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Universal Salvation: Eschatology in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner
In this book Morwenna Ludlow compares and assesses the arguments for universal salvation put forth by theologians Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner. Ludlow looks at the origins and development of the idea of universal salvation and asks whether it is a 'second tradition' within Christian theology.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published December 7, 2000
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July 29, 2011
Morwenna Ludlow's Universal Salvation: Eschatology in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner is a thoroughly well written comparative study of two influential theologians who have examined the idea of universal salvation in their writings. She compares the various ways that each theologian deals with the theological and philosophical problems involved and then highlights which ones remain for future theologians to work out.
Ludlow's decision to use one theologian from the fourth century and one from the twentieth reflect her belief that these were the two periods of Christian history in which the concept of universal salvation had been most freely discussed. Gregory of Nyssa is an obvious fourth century choice for Ludlow's study considering he made some of the most explicit references to belief in a universal restoration with the exception of Origen, whose writings greatly influenced Gregory. However, for the purpose of comparison, I wished that Ludlow would have chosen a theologian such as Hans Urs von Balthasar or Jurgen Moltmann rather than Karl Rahner since Rahner (1) does not draw on the thought of Gregory like von Balthasar did nor (2) does he make as explicit a reference to a belief in the possibility of a universal restoration as Moltmann does. Nevertheless, Ludlow chose Rahner because she wanted two theologians that had genetically different methodological and philosophical approaches with the hope that through this study she would be able to abstract the fundamental schema to a doctrine of universal salvation from the various, and often disparate, ideas with which it was expressed. This hope rests on the assumption that one can differentiate between the basic content of such a doctrine and the form and language in which this doctrine is expressed. The purpose of a study conducted in this manner seems to be expressed well when Ludlow posits the following thesis:
"[I]f two very different systems, both claiming to be Christian, pick out the same elements of a doctrine as important and truthful, then it is at least more likely that these ideas do indeed express something which is genuinely central to Christianity" (8-9).
Ludlow divides her study into three parts. She begins by examining Gregory's eschatology in a well structured and very accessible manner. After a short treatment outlining his life and thought within the context of patristic eschatology, she proceeds to highlight two major themes in Gregory's writings, both a part of a divine pedagogical process. The first process involves human freedom, energized by divine grace, to pursue virtue in this life where the subject learns from the effects of sin. The second is purificatory and involves the passive experience of restorative punishment in the afterlife where the subject is taught the effects of sin and is ultimately healed. Thus, at the eschaton, Gregory makes it explicit that all of humanity will be perfect and sinless.
The next major section of Ludlow's study examines Rahner's eschatology. Again, after a short treatment outlining his life and thought within the context of modern eschatology, albeit a longer treatment than that dealing with Gregory, she proceeds to highlight some of the relevant themes in Rahner's writings. However, as a result of the fact that Rahner never explicitly wrote about universal salvation per se, as well as many of his assertions appearing contradictory, I had a difficult time piecing together a coherent picture of his eschatological thought. Ludlow makes a good attempt at giving us as clear a picture as possible, but those who are not familiar with Rahner's theology and philosophical presuppositions will have a harder time following this section. The clearest conclusion I could make concerning Rahner's belief in regard to universal salvation is that one can say neither that all will be saved nor that some will not be saved. In other words, hell is a possibility for all, but a certainty for none. Thus, one can hope for a universal restoration.
Ludlow concludes her study with a comparison between the fundamental schema she discerns in each theologian respectively and an assessment of each schema's merit and contribution to the doctrine of universal salvation and the problems inherent in such a doctrine. Her assessment comes down on the side of Rahner, whom she feels does a better job addressing the problems, and for whom belief in a universal restoration is articulated as hope and not certainty. Common to each, however, is a core content which Ludlow discerns is decidedly Christian. Finally, she leaves us with a number of thoughtful questions that are meant to challenge the next generation of theologians to continue thinking through and articulating Christian eschatology for the twenty-first century. Therefore, this book certainly makes a useful contribution, not only to historical theology, but to the current dialectic revolving around the idea of universal salvation.
Ludlow's decision to use one theologian from the fourth century and one from the twentieth reflect her belief that these were the two periods of Christian history in which the concept of universal salvation had been most freely discussed. Gregory of Nyssa is an obvious fourth century choice for Ludlow's study considering he made some of the most explicit references to belief in a universal restoration with the exception of Origen, whose writings greatly influenced Gregory. However, for the purpose of comparison, I wished that Ludlow would have chosen a theologian such as Hans Urs von Balthasar or Jurgen Moltmann rather than Karl Rahner since Rahner (1) does not draw on the thought of Gregory like von Balthasar did nor (2) does he make as explicit a reference to a belief in the possibility of a universal restoration as Moltmann does. Nevertheless, Ludlow chose Rahner because she wanted two theologians that had genetically different methodological and philosophical approaches with the hope that through this study she would be able to abstract the fundamental schema to a doctrine of universal salvation from the various, and often disparate, ideas with which it was expressed. This hope rests on the assumption that one can differentiate between the basic content of such a doctrine and the form and language in which this doctrine is expressed. The purpose of a study conducted in this manner seems to be expressed well when Ludlow posits the following thesis:
"[I]f two very different systems, both claiming to be Christian, pick out the same elements of a doctrine as important and truthful, then it is at least more likely that these ideas do indeed express something which is genuinely central to Christianity" (8-9).
Ludlow divides her study into three parts. She begins by examining Gregory's eschatology in a well structured and very accessible manner. After a short treatment outlining his life and thought within the context of patristic eschatology, she proceeds to highlight two major themes in Gregory's writings, both a part of a divine pedagogical process. The first process involves human freedom, energized by divine grace, to pursue virtue in this life where the subject learns from the effects of sin. The second is purificatory and involves the passive experience of restorative punishment in the afterlife where the subject is taught the effects of sin and is ultimately healed. Thus, at the eschaton, Gregory makes it explicit that all of humanity will be perfect and sinless.
The next major section of Ludlow's study examines Rahner's eschatology. Again, after a short treatment outlining his life and thought within the context of modern eschatology, albeit a longer treatment than that dealing with Gregory, she proceeds to highlight some of the relevant themes in Rahner's writings. However, as a result of the fact that Rahner never explicitly wrote about universal salvation per se, as well as many of his assertions appearing contradictory, I had a difficult time piecing together a coherent picture of his eschatological thought. Ludlow makes a good attempt at giving us as clear a picture as possible, but those who are not familiar with Rahner's theology and philosophical presuppositions will have a harder time following this section. The clearest conclusion I could make concerning Rahner's belief in regard to universal salvation is that one can say neither that all will be saved nor that some will not be saved. In other words, hell is a possibility for all, but a certainty for none. Thus, one can hope for a universal restoration.
Ludlow concludes her study with a comparison between the fundamental schema she discerns in each theologian respectively and an assessment of each schema's merit and contribution to the doctrine of universal salvation and the problems inherent in such a doctrine. Her assessment comes down on the side of Rahner, whom she feels does a better job addressing the problems, and for whom belief in a universal restoration is articulated as hope and not certainty. Common to each, however, is a core content which Ludlow discerns is decidedly Christian. Finally, she leaves us with a number of thoughtful questions that are meant to challenge the next generation of theologians to continue thinking through and articulating Christian eschatology for the twenty-first century. Therefore, this book certainly makes a useful contribution, not only to historical theology, but to the current dialectic revolving around the idea of universal salvation.
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