Hi everyone,
I've come back to this thread to give it a more Universalist theme.
I showed the above article link to my mother, she believes in Eternal Torment.
She's cried many times when looking at the news about the conflict in Ukraine and she hates Putin.
I believe characters like Putin are evil, but with people as evil as him, it makes it hard to convince her that Jesus will save everyone.
That people even as evil as Putin will still receive God's salvation.
I tried to convince her of Universalism before in the past, but she rejects the idea.
I even quoted specific Bible verses. To be honest, she got surprisingly upset.
Since then, I haven't brought up the idea. Though I know she still recognizes me as having that belief.
So all I can hope to do is try and do good things and hope she associates that with the idea of Universalism being good.
I don't want to mention it so often and have her get annoyed.
Nor do I want to talk about it too obsessively with her, lest she associates me with those fundies she rejected.
So it's a tricky balancing act.
I don't blame her though. She grew up in a extremely legalistic and fundamentalist church.
It's already a huge step for her that she managed to shake away a lot of the stiffness in rules.
But I love her and feel bad that she's still caught up in the web of lies that is Eternal Torment.
Though, if she can talk about it so casually, maybe she hasn't thought of it that much. Hopefully then, she doesn't feel any pain thinking about it.
Because for me, it makes me feel really sad just thinking about it.
So, to conclude. I'm wondering if any of you have experience with a family member who doesn't believe in Universalism, and how (hopefully) you convinced them otherwise.
Specifically with the context of having people they see as evil being saved.
It feels good to get this off my chest though with you here.
I had to look at a lot of Bible verses reaffirming Universalism for a good while after talking with her.
1 Corinthians 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive" -
Isaiah 57:16 I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me, And the souls which I have made.
John 6:33 The Bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives Life to the World.