That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation

by David Bentley Hart

After all, why should anyone feel the need to apologize for condemning an idea that looks fairly monstrous from any angle and whose principal use down the centuries has been the psychological abuse and terrorization of children?

We suddenly realize that, were the dominant tradition true, all of existence would be a kind of horror story, like

I mean only that, if Christianity taken as a whole is indeed an entirely coherent and credible system of belief, then the universalist understanding of its message is the only one possible. And, quite imprudently, I say that without the least hesitation or qualification.