The Destiny of the Unevangelized (Essay Sample)

# UNIVERSITY
THE DESTINY OF THE UNEVANGELIZED
(STUDENT’S NAME)
RELIGION AND THEOLOGY #
PROFESSOR #
9 MAY 2013
The Destiny of the Unevangelized Debate
What will happen ultimately to the multitude of people who have never been evangelized? Will they be eternally damned, or will they be saved since it wasn’t their fault that they have not been evangelized? Christian theologians are divided in answering this question. The issue of the fate of the unevangelized is, actually, one of the most controversial issues among the Christians scholars. This issue is closely related with the issue of divine election/predestination. The view that one will adopt on whether divine election is conditional or unconditional will determine in a big way the position that one will take on the destiny of the unevangelized debate. In the Christian tradition, we have two schools of thought on divine predestination: the Calvinism and the Arminianism . The proponents of Calvinism are of the view that divine predestination is unconditional, while the proponents of Arminianism hold the contrary view that divine election is conditional. On this basis, we can broadly view the debate on the fate of the unevangelized as the debate between the Calvinists and the Arminianists. This paper evaluates the debate on the destiny of the unevangelized and analysis the philosophical arguments used to support the various positions on this debate. Also, the paper evaluates the biblical verses used to support the arguments, and at the end of the paper, a clear position is taken based on the critical analysis of the issues raised in this paper. The paper begins with an analysis of the four views expressed by Boyd and Eddy on the debate about the destiny of the unevangelized . The following are the four views on the fate of the unevangelized that are discussed by Boyd and Eddy in their book, Across the Spectrum.[Harold, Netland, A. Dissonant Voices: Religious Pluralism and the Question of Truth (USA: Eerdmans, 1991.)pp. 5-10.] [The Theology Programme, The Theology Notebook Soteriology, (USA: Biblical Studies Press, 2002.)pp. 16-18] [Gregory, Boyd, and Paul, Edddy, Across the Spectrum, (USA :Baker Academic, 2002.) pp 22-25]
Restrictivist View
Restrictivist view of the fate of the unevangelized is actually, an extreme exclusivist view of salvation. The proponents of the Restrictivist view are of the view that evangelization and knowledge of Jesus Christ is a prerequisite for salvation. According to this view of the destiny of the unevangelized, all people who have never heard about Jesus Christ will be ultimately damned. This position has been the predominant view among many Church theologians including, the great Catholic theologian St. Augustine of Hippo, and John Calvin, the reformist theologian. There are a number of people in the modern world who still hold this view. The proponents of this position argue that some biblical verses like, John, 3: 36, and 1 John, 5: 12 support the restrictivist view. A literal translation of these two verses shows that Jesus Christ is, indeed, the only way to God and that the knowledge of Jesus Christ is a requirement for salvation. Also, in the book Through no Fault, Darrel L. Bock cites Acts, 10: 12-43, to support his Restrictivist view and he argues that unless the non-believers are evangelized, believe in God, and repent their sins, then they shall all be damned . Darrel argues that the ignorance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will lead to damnation because unless one has knowledge of Jesus Christ, one will not be able to dedicate their lives to God and to repent their sins. He cited Acts, 17: 30-31, to support his claim.[Walter, Unger, ‘’The Destiny of Those who have Never Heard: A Bibliographical Essay’’, Directional Journal. Vol.23. No. 1.(Spring 1994) pp. 54-64] [William, Crockett, V. and Sigountos,James, G. eds. Through No Fault of Their Own.( USA: Baker, 1991.) pp. 33-37]
A critical look at the restrictivist view of the destiny of the unevangelized raises one pertinent question: How can a loving and just God condemn to eternal perdition those who, through no fault of their own, did not hear about the Gospel? Can a just God punish one for a mistake over which they had no control? Although there are a number of biblical verses that seem to support the restrictivist view on the destiny of the unevangelized, the proponents of the restrictivist view would be hard pressed to answer these two questions.[Clark, Pinnock, A Wideness in God’s Mercy: The Finality of Jesus Christ in a World of Religions (USA: Zondervan, 1992) pp. 60-72.]
Universal Opportunity
This view on the destiny of the unevangelized hold that, ultimately, all Gods people will be saved, whether they are Christians or not; Universalists are of the view that in the end, all people will be saved through the merit of Jesus Christ. The Universalists, however, differ on how, exactly salvation will take place. But they are all in agreement that, ultimately, the loving and caring God will save all people. Some Universalists are of the view that despite people’s choices, God out of His mercy and love will in the end save all people. Other Universalists are of the opinion that God will continue working with his people and directing them, even the rebellious ones, till in the end they accept him and turn away from their evil ways.
In the history of Christianity, Origen is credited for being the first theologian to write extensively on universalism, but his views were not accepted by many theologians. Later, after the reformation, universalism gained momentum again; both Catholics and Protestants started adopted Universalist view of salvation.
In the Bible, there are a number of verses that supports universal view of salvation. In 1 Timothy 4: 10, St. Paul speaks of Jesus as being a saviour of all men. This means that if Jesus Christ is, indeed, the saviour of all men, then He will save all people, including the unevangelized and the rebellious ones. Titus 2: 11, states that the grace of God is for the salvation of all men. A literal translation of this verse would also suggest that, ultimately, all people will be saved. In John 12: 32, Jesus states that when he is lifted, he will in turn lift all men to him. This suggests that Jesus Christ will save all people in the end. Universal view of salvation therefore enjoys strong scriptural backing.
The main strength of the universal view of salvation lies in the fact that the view is in agreement with the revealed attributes of God such as, loving, caring and just. This view seems to be more appealing than the restrictivist view because the restrictivist view of salvation presents God as a cruel and unjust God. On the other hand, the main weakness of the universal view of salvation lies in the following question: if everybody will in the end be saved, then why did Jesus advocate for the spreading of his Gospel to all the corners of the world, Acts, 1.8? If Jesus Christ new that, ultimately, all will be saved, there would have been no need of him commanding his disciples to spread the Gospel to all the corners of the world.[Jon, Dybdah,‘’Is there Hope for the Unenvangelized?, ’’ An International Journal of Faith, Thought, and Action. Online.]
Inclusivist View
This view is the middle position/view between the two extremes of restrictivism and universalism. This view hold that on the merit of Jesus Christ, all genuine seekers of God will be saved, including the non-Christians who truly seek God according to the teachings of their religions. This view also holds that even people of no religion, those who have never been evangelized, will be saved as long as they live morally upright lives. Unlike Universalism, inclusivisist view of salvation hold that people who are not genuine seekers of God will ultimately be lost. Among the Christian Theologians who have strongly supported this view include, John Wesley, the founder of Methodist, and C.S. Lewis, a prolific Christian writer.
The inclusivists are, however, divided on how, exactly, God will save all the people who truly seek him. Some inlusivists contend that God give every person an opportunity to hear about him and to make a free choice whether to accept him or to reject him. Another group contend that there is some form of evangelization that take place after one has died, for those who have never heard about Jesus Christ, while another group argues that since God knows us all, he will judge those who have never heard about Jesus Christ on the basis of how they would have responded if they had heard about Jesus Christ. For scriptural support, the inclusivists use both texts used by the exlusivists and the Universalists but interprets the texts differently.
The inclusivist position is consistent with the Goodness of God, and at the same time it emphasis the important role that our freedom of choice plays in our salvations. This view of salvation holds that we are free to choose God or to reject him. In the modern word this position has many followers.[John, Sanders, No Other Name: An Investigation into the Destiny of the Unevangelized, (USA: Eerdmans, 1992) pp.28-35.]
Post-mortem Evangelization
Post-mortem view of evangelization holds that knowledge of God or of Jesus Christ is not a pre-requisite for salvation. The proponents of this position contend that God’s power and love cannot and should not be limited to our earthly lives. According to this view of salvation, evangelization, actually, continues even after death and those who did not have the opportunity to hear about the Good News in their earthly lives will get an opportunity to hear about it when they die. The proponents of this position argue that salvation is accessible to all, without exclusion. They also hold the ...