I got an e-mail today from Julie, asking if I think an evangelical can be a universalist (could someone be an evangelical Christian and also believe that one day all people will be saved?), along with a link to an article on the generous orthodoxy website: http://www.generousorthodoxy.net/thinktank/2006/11/gregory_macdona.html

I sent her back this quotation (below) which has given me much cause to think. Go figure …

"To believe in God is to believe in the salvation of the world. The paradox of our time is that those who believe in God do not believe in the salvation of the world, and those who believe in the future of the world do not believe in God.
"Christians belive in 'the end of the world,' they expect the final catastrophe, the punishment of others.
"Atheists in their turn ... refuse to believe in God because Christians believe in Him and take no interest in the world ...
"Which is the more culpable ignorance?
"I often say to myself that, in our religion, God must feel very much alone: for is there anyone besides God who believes in the salvation of the world? God seeks among us sons and daughters who resemble Him enough, who love the world enough so that He could send them into the world to save it."
- Louis Every, In the Christian Spirit (Image, 1975)