The Evangelical Universalist by G. MacDonald
The Author
Gregory McDonald is the pen name of Robin Parry, which he used due concerns at the time about the book’s potential effect on his employment and his reputation in orthodox circles.
Chapter Summary
The first chapter looks at the problems of an eternal hell, including its injustice and how the saved could be happy if this happened. This is followed by some detailed analysis of the philosophical issues around freewill.
Chapter 2 considers how universalism ties in with scriptural theology, with particular focus on Colossians. Chapter 3 looks more closely Old Testament teaching and chapter 4 moves back to the New Testament with chapter 5 providing detailed analysis of the key passages in Revelation. Chapter 6 returns to the subject of hell, concentrating on New Testament teaching.
Chapter 7 looks at some specific objections to universalism, which are interspersed with arguments regarding its advantages. There are then several appendices, which focus on specific issues including Molinism and the concept of election.
Conclusions
Robin says he is ultimately not sure if universalism is true (pp 4, 218), but he argues that it makes sense and is helpful. Unlike the doctrine of the Trinity, however, he does not think that universalism is essential to being a Christian (pp 4, 175,176).
General Thoughts
I would encourage anyone to read this book, as it contains a wealth of thought-provoking information. Unlike Robin, however, I believe universalism is a primary doctrine, as it concerns the nature of God, which I believe is more important than the form He takes.
The book is perhaps unlikely to persuade orthodox believers to change, particularly as Robin argues that traditional teachings should only be abandoned under ‘extreme pressure’, (page 173), something the book does not seem to provide.
The book’s philosophical arguments struggle because of its acausalistic view of freewill. Robin therefore accepts that people may cease to be Christians (p 47), but he does not say what would prevent them from ‘falling from heaven’ after the Judgement Day.
Biblically, the book wrestles with phrases like ‘for ever and ever’ (Revelation 20:10), which Robin concludes should be read as meaning literally ‘for ever’. However, the literal translation of this phrase is, ‘unto the age of the ages’, which clearly just means for a ‘long, long time’ in several passages, e.g., Jeremiah 7:7.
Specific Comments
P73 This argues that here is no Old Testament teaching about the afterlife before Daniel 12:2, but it doesn't explain texts such as Job 19:25-27 and Ecclesiastes 12:7.
P129 This argues the Beast is not an individual, but Revelation 13;18 identifies the Beast by a number and says this ‘is the number of a man’.
P147 This argues that the idea of an immediate reward after death is foreign to Jesus’s teaching, but it doesn't explain what Luke 23:43 means.
P149 This suggests that Jesus may have taught that hell was everlasting (even though it wasn’t) to cause people to repent. However, the Bible teaches that God does not lie (Numbers 23:19) and choosing God solely out of fear is not true repentance; it's just self-preservation.
P166 This accepts that eternal conscious torment might be a just punishment. It is hard to see how an infinite punishment can be a just sentence for finite sins.
P171 Here, he says he has no regrets for missionaries teaching eternal conscious torment. If this is a false doctrine, however, it’s hard to understand why they should not regret this.