“It is evident,” writes Andrew Hronich, “that the traditional depiction of hell as a divinely imposed retribution has been largely supplanted by that of a freely embraced condition.”1 Absolutely right! This important theological change has happened so quietly, so quickly, so uncontroversially that one might be excused for believing that the free-will model of hell can be traced back to Jesus and his Apostles. We have forgotten that in the Western Church retributive punishment was long the doctrinal point of everlasting perdition, going back at least to the North African apologist Tertullian ..read more

On 13 October 1551, the Council of Trent published its Decree on the Holy Eucharist. Chapter IV defines the dogma of transubstantiation: And because that Christ, our Redeemer, declared that which He offered under the species of bread to be truly His own body, therefore has it ever been a firm belief in the Church of God, and this holy Synod doth now declare it anew, that, by the consecration of the bread and of the wine, a conversion is made of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord, and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of His ..read more

by Herbert McCabe, O. P. It is very odd that people should think that when we do good God will reward us and when we do evil he will punish us. I mean it is very odd that Christians should think this, that God deals out to us what we deserve. It is not, I suppose, really odd that other people should; I suppose it is the commonest way of thinking of God, for God tends to be just a great projection into the sky of our moral feelings, especially our guilt-feelings. But I don’t believe in God if that’s what he is, and it is very odd that any Christian should, since there is so much in the gospels ..read more

Undated letter of Thomas Erskine of Linlathen to J. Craig, author of the tract “The Final Salvation of All Men from Sin” Dear Sir,  Your epistle on the “Final Salvation of All Men from Sin” has been put into my hands by a friend who knew that the principles contained in it are those with which I have long concurred and sympathized, and having read it, I cannot help reaching out to you a brotherly hand, and saying, God speed you!  The title of your pamphlet has been, I think, well chosen. It is not a deliverance from punishment, but a deliverance from sin that you desire or expect. Al ..read more

Once Loved Always Loved (Wipf & Stock, 2023) by Andrew Hronich is a very impressive defense of universal salvation. As far as I can tell, the author has read, watched, and listened to just about everything on the topic. This is particularly true regarding the philosophical and theological literature. His bibliography alone goes on for twenty pages in small type! I do not know anyone who has read as much on the topic of the final destiny of human beings as Hronich has. And the long bibliography is not just for show. One scholar after another shows up on just about every page of his book. Th ..read more

And after you have watched the above, you might then enjoy Andrew’s presentation of a philosophical defense of universalism: Finally, if you you prefer a biblical argument for universalism: Andrew Hronich is the author of the very impressive book Once Loved Always Loved (2023). I will be doing a multi-article review of this book in the weeks ahead (God willing and the creeks don’t rise ..read more

That God is one and three is, of course, for Aquinas a profound mystery which we could not hope to know apart from divine revelation. But we can only begin to understand what he has to say about it if we recognize that for him God is a profound mystery anyway. There are people who think that the notion of God is a relatively clear one; you know where you are when you are simply talking about God whereas when it comes to the Trinity we move into the incomprehensible where our reason breaks down. To understand Aquinas it is essential to see that for him our reason has already broken down when w ..read more

If Jesus is now alive . . . 1) he surprises us in numerous and unpredictable ways; 2) he inspirits us through his proclaimed Word; 3) he lives with death behind him and therefore can—and will—fulfill his temporal and eschatological promises to us; 4) he is locatable as a body—i.e., as the consecrated bread and wine of the Eucharist. shorturl.at/qtwxS ..read more

by Fr John Breck, Th.D. To close this series of reflections on silence, solitude and inner stillness, it seems most appropriate to share a few very modest, personal experiences that I have been blessed to undergo over the years. These involve encounters with unpretentious yet holy persons whose example can guide all of us who long to acquire these virtues or qualities for ourselves. In the early 1970s a community of French Roman Catholic contemplative sisters invited our family to live among them as we made our entry into the Orthodox Church. These sisters were deeply imbued with Orthodox lit ..read more

by Fr John Breck, Th.D. Although they are often used interchangeably, the terms “silence” and “stillness” are not synonymous. Silence implies in part an absence of ambient noise, together with an inner state or attitude that enables us to focus, to “center” on the presence of God and to hear His “still, small voice.” To silence, the virtue of stillness adds both tranquility and concentration. Stillness implies a state of bodily rest coupled with the creative tension that enables a person to commune with God in the midst of a crowd. It means openness to the divine presence and to prayer: praye ..read more