De Principiis-From the Beginning

This is the first. The beginning-the "principle," post. If you've ever heard of Origen Adamantius (185–254 a.d.) you might recognize the title. Origen of Alexandria, as he was also known, was one of the first Christian theologians and philosophers. He was the first Christian scholar to write a comprehensive and systematic set of "beliefs" as well as a commentary on each book of the Bible. He was the originator of our concept of God as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. His was the principal and prevailing "dogma" of the early Christian church. Origen was also a Christian "universalist". In short, Origen believed that God would, eventually, reconcile all men to Himself. He (along with the majority of the early church 'fathers') did not teach, nor did he acknowledge the dogma of "eternal damnation".

Obviously, this contradicts the current teaching of most Christian denominations. Without boring you with the details, I'll say this: Origen was declared Ανάθεμα (anathema-accursed) by an edict of the Roman Emperor Justinian several hundred years after his death. The Emperor Justinian called for the Second Council of Constantinople (The 5th Ecuminical Council of 553 a.d.) and Origen's "dogma" was replaced by that of a pagan convert named Augustine of Hippo. Basically, the Roman Emperor told the leaders of the major churches that Origen was wrong and they had to declare Augustine's "dogma" to be the "truth." And the world was introduced to what most Christians now call "Hell."

Most of us have never heard of Origen, and have always been taught that we weren't to question the religious authorities whose dogma we are taught. This blog's purpose is to challenge the reader to take out his Bible, read it, and actually think about what it says. To, in the words of 1 John 4:1, "test the spirits to see whether they are from God." Each of you has the Holy Spirit inside you waiting to teach you (John 14:26)...listen to it and decide for yourself:

Does God's plan of salvation include everyone, or only a few?