Toward a ‘Conditional Universalism’

Abstract

Moltmann proposes an ‘open universalism’ that overstresses the goodness of God and hence God’s obligation to redeem all of humanity, irrespective of human reciprocity. This leads to his consequent conception of salvation that seems to underplay the traditional understanding of sin and repentance. The purpose of this article is to explore Moltmann’s version of universalism in the light of sin and repentance and to propose that universalism could be a viable doctrine if it is considered not as an automatic rendering but as ‘conditional universalism’ that demands reciprocal response (even post mortem) in terms of human repentance. For this purpose, Gregory of Nyssa’s idea of universalism will be utilized.