New CUA Board Member

Well, I received a pleasant surprise last week and that was an invitation to serve on the Christian Universalist Association http://www.christianuniversalist.org  Board of Directors!  I gladly accepted this opportunity to serve in whatever way I can.  I would be grateful for your prayers to do a good job in everything and would very much welcome any requests you might have for prayer as well.  Some CUA members spend a lot of time and energy praying for others and I can tell you from personal experience that it is very powerful and spiritually helps the one (or many) praying and all those he or she is praying for in amazing ways.

Getting Together in Maryland

Welcome!  I'm Dave Spatz, Christian Universalist Minister in Maryland.  For anyone new to Christian Universalism, the site www.christianuniversalist.org is a good place to start.  The primary belief is that God will not torment any of his creatures forever and ever in "hell," but will administer punishments and rewards that fit the crime and deeds in this life.  Ultimately, all of God's creatures, all his children, will be reconciled to God.  This is really good news, considering many of us have loved ones who have not done certain things that fundamentalists insist are mandatory and are therefore in hell with no hope for escape, forever, to no purpose except "justice."  Is that justice?  That, my friends, is bad news!  It is not even what the Bible says and definitely not something the God, who is Love, would do to his creatures.  Would any human father do something like this to his children?  Keeping them alive forever in agony even if they have never even heard of Jesus Christ?  Only a very evil one, perhaps; but God is good, not evil! Therefore, unless most humans are more merciful than God is, the doctrine of eternal torment in hell is something that must be rejected.  According to fundamentalists, around 95 percent of the human race throughout history is destined for everlasting torment in hell.  Most of these have never even heard of Jesus Christ.  How absurd is it to believe that these people are eternally damned!  This belief makes God out to be some kind of a monster, not our Father, who cares about each one of us, and will not rest until all his children come home.  

A note to fellow Christian Universalists in Maryland.  Until we grow in numbers, I will be updating and posting here.  Anyone interested in being added to my growing list of contacts please reply here.   I expect actual meetings to be pushed back until the summertime, probably Sunday afternoons.  More to come and I look forward to hearing from you as we work together to spread the good news!  Please feel free to weigh in as we discuss issues, challenges, and anything you would like in this forum.  The doctrine of "hell" keeps many from Christianity, justifiably, and damages the image of God.  Many people want nothing to do with an eternal tormentor.  We need to proclaim God's love for all and reassure people that God is not tormenting their loved ones for all eternity just for not saying the sinner's prayer or believing certain things about the Bible or the Trinity - you name it - in this life.  God bless!