (Matthew
15:2,
Luke 18:10-14), the pagan (Matthew
15:21-28), and the heretic (Luke
10:25-37;
John 4:16-30). NDErs often feel that they judge themselves,
as these quotes from three NDErs indicate:
"You
are judging yourself. You have been
forgiven all your sins, but are you
able to forgive yourself for not doing
the things you should have done and
some little cheaty things that maybe
you've done in your life? This is the
judgment."
(Ring
and Valarino, 1998, p. 167)
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"I didn't
see anyone as actually judging me. It
was more like I was judging myself on
what I did and how that affected everyone."
(Ring
and Valarino, 1998, p. 167)
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"I told
the Light that ... I expected him to
judge me rather sternly. He said, "Oh,
no, that doesn't happen at all."
However, at my request, they then played
back over the events that had occurred
in my life ... and I was the judge."
(Ring
and Valarino, 1998, p. 167)
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Jesus clearly told us:
"Do not judge,
so that you may not be judged. For with the
judgment you make you will be judged, and the
measure you give will be the measure you get."
(Matthew
7:1-2)
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The judgment of Jesus is not based
on belief in Doctrine. The test is not about correct belief,
but good deeds:
"Not everyone
who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will
enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one
who does the will of my Father in Heaven."
(Matthew
7:21)
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Good deeds will be rewarded:
"For the Son
of Man is to come with his angels in the glory
of his Father, and then he will repay everyone
for what has been done." (Matthew
16:27)
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St. Peter reiterated:
"I truly understand
that God shows no partiality, but in every nation,
anyone who fears him and does what is right
is acceptable to Him." (Acts
10:34-35)
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St. Paul said:
"For he will
repay according to each one's deeds."
( Romans
2:6)
"For God shows
no partiality." (Romans
2:11)
|
St. John of Patmos wrote:
"And the dead
were judged according to their works as recorded
in the books." (Revelation
20:12)
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The experience of Hell has been
recorded in NDEs since the beginning of modern research
(Ritchie
and Sherrill, 1978).
In current near-death research terminology, these are called "frightening"
NDEs.
In religious terms, the place
of punishment is called variously "Hell," "Hades," "Limbo," "Purgatory," "Gehenna,"
and "Eternal
Punishment." Modern
day near-death researchers have about as many types of frightening
NDEs (Atwater,
1992;
Greyson and Bush, 1992;
Rommer, 2000)
as the
ancient and medieval authors had
categories of Hell
(Zaleski,
1987). Often in the
NDE,
accounts of Hell are not permanent:
"I was in Hell
... I cried up to God, and it was by the power
of God and the mercy of God that I was permitted
to come back."
(Rommer
2000, p 42)
"God, I am not
ready, please help me. I remember when I screamed
(this) an arm shot out of the sky and grabbed
my hand and at the last second I was kept from
falling off the end of the funnel, the lights
flashing; and the heat was really something."
(Greyson
and Bush, 1992, p.100)
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If Hell is not permanent, one
might wonder why Jesus said the "goats" will endure "eternal
punishment" (Matthew
25:46).
Universalist scholar
Thomas Talbott
noted that the Greek word for "forever"
is better understood as "that which pertains to an
age" (1997,
pp. 8692). For example,
when Jonah was swallowed by the great fish, he "went
down to the land whose bars closed on me forever" (Jonah
2:6). However, the story ended when Jonah was released
by God from his bondage after just three days. In other
instances - his parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew
18:34-35) and his descriptions of a prisoner's fate
(Matthew
5:25-26,
Luke 12:59) - Jesus indicated that punishment is not
eternal but lasts only until one's entire debt is paid (Matthew
18:34). The following are classic passages supporting
Christian Universalism (Howe,
1993, pp 34-35):
"For Christ also
suffered for sins once and for all, the righteous
for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to
God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made
alive in the Spirit in which also he went and
made a proclamation to the spirits in prison,
who in former times did not obey."
(1
Peter 3:18-20)
"For this reason
the Gospel was proclaimed even to the dead,
so that though they had been judged in the flesh
as everyone is, they might live in the Spirit
as God does." (1
Peter 4:6)
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Modern NDE accounts suggest that
Jesus is still rescuing people
from Hell!
According to Christian Universalism,
in the end, we will all be united with God. Two of Jesus'
most poignant parables proclaim Universal Salvation. In
Matthew, God (the
Good Shepherd) sought and saved the lost sheep; the
sheep did not return to the flock of its own accord. The
parable ends, "So it is not the will of your Father
in Heaven that one of these little ones should be lost"
(Matthew
18:14). In the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke
15:11-32), the returning son did not ask to be a member
of the family, but for a job as his father's servant. It
was God (the father) who took him back into the family.
The father was the character with the active role. People
often have difficulty with this story because they wrongly
identify with the good son and not with the father. Considering
how much human parents love their own children, the story
puts some perspective on how much God, who is all good,
loves each of us. This theme is echoed in the mystic Gospel
of John:
"I have other
sheep that do not belong to this fold, and 1
must bring them also, and they will listen to
my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
(John
10:16)
"And I, when
I am lifted up from the Earth, will draw all
people to myself." (John
12:32)
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Universal salvation is reiterated
in numerous writings of the other Apostles:
"When all things
are subjected to him then the Son himself will
also be subjected to the one who put all things
in subjection under him, so that God may be
all in all." (1
Corinthians 15:28)
"For to this
end we toil and struggle, because we have our
hope set on the living God, who is the Savior
of all people, especially of those who believe."
(1
Timothy 4:10)
"And the Holy
Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, "This
is the covenant I will make with them after
those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws
in their hearts and I will write them on their
minds," he also adds: "I will remember
their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is
no longer any offering for sin."
(Hebrews
10:15-18)
"He has made
known to us the mystery of his will, according
to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,
as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather
up all things in him, things in heaven and things
on Earth." (Ephesians
1:9-10)
"For the grace
of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all."
(Titus
2:11)
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One of the
most profound aspects of the NDE is its
aftereffects
(Greyson,
2000). Experiences
of God change and affirm lives, and sometimes this represents
a "soft" change:
"It took some
time for me to realize I was consumed with an
insatiable thirst for knowledge. Dr. Pat Fenske
wrote in the June, 1991, Vital Signs newsletter
that individuals shift to a higher level of
consciousness. This I can relate to 100 percent
and this has enabled me to understand why I
look at things from an entirely different perspective
than most people."
(Vincent
1994, p. 109)
"Why did this
experience change me so greatly? Why am I convinced
that this was the most real thing that ever
happened to me when logic and common sense dictate
it wasn't. Why so many unexplained events since
then. The experience left me a changed person
but not knowing why, full of questions and still
seeking answers."
(Vincent,
1994, p. 113)
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In some cases, the changes following
a NDE are dramatic - as life changing as
St. Paul's mystical religious
vision of Jesus that
transformed him from a persecutor of Christians to an Evangelist
for Jesus (1
Corinthians 15:3-8;
Galatians 1:13-16). That kind of powerful effect occurred
in the life of art professor
Howard Storm,
who, after his encounter with Jesus during his NDE, abandoned
his atheism and became a Christian minister. Storm related
that when he began to pray, his NDE changed from a Hellish
experience to a positive, loving one: "Simply stated,
I knew God loved me" (Ring
and Valarino, 1998, p. 292).
Like NDEs,
deathbed visions
(Osis
and Haraldsson, 1977)
and
post death visions
(Kircher
1995) point to an afterlife.
But NDEs, like
mystical religious experiences
throughout the ages
(Argyle,
2000;
James, 1901/1958),
are especially rich in insights as to the nature of God.
NDEs, like other mystical religious experiences, both complement
and continue the testimony of that great repository - of
Western mystical experience, the Bible.
God's love is greater than we imagine
or than we can imagine - this is the testimony of the prophets,
sages, saints, mystics, and ordinary people throughout the
ages who have shared with us their incomparable sense of
Oneness with God and God's unconditional love for us all.
Truly God is with us always and, in time:
"All flesh shall
see the salvation of God." (Luke
3:6)
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1
All Scripture quotations in this article are from the
New Revised Standard Version Bible
(NRSV), copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education
of the
National Council of the Churches
of Christ in the U.S.A.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
• Argyle, M. (2000).
Psychology and Religion:
An Introduction.
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• Atwater, P. M. H. (1992).
Is there a Hell? Surprising
Observations About the Near-Death Experience. Journal
of Near-Death Studies, 10, 149-160.
|
• Bonda, J. (1998).
The One Purpose of God:
An Answer to the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment.
Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans. (Original
work published 1993).
|
• Borg, M. (1997).
The God We Never Knew:
Beyond Dogmatic Religion to a More Authentic Contemporary
Faith. San
Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco.
|
• Borg, M. (2001). Reading
the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible
Seriously But Not Literally. San Francisco, CA:
HarperSanFrancisco.
|
• Dunn, J. D. G. (1997).
Jesus and the Spirit:
A Study of the Religious and Charismatic Experience
of Jesus and the First Christians as Reflected in
the New Testament.
Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans. (Original
work published 1975).
|
• Ellwood, G. F. (2000)
Religious Experience,
Religious Worldviews, and Near-Death Studies.
Journal of Near-Death Studies, 19, 5-21.
|
• Funk, RW., and The Jesus
Seminar. (1998).
The Acts of Jesus: The
Search for the Authentic Deeds of Jesus.
San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco.
|
• George, Talbott. (1997,
December 8).
The Gift of Salvation.
Christianity Today,
pp. 35-37.
|
• Glock, C. Y, and Stark,
R (1965).
Religion and Society in
Tension. Chicago,
IL: Rand McNally.
|
• Greyson, B. (2000). Near-Death
Experiences. In Cardella, E., Lynn, S. J., and Krippner,
S. (eds.),
Varieties of Anomalous
Experience: Examining the Scientific Evidence
(pp.315 352). Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.
|
• Greyson, B., and Bush,
N. E. (1992).
Distressing Near-Death
Experiences.
Psychiatry, 55, 95-110.
|
• Harpur, T. (1986).
For Christ's Sake.
Toronto, Canada: McClelland and Stewart.
|
• Harpur, T. (1991).
Life After Death.
Toronto, Canada: McClelland and Stewart.
|
• Hastings, J., Grant, F.
C., and Rowley, H. H. (eds.). (1953).
Dictionary of the Bible.
New York, NY: Scribner's.
|
• Hick, J. (1993a).
Disputed Questions in
Theology and the Philosophy of Religion.
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
|
• Hick, J. (1993b).
The Metaphor of God Incarnate:
Christology in a Pluralistic Age.
Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press.
|
• Hick, J. (1999)
The Fifth Dimension.
Boston, MA: One World.
|
• Hick, J., Pinnock, C.
H., McGrath, A. E., Geivett, R D., and Phillips,
W.G. (1995).
More Than One Way?
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
|
• Howe, C. A. (1993).
The Larger Faith: A Short
History of American Universalism.
Boston, MA: Skinner House.
|
• James, W. (1958).
The Varieties of Religious
Experience.
New York, NY: Signet. (Original work published 1901).
|
• Johnson, L. T. (1998).
Religious Experience in
Earliest Christianity: A Missing Dimension in New
Testament Studies.
Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
|
• Kircher, P.M. (1995).
Love is the Link: A Hospice
Doctor Shares Her Experience of Near Death and Dying.
Burdett, NY: Larson Publications.
|
• Ma'sumian, F. (1995).
Life Ater Death: A Study
of the Afterlife in World Religions.
Oxford, England: One World.
|
• Mitofsky International
and Edison Media Research. (2002). Exploring religious
America. Religion & Ethics Newsweekly,
May 10, 2002, Retrieved May 16, 2002, from:
www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week534/cover.html
|
• Origen. (1994). Origen
De Principiis. In Roberts, A. R., and Donaldson,
J. (eds.)
Ante-Nicene Fathers,
Volume 4 (pp. 260-279). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson
Publishers. (Roberts and Donaldson original work
published 1885).
|
• Osis, K., and Haraldsson,
E. (1977).
At the Hour of Death.
New York, NY: Avon.
|
• Ritchie, G. G., and Sherrill,
E. (1978).
Return from Tomorrow.
Old Tappan, NJ: Sprite.
|
• Ring, K. (2000).
Religious Wars in the
NDE Movement: Some Personal Reflections on Michael
Sabom's Light and Death.
Journal of Near-Death Studies, 18, 214-244.
|
• Ring, K., and Valarino,
E. E. (1998).
Lessons from the Light:
What We Can Learn from the Near-Death Experience.
New York, NY: Plenum/Insight.
|
• Rommer, B. R. (2000).
Blessing in Disguise:
Another Side of the Near-Death Experience.
St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn.
|
• Sabom, M. (2000a).
Response to Kenneth Ring's "Religious
Wars in the NDE Movement: Some Personal Reflections
on Michael Sabom's Light and Death."
Journal of Near Death Studies, 18, 245-271.
|
• Sabom, M. (2000b).
Response to Gracia Fay
Ellwood's "Religious Experience, Religious
Worldviews, and Near-Death Studies."
Journal of Near-Death Studies, 19, 23-44.
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• Talbott, T. (1997).
The Inescapable Love of
God. Parkland,
FL: Universal Publishers.
|
• Vincent, K. R. (1994).
Visions of God from the
Near-Death Experience.
Burdett, NY: Larson.
|
• Vincent, K. R. (1999).
The Magi: From Zoroaster
to the "Three Wise Men."
North Richland Hills, TX: Bibal Press.
|
• Vincent, K. R. (2000).
Unitarian and Universalist concepts of salvation
in the Bible and world religion.
Universalist Herald,
152(5), 4-8.
|
• Wiebe, D. H. (1997).
Visions of Jesus: Direct Encounters from the New
Testament to Today.
New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
|
• Wood, F. W. (1989).
An American Profile -
Opinions and Behavior 1972-1989.
Chicago, IL: National Opinion Research Center.
|
• Zaleski, C. (1987).
Otherworld Journeys: Accounts
of Near-Death Experience in Medieval and Modern
Times. New
York, NY: Oxford University Press.
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