A friend wrote:

 >> It seems to me that Universalism
 >> >> is oppressive - anti-freedom. The Universalist god
 >> >> takes the Atheist's "no" to mean "yes" - or at least
 >> >> "well, OK then, if you insist"...#

My response:

Yesterday I had my weekly special-time with our two-year-old
granddaughter. I do the weekly shopping with her, and part of our ritual
is for her to eat a couple of beans, a few grapes, (how do I pay for
them at the register? Check-out chicks have an interesting time with
that  :-)  a cheese-stick etc.

Yesterday she wanted more beans: how many beans should a two-year-old
eat at one sitting? I said 'No' and began talking about numbers. She
soon accepted my 'No' and was smiling and chatting again...

Now, naughty me, I over-rode her freedom to eat what she wanted. What
kind of grand-father does that make me?

I remember reading C S Lewis' The Problem of Pain about five times
(summarized here - http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/1174.htm ) when a
young theological student, and was mightily impressed with his argument
about God allowing humans freedom ('With their will or without it?' etc.)

As he revised a lot of things after his marriage to Joy, and observing
his own grief when she died, and his step-fathering experiences, so
would I these days...

I'm not a universalist as such (I don't think anyone can be definitive
about something where the Scriptures aren't absolutely clear - see the
many articles on the subject on our website) - but I wouldn't be
surprised at all if God is  :-) !

-- 

Shalom/Salaam/Pax!                         Rowland Croucher

http://jmm.aaa.net.au/   (20,000 articles 4000 humor)

Blogs - http://rowlandsblogs.blogspot.com/

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