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zeppelin123
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28 Jan 2009, 5:55 pm

I identify myself as Christian universalist. I do not "buy" the traditional church thing of eternal punishment etc. I believe that everyone will be eventually returned to God, no matter what their beliefs. I also do not have a problem with evolution. I see the universe much like a complex A.I. program with some intervention.

I feel very close to God, but I do not practice organized religion or judge other people's beliefs.



Awesomelyglorious
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28 Jan 2009, 5:58 pm

Are you very theological? Do you support yourself with any traditional beliefs(like church fathers or Bible), or is your universalism based more upon some basic definitions you give to words?



zeppelin123
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28 Jan 2009, 6:09 pm

It's based upon the fact that many of the early Christian schools were universalist. Only one taught of eternal punishment. There is a full article on it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universalism



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28 Jan 2009, 6:21 pm

zeppelin123 wrote:
It's based upon the fact that many of the early Christian schools were universalist. Only one taught of eternal punishment. There is a full article on it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universalism

Answers my question, there is an appeal to church history there, and one that I already knew about to some extent. Seems acceptable.



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28 Jan 2009, 8:36 pm

Awesomelyglorious wrote:
Seems acceptable.

8O

This is unprecedented.

Welcome to PPR, Zeppelin. I assure you, this response of AG's is not typical in the least.


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ruveyn
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28 Jan 2009, 8:48 pm

zeppelin123 wrote:
I identify myself as Christian universalist. I do not "buy" the traditional church thing of eternal punishment etc. I believe that everyone will be eventually returned to God, no matter what their beliefs. I also do not have a problem with evolution. I see the universe much like a complex A.I. program with some intervention.

I feel very close to God, but I do not practice organized religion or judge other people's beliefs.


Is that anything like a Unitarian?

ruveyn



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28 Jan 2009, 8:51 pm

ruveyn wrote:
zeppelin123 wrote:
I identify myself as Christian universalist. I do not "buy" the traditional church thing of eternal punishment etc. I believe that everyone will be eventually returned to God, no matter what their beliefs. I also do not have a problem with evolution. I see the universe much like a complex A.I. program with some intervention.

I feel very close to God, but I do not practice organized religion or judge other people's beliefs.


Is that anything like a Unitarian?

ruveyn

Not necessarily, the main connection between the two is that they are considered heretical by most modern Christian denominations.


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Awesomelyglorious
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28 Jan 2009, 8:56 pm

Orwell wrote:
Awesomelyglorious wrote:
Seems acceptable.

8O

This is unprecedented.

Welcome to PPR, Zeppelin. I assure you, this response of AG's is not typical in the least.

I like to mix things up a bit.... or a lot. Besides, I guess I really did not want to get into a debate against universalism using phrases such as "destruction", "pit of fire", etc. Also, I was mostly trying to make certain that some effort had gone into the matter.



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28 Jan 2009, 8:58 pm

ruveyn wrote:
Is that anything like a Unitarian?

ruveyn

The connection you are drawing is likely because a lot of universalists are unitarians as seen from the Unitarian Universalist denomination.

The 2 are very different though, Unitarians deny the Christian trinity, while Universalists deny the existence of eternal damnation.



ruveyn
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28 Jan 2009, 8:59 pm

Orwell wrote:
Not necessarily, the main connection between the two is that they are considered heretical by most modern Christian denominations.


The reason I asked was because most of the Unitarian churches in Massachussetts are styled Unitarian-Universalist.

ruveyn



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28 Jan 2009, 9:06 pm

[quote="Awesomelyglorious"I like to mix things up a bit.... or a lot. Besides, I guess I really did not want to get into a debate against universalism using phrases such as "destruction", "pit of fire", etc. Also, I was mostly trying to make certain that some effort had gone into the matter.[/quote]
It's not really fun to argue against universalism anyways. I mean, "my religion is better than yours because in mine, some people burn in a fiery pit for all eternity" doesn't give most people a warm fuzzy feeling.


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28 Jan 2009, 9:16 pm

Orwell wrote:
It's not really fun to argue against universalism anyways. I mean, "my religion is better than yours because in mine, some people burn in a fiery pit for all eternity" doesn't give most people a warm fuzzy feeling.

It does seem a valid argument for God though.

CALVINIST ARGUMENT, a.k.a. TERTULLIAN'S ARGUMENT
(1) If God exists, then he will let me watch you be tortured forever.
(2) I rather like that idea.
(3) Therefore, God exists.



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28 Jan 2009, 9:24 pm

That is a rather amusing misrepresentation of Calvinism. Not sure how I should respond to it, so I think I'll just leave it alone.


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28 Jan 2009, 10:19 pm

Awesomelyglorious wrote:
CALVINIST ARGUMENT, a.k.a. TERTULLIAN'S ARGUMENT
(1) If God exists, then he will let me watch you be tortured forever.
(2) I rather like that idea.
(3) Therefore, God exists.

The most interesting ontological argument I have ever read.


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29 Jan 2009, 2:32 am

Orwell wrote:
Awesomelyglorious wrote:
Seems acceptable.

8O

This is unprecedented.

Welcome to PPR, Zeppelin. I assure you, this response of AG's is not typical in the least.


I think he is too caught up with weighty questions on the ethics of baby eating :lol:


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08 May 2012, 10:38 am

I'm a Unitarian, but I plan to convert to Judaism when I reach adulthood.