Christian universalism is the belief that all people will be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Its roots go back to the early Christian movement and can be traced to the New Testament and writings of early church fathers. The belief gained popularity in the 18th century and led to the formation of the Universalist Church of America, which later joined the Unitarian Universalist Association. Today, the Christian Universalist Association supports those who believe in the principle.
Christian universalism is the belief that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all people will ultimately be reconciled to God and exist in a state of salvation for eternity. While not considered a mainstream or mainstream tenet of Christianity, the roots of Christian universalism go back to the early centuries of the Christian movement. Time and time again, the concept of universal reconciliation has appeared either as a central tenet for an organized Christian denomination or as a belief espoused by people in a wide range of Christian expressions.
Proponents of Christian universalism trace the origin of the belief to the New Testament canon and the writings of some of the early church fathers. The typical Christian universalist can identify a number of passages within the scriptural canon that point to the extensive application of the principle of grace to all mankind, by the work of Christ Jesus. Additionally, the believer in Christian universalism will also point to writings by early church figures such as Origen and Clement of Alexandria as evidence of the antiquity of the concept of universalism within the Christian faith.
The first appearance of Christian universalism as a defining belief for a group of Christian believers took place in the 18th century. England proved fertile ground for this exciting approach to Christianity, as it stood in direct opposition to the salvation of John Calvin’s elect teachings. The belief was first introduced to the American colonies of the British Empire by Dr. George De Benneville in 1741. However, it was not until universalist preacher John Murray reached the colonies in 1741 that the doctrine of universal salvation gained a firm foothold in the New world.
In 1785, the first organized group of Christian Universalists appeared with the formation of the General Convention of Universalists of the United States. This organization would later organize into the Universalist Church of America, which grew to become one of the ten most prominent Christian faiths in the United States during the 19th century.
After a period of prosperity, the Universalist Church began to lose members during the 20th century. As a result, the church chose to join the American Unitarian Association in 1920 to form the Unitarian Universalist Association. While some traditional Christian universalists are members of the UUA today, this nondenominational denomination does not promote Christian universalism as an essential principle.
In recent years, a move has emerged to promote Christian universalism within existing denominations. In 2007, the Christian Universalist Association was established as a communication and support network to allow interaction between lay people and priests who believe in Christian Universalism. With no intention of forming a new denomination, the Association functions as a means of providing printed materials relating to Christian universalism, holding doctrinally focused worship conferences, and assisting pastors and others who wish to explore the faith in more detail.
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