On the Universalist Heresy

Universalism is the speculation that we can know with certainty that every single human being or possibly every creature, including the devil himself, will be saved, and was condemned in 543 by the Church. It dates from the time of Origen in the third century, with his defense of what he called “Apocatastasis,” the notion that all things will be all in God—everyone shall be saved. I dare say it is a belief well-established among Catholics today, supported by some Catholic theologians predisposed to this view.

Universalism stems from doctrine of hell, the idea that people might be separated from God for all eternity and endure eternal conscious torment because of this alienation. Universalist theologians, following Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar say that Universalism represents the triumph of hope over biblical evidence. Yet the Church has taught from the beginning that both heaven and hell exist, and there are two possibilities for each of us: eternity with God or eternity apart from God. At some point in the future, the Church and Scripture tell us, everyone is going to die, or Jesus is going to return. Whichever happens first, we will stand before the Maker of the universe and learn how and where we will be spending eternity. Our lives at present are to be about being ready—as wee the wise virgins.

In That All Shall be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation (Yale University Press, 2019) David Bentley Hart assures us we all will end up in heaven. His universalist message is that a God of love could never allow the possibility of spending eternity in hell. This opinion flies in the face of almost two thousand years of Christian tradition and agreement on the topic. If the traditional view is correct, and it has been revealed to be so, then Hart is nurturing a dangerous, false assurance of salvation. This is the very serious dangers of universalism.

First, why should followers of Christ go to the trouble of trying to convince people to turn from sin and give their lives to God when they will end up in heaven no matter what? As such, a belief in Universalism leads its proponents to ignore Our Lord’s command to proclaim the good news and risk being held accountable for souls lost.

Secondly, universalism undermines the motivation to live such that we are ready to face judgment. Why should I sacrifice, love my enemies, pursue virtue, and practice spiritual disciplines such as prayer, fasting and almsgiving to become holy if I will gain heaven regardless? This is the greatest problem facing the Church in the United States today. Teachers and preachers who tell people exactly what they hope is true are legion, misleading them into thinking they are safe. In reality, they/we are in grave danger, and if we do not get right with God, we will end up in eternally separated from Him for eternity.

When was the last time you heard a sermon or homily on the real and imminent danger of spending eternity apart from God? This Thanksgiving how often will your family and friends discuss the possibility that they might die, or that Jesus might return at any moment—and so they should be ready to face judgment? Heaven and hell are real, and the question of how to get into one and avoid the other is the most significant issue in all of our existence. How many of us spend time readying ourselves for eternity, or thinking about it, or talking about it with others? We make time for worldly concerns—making money, winning elections, attaining sexual fulfillment. But making time to ensure we don’t spend eternity separated from the Lord and Giver of life? No. Many are apparently sure that God is going to open the door to Heaven to us and everyone else. As such, we can focus on the really important things here and how. Jesus is loving and forgiving, and so we don’t have to be overly concerned with eternity. The idea that everyone goes to heaven is today embedded in our national soul. And Jesus said unto them:

Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

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Neomodernism's Attack on Religious Life- (continued).

Who’s that on page 180 of that book? This is Sister Mary Benjamin, IHM. Sister Mary Benjamin got involved with us in the summer of ‘66, and became the victim of a lesbian seduction. An older nun in the group, “freeing herself to he more expressive of who she really was internally,” decided that she wanted to make love with Sister Mary Benjamin. Well, Sister Mary Benjamin engaged in this; and then she was stricken with guilt, and wondered, to quote from her book, “Was I doing something wrong, was I doing something terrible? I talked to a priest—” Unfortunately, we had talked to him first. “I talked to a priest,” she says, “who refused to pass judgment on my actions. He said it was up to me to decide if they were right or wrong. He opened a door, and I walked through the door, realizing I was on my own.” This is her liberation? How excited they were, to be delivering someone into God’s hands! Well, instead they delivered her into the hands of nondirective psychology. ...

Satan makes his way to us through the libido!

Let us take a great civilization historically devoid of pornography, and examine what happens once the door is opened a crack, for smoke to enter:

"The Spirit of Vatican II"

My advice to one confronted with doubt sown by those who make reference to “correct interpretations of Vatican II” is to reflect closely upon the words of John Paul II: With the Council, the Church first had an experience of faith, as she abandoned herself to God without reserve, as one who trusts and is certain of being loved. It is precisely this act of abandonment to God which stands out from an objective examination of the Acts. Anyone who wished to approach the Council without considering this interpretive key would be unable to penetrate its depths. Only from a faith perspective can we see the Council event as a gift whose still hidden wealth we must know how to mine . In short, it is this abandonment, this interpretive faith perspective that is woefully lacking in many who would offer to explain what the Council taught in “the spirit of Vatican II.” Watch here to see what abandonment looks like!

From "The Smoke of Satan in the Temple of God"

….At the close of Vatican II, Pope Paul VI remarked that Christianity, the religion of God-Incarnate, had encountered the religion of man-made God. He was of the opinion that much of the Council was given over to demonstrating the compatibility of Enlightenment belief with Catholicism. Several years hence, on June 29, 1972, Paul delivered another assessment of the state of the Roman Catholic Church since the close of Vatican II. As Cardinal Silvio Oddi recalled it (in an article first published on March 17, 1990, in Il Sabato magazine in Rome) the Holy Father told a congregation: We have the impression that through some cracks in the wall the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God: it is doubt, uncertainty, questioning, dissatisfaction, confrontation. And how did this come about? We will confide to you the thought that may be, we ourselves admit in free discussion, that may be unfounded, and that is that there has been a power, an adversary power. Let us call him by his name: the...

Do Not Be Ashamed

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My Intended Audience

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On Marriage

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