In Reply to: Re: Univeral Reconciliation posted by Jaylee on October 07, 2008 at 21:26:42:
Well, I don't want to be so presumptious in answering, giving the impression, that I'd fully know how to give justice to this very complex subject.
As you probably know, Berg and TF are reconciliationists...in some/great part it has helped my walk of faith/life after TF by distancing myself from much to all TF taught or lived...I say in part, because obviously great parts of the salvation-message of TF is recognised by many outsiders - evangelical churches included - as pretty right on...it is therefore a bit "too cheap" to be against everything in TF, even though claiming to still having christian faith, as in my case...in that aspect it was also a bit wiser in my sight..to first get a good grasp of what I believe & not believe, before I would start to witness again...you don't want to plant the wrong ideas or seeds again.
On the other hand, this theory of universal reconciliation is not mandatorily to be preached to babes (Hebrews) or outsiders...one of my "witnessing-mistakes" in TF was to take "juicy" topics to present them to the yet unborn in the Spirit.
After I had left, I met in the nineties believers, who had a "similar" background than me, baptist/pentacostal/charismatic exposure...they shunned their "normal" churches (first catholic, then baptist) for various reasons...becoming a bit too legalistic, as they saw also the other side of "normal" Christians: being too libertinistic....& I certainly saw that problem with TF.
One of those friends of mine had studied in depth Hebrew & old Greek for the sake of understanding the Bible better & we also got to talk about the meaning of the word eternal...aion...he was the first, before there was any google or so...to explain to me that olam in Hebrew means something hidden...he kept on saying, that we also make use in colloquial German/Englisch of similar terms by saying: I haven't seen you since ages ...literally in German: since eternities...obviously that isn't any "good proof"...but I gained from that discussion the thought, that it could help to understand an "eternity verse" by instilling the thought of: the hidden from our eye & ways of measuring...
Both sides have very "convincing" arguments/verses & I guess the hard task is the synthesis...I must admit, that I left the subject for now on the shelf of undone tasks in present life, as there are too many "theological construction" sites...The pro recon. side argues that that stance goes along better with the thought of God's allprevailing love.
The contra fraction uses mainly, if I recall that right, the verse Mt. 25:46...they insist, that the eternity, everlasting life the saved ones have, must imply that the "same space of time" must be true for the unbelievers...
One thing which intrigued me since a long time is, that God does seperate, the harvest from the weeds...good fruit, no fruit & most of all, in the very beginning, light from darkness (the light He called good!!!!).For the moment I have settled for accepting this seperation-process & beyond that is really not clearly revealed to me.The sovereignity of God in that matter & all others is a must & what can I really say as a pot...I heard the arguments well of those who say, that if God wouldn't reconcile with His whole creation, that He'd be unfair...I am not buying into this thought.I must say, that I treasured immensely the thought of universal reconciliation in the beginning in my walk of faith...one byproduct of that thought is, that you hardly preach much fire & brimstone, but that you always remain lovey dovey with the most staunch rejectors...which can't be the solution either.In the meantime I moved on to other urging projects...sorry, that I can't give you yet a wholly worked out "thesis" on the matter, but google has plenty of hits in this regard, I just list some of them...obviously: