How Shall They Be Saved?: The Destiny of Those Who Do Not Hear of Jesus

by Millard J. Erickson

Part 1 delineates the array of positions - including liberal, Catholic, and Protestant stances - taken on the destiny of the unevangelized. In part 2 the author probes the critical issues, including the role of general revelation, the possibility of salvation after death, the requirements of salvation, the number of the redeemed, and the problem of annihilationism. In the final part, Erickson tackles two practical (1) the fate of those who die in infancy and others who do not reach the age of accountability and (2) how the subject of the destiny of the unevangelized affects evangelism and missions.

278 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1996

About the author

Millard J. Erickson (PhD, Northwestern University) has served as a pastor and seminary dean and has taught at several schools, including Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Western Seminary (Portland and San Jose), and Baylor University. He has also held numerous visiting professorships, both in the United States and internationally, and is the author of many books. Erickson lives in Mounds View, Minnesota.

Reviews

[Orville Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book when I bought it in 2007. I made extensive notes and highlights at that time as I processed the historical and current schools of thought Erickson reviews on this topic. In May 2015, I am reading it again, interacting with the text with my own constructive concepts on the concepts as he presents them.

This is a thoughtful presentation of considerations from a Christian perspective of the status of people who have not heard the Gospel, and the possibilities for their salvation in light of the Christian understanding of salvation in reference to Jesus Christ. Erickson reviews the various factors and evidence from traditional, scriptural and logical perspectives. He competently presents and analyzes the views of major thinkers throughout the Christian era on this question.

He discusses general "schools" of thought on this in the traditions of Christina theology and practice. He then evaluates the positive aspects and strengths of each position, then likewise the negative or weak aspects. He deals with some difficult questions that are often ignored, especially in popular theology and common preaching, but even in formal theologies. One strength of this work is the detailed consideration of major contributions on this topic in the last 25 years.

But Erickson also reviews current Christian thinkers like Pinnock and Sanders, and the previous generation, such as Rahner, as well as masters throughout history. He covers both Catholic and Protestant thinkers, and reflects of various historical councils (of the Western church), including changes in perspectives from Vatican II and later. He reviews in detail every passage from the Old and New Testament that he can find that relates to this question.

In the process he debunks many popular ideas that supposedly are based on some of these passages. I was impressed, and frankly surprised, at the objectivity and care he takes to honestly say what he feels can be drawn from each biblical passage. He does not seem slavishly indebted to a certain fundamentalist line of thought, nor is he beholden to popular liberal ideas.

This is a great resource on the history of Christian attempts to deal with the question on those who have not heard, the mentally deficient and others who for various reasons are incompetent to understand and decide for themselves. Erickson lays out clearly the concepts of God entailed in the various views on this question.