Are Christianity and Universalism Compatible?
This is the question I began thinking about as I read the last page of Huston Smith’s book Why Religion Matters. This book was part of my coursework for a Comparative Theology class and while it was a complicated read, I really had enjoyed the book. Yet the last few pages threw me for an unexpected loop. Smith is a brilliant scholar born to missionary parents who raised him in China. Due to his upbringing, he was exposed to many of the world’s religions and spent time with spiritual teachers of Buddhist and Hindu faiths. He is well educated and was a professor at the elite schools of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at Berkeley. Smith is well read and extremely knowledgeable which is shown throughout the book. The big goal of his book is seen in its title, to make the case that religion does in fact matter. Smith opens the book with a tunnel metaphor which establishes the framework for the remainder of the book. He makes the case that modernity creates in individuals a tunnel vision that hinders their ability to see the “big picture” of life. He establishes that the tunnel’s floor is scientism (the belief that the scientific method and material items are the most reliable ways to understand truth), the walls are higher education and the law, and the roof is the media. He gives the image that these are almost like a window shade which is pulled down so that you can only see two inches outside the window. You can see partially, but not the full picture. In other words, our generation has lost curiosity about the big questions in life like, “What happens when you die?” or “Why am I here on earth?” “Is there someone or something greater than me?”
All along he builds a convincing case and helps the reader zoom out to see the bigger picture and why modern life is restricting it. I was in agreement with most everything he said… until the last couple of pages. Essentially, he comes to the conclusion that in the end, he will continue on in consciousness and while his view of the afterlife is hard to follow, it seems he is saying he will be conscious of “the beatific vision” until he is like a bird that will go free. If you are confused by what that means, you are not alone. The last few pages of his book state his unease with the idea of a final judgement and his preference for universalism or salvation for all. I was pretty shocked reading this from someone who has really studied the Christian faith and its doctrines. As we are in the midst of Holy Week, let’s look at the question: will all be saved?
Often I hear that Christianity is intolerant. I think this statement lacks understanding. Christianity is open to everyone. The invitation to have a relationship with Jesus Christ is available to all. Often one of the first Bible verses taught to small children is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that WHOEVER believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Christianity is inclusive that it is available to all people yet it is exclusive in that there is only one way. Jesus makes an exclusive statement while he is here on earth, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
Jesus was very clear with his purpose and mission on earth: he brought forth the way to salvation, the ONLY way to salvation. We are at the beginning of Holy Week, the week where we remember and celebrate what Jesus accomplished by his death and resurrection. There is something that separates Christianity from every other religion on earth. That is the work and life of Jesus Christ. We do not have to work towards doing enough good deeds in order to please God because of what Christ accomplished on the cross. If you are confused about what Christianity is, let’s boil it down to what the essentials are. These are the things that the Christian faith hinges on:
1. God created the world and everything in it (Genesis 1:1)
2. Humans rebelled against God and sin entered the world (Genesis 3)
3. God sent his Son Jesus who lived a sinless life to die on the cross, taking the sins of the world and atoning for them as the perfect sacrifice (Romans 3:23-26).
4. Jesus was buried and after 3 days was resurrected, reigns in Heaven, and is coming back to establish a New Earth and declare final judgment (John 20, Acts 1:1-2, Rev. 22:12-13)
5. All who believe in Jesus and confess him as Lord will be saved (Romans 10:9-10)
This is the event which defines Christianity. The cross is where our faith hinges. Belief in Jesus is the only way to forgiveness and reconciliation with God. This is why Holy Week is so important and why universalism is incompatible with Christianity. The Bible speaks over and over again of a final judgment to come. There will be a separation of those who made Jesus the lord of their lives and for those who did not (Revelation 20:11-15).
I recognize and sympathize with those who struggle with this. It grieves me to think of my friends and family members and even strangers who do not believe. I see Huston Smith’s heart and good intentions with his beliefs. I know many who just can’t believe that a good God would send people to eternal punishment. But scripture tells us that God is love. His judgment is love. I think sometimes we are so shocked by the fact that a holy God would punish sin because we really aren’t that offended by sin. We live in a sin infested world and after a while, we just aren’t really shocked by it anymore. We can’t understand how good, holy, and loving God truly is because we don’t really see how sinful and desperate we are for a savior.
Or maybe for you, you see your sin and rebellion towards God and think, “there is no way I could be good enough for that.” I am here to tell you, there is NOTHING that can separate you from Christ’s love. He didn’t die for those who just occasionally lie or cheat. He died for ALL, for the murderer, the adulterer, the abuser. Those who sinned so bad you can’t even say it out loud. He isn’t asking you to clean yourself up and then follow him, he came down to earth, to meet you where you are, and to make you clean. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Christ’s death and resurrection paid the price for every sin you’ve ever committed and every sin you will ever commit.
I would rename the book, Why Christianity Matters, and argue that in the end, it matters that scientism is attacking the Christian faith because it leads people astray. It matters that people are swayed by the media into believing Christians are bigots because it causes people to not want to be Christians. And being a Christian matters because it is the only way that your soul can be saved in the end. Christianity is the only belief system that offers true hope and true answers to life’s biggest questions. The big picture of life is that this is not the end. This may be all our eyes can see now but there is a spiritual reality that supersedes our physical reality. I beg you to not numb out with Netflix or the endless social media scroll but to really think about what in the world you are doing here and where you are going. To ponder the big questions of life if you’ve never thought about them before. And perhaps consider what Jesus truly meant when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
For a more detailed apologetic about universalism, check out this article by N.T. Wright