The original article by Justin Taylor

CNN’s coverage of Justin Taylor’s article

An overview and initial thoughts by Jason Boyett

Initial thoughts by Rachel Held Evans

Kevin DeYoung’s reasoning as to why Matthew 18 does not apply to Rob Bell

Matthew Paul Turner – “How to survive Rob Bell’s new book release?”

An argument that love does indeed win

Al Mohler on Rob Bell and the assumed content of his book

Jim Hamilton asserts hell glorifies God and Bell is trying to rob God of glory

Scot McKnight writes that the book should actually be read before it is reviewed

Ben Witherington promotes waiting for Bell’s book, and condemns Piper’s condemnation

Mark Galli (Christianity Today) reviews Christian views on heaven and hell

Orthodoxy vs. Heresy: a power game

Stephen Lamb writes about what Rob Bell has said and written in the past

The New York Times sums it all up

“I am a Christian. I have been a Christian for most of my life. But there are times – a growing number of times, to be honest – when I’m not entirely sure I believe in God.” So begins Jason Boyett’s poignant spiritual memoir in which he honestly confronts the challenges to his faith; the things the raise doubt within his soul.

Ultimately, a Christian faith is grounded on one assertion: there is a God. Throughout history different theologians have postulated theories in an effort to prove God. Boyett briefly acknowledges these theories, but also acknowledges that each theory has its own flaws. The conclusion Boyett reaches is that the existence or non-existence of God is improvable.

There are many Christians for whom the provability of God is not a stumbling block for their faith; they simply believe God exists. Boyett does not claim to be in this group. Boyett wrestles with the concern that his faith may ultimately be grounded in nothing. How does one remain a Christian with such doubt? Is it worthwhile to remain a Christian with such doubt? Boyett addresses these questions.

O Me of Little Faith never promises to give answers on how to resolve the doubts a Christian may face. What this memoir does is speak a word of hope into the hearts of those living a life of doubting faith.

The ultimate conclusion of boyett’s book is that doubt does not necessarily conflict with faith. In fact, doubt is often used by God to build up the faith of a doubter. Boyett believes that it can be a healthy thing to cling with one hand to your doubt, and with one hand to your faith; and so be led into God’s presence. There may not be an ultimate resolution (to this book, to our lives, to our faith, or to our doubts); but, it also may be okay to live a life that is never fully resolved.

If you struggle with doubt, read this book. If you do not understand why a Christian would doubt, then there are probably better uses of your time.

Book Description from Zondervan

O Me of Little Faith is a brutally honest, frequently hilarious look at the struggles of a self-confessed spiritual weakling. Jason Boyett invites you to ask the hard questions and remain hopeful as he examines how you doubt, why you doubt, and what (if anything) should be done about it.

In O Me of Little Faith, author Jason Boyett brings you a transparent and personal account of his own of struggles with doubts and unbelief in living out his faith. With humor and frankness, Boyett uses personal anecdotes and a fresh look at Scripture to explore the realities of pursuing Christ through a field of doubt.

After three decades of knowing God, understanding Christianity, and living a Christian life, Boyett has come to the place where he can voice the tough questions and travel the road of uncertainty with blinders off, candor on.

The message along the way is one of encouragement: Relax. Rely on the grace of a merciful God, a kind father who realizes that his finite creatures must have doubts, should have questions, and will have trouble making sense of an infinite Creator. Ultimately, Boyett concludes that doubt and faith are not polar opposites, but actually work together, existing side-by-side.

Uplifting, entertaining, hopeful, O Me of Little Faith will strike a chord with you and any Christian who’s dealing with the uncertainties of living life in pursuit of a God who occasionally seems to disappear.

Rachel Held Evans grew up as a conservative Christian in the heart of the Bible Belt. Throughout school she took pride in winning the Best Christian Attitude award, and she spent considerable time learning apologetics. “I was a fundamentalist,” she writes, “in the sense that I thought salvation means having the right opinions about God and that fighting the good fight of faith requires defending those opinions at all costs.” Then she began to question her faith. It began by considering the specific case an Afghan Muslim woman, Zarmina, executed for alleged adultery after a sham trial. This woman had never had the opportunity to now Jesus, was she condemned to hell?

Evans has written an excellent memoir focusing on her journey from certainty to doubt. It is not evil, or un-Christian to ask good questions and express doubt about what our religion professes. Rather than doubt being a destructive force, Evan’s doubt allowed her to move to a fuller faith in Jesus.

I highly recommend this book. Anyone who grew up in the church and then experienced or is experiencing a time of doubt will relate to Evan’s book. Anyone who is part of the church but has never gone through an intense time of doubt would do well to read this memoir as a tool to connect with the disaffected and disinterested younger generation they are trying to reach. This generation does not care if you know the answers, rather, it cares that you know how to ask the right questions.

Book Description from Zondervan

Eighty years after the Scopes Monkey Trial made a spectacle of Christian fundamentalism and brought national attention to her hometown, Rachel Held Evans faced a trial of her own when she began to have doubts about her faith. Growing up in a culture obsessed with apologetics, Evans asks questions she never thought she would ask. She learns that in order for her faith to survive in a postmodern context, it must adapt to change and evolve.

In Evolving in Monkey Town, Rachel Held Evans recounts her experiences growing up in Dayton, Tennessee, a town that epitomized Christian fundamentalism during the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925. With fearless honesty, Evans describes how her faith survived her doubts and challenges readers to re-imagine Christianity in a postmodern context, where knowing all the answers isn’t as important as asking the questions.

Using as an illustration her own spiritual journey from certainty, through doubt, to faith, Evans adds a unique perspective to the ongoing dialogue about postmodernism and the church that has so captivated the Christian community in recent years.

In a changing cultural environment where new ideas threaten the safety and security of the faith, Evolving in Monkey Town is a fearlessly honest story of survival.

Here Burns My Candle is the story of one wealthy family’s struggle as live in Scotland during the Jacobite rebellion. A widow is living with her two sons and their wives. Against their mother’s wishes the sons join the rebellion. The entire family is forced to live with the consequences.

I am most definitely the wrong demographic for this historical romance. ***SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW*** The only reason I requested a copy of this book was because it was marketed as a Scottish retelling of the book of Ruth; that is an interesting idea. Unfortunately, this 454 page tome is a retelling of only the first chapter of Ruth. My understanding is that the story is continued in additional books.

I am not a fan of the historical romance genre because, typically, nothing happens. That is also my complaint with this book; there is a lot of pretty scenery, but nothing happens. It was with great difficulty that I pushed my way through the last half of the story.

If the entire series were condensed down to one book the size of Here Burns My Candle, then I could probably get on board. That would be a great story. As for this book, there is just too little story spread over too many pages for me to recommend this book. That being said, this book was not written for me. Those who enjoy historical romance will probably enjoy this book.

Book Description from Random House

Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.

Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.

His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.

One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.

A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.

In 2003, Shannon O’Dell felt that he was called to leave his youth pastor position at a large church in a large city and pastor a small rural church. Once in leadership O’Dell met opposition to change and so undertook an effort to recreate the church to his vision. After many of the original church members left, the church grew and joined together with another church down the road. The church now has a focus on reaching people through satellite locations.

The more irritated I become with a book the more I tend to write in its margins; my copy of this book is littered with margin notes. O’Dell paints himself as savior of the rural church. He repeatedly speaks of what the rural church needs to learn (pp 38, 47, 63, 85), while failing to describe what the rural church has taught him. O’Dell repeatedly stereotypes and condescends to the rural church making presumptuous statements such as:

• Too many rural pastors I know have little vision, if any. (p 54)
• I’m also not talking about the milquetoast prayers of most local churches that are little more than cop-outs (p 64)
• There are very few churches that are preaching the pure gospel of life transformation. (p 82)
• Most rural churches are controlled by a handful of families. They don’t represent God’s family…Persistent tradition and generational claims on the church building are what drive them. (p 83)
• We cannot let our vision become enslaved by the fear of someone who probably hasn’t led anyone to Christ in decades, anyway. (p 84)

Ultimately, O’Dell is creating a church that is only able to function under his direct leadership. There is little or no concern for building up the leadership qualities of the individuals in the church, or planning for a future in which he is not a part. Throughout the book, O’Dell seems to substitute his leadership skills for the role of the Holy Spirit.

O’Dell consistently twists scripture to conform to his opinions. The most blatant example is on page 114. While arguing against the value of seminary education for pastors, O’Dell writes: “No one in the New Testament Church was educated.” He uses Acts 4:13 as validation of this statement. Unfortunately Acts 4:13 is speaking only of Peter and John, it reads: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus.” O’Dell further contends that the word translated ordinary, idiwtai, means “idiot” because the Greek word shares the root from which we get our English word “idiot”. Nowhere in Greek literature does idiwtai mean idiot. It means unskilled or untrained; someone who has not yet obtained knowledge. This is just one example of O’Dell’s misuse of scripture (cf 93, 97, 132).

I wanted this book to be good. I wanted a strong tool with which to build up the rural churches in our country in order that they might reach the world for Christ. There were portions of this book which I found useful; however, these passages were so small and scattered that they do not compensate for the book’s failures. I cannot recommend this book to anyone in any circumstance. In a few years, when O’Dell is more able to express what he has learned along with what he has to teach, I hope he will be able to write a more useful book

Book Description from New Leaf

Without meaningful change, thousands of rural churches won’t survive the next decade. *A vital guide for every deacon, elder, and pastor wanting to bring their rural church back to the business of changing lives *No-cost solutions for staffing challenges, upgrading the worship, and generating teams of volunteers *Innovative strategies for growth through transformed lives, relevance in meeting needs, and creating active evangelism in your community

If you aren’t transforming lives, then the church has no impact. Pastor Shannon O’Dell reveals the need for relevancy and shares a powerful mission for rural churches in reaching the unchurched and lost in their communities. Now, learn the strategies and biblical guidance that turned a church of 30 into a multi-campus church of several thousand with a national and global outreach. Experience the blueprint for transforming into effective, dynamic, and thriving churches which give God the very best!

Learn to add VALUE to your ministry goals: Vision, Attitude, Leadership, Understanding, and Excellence. Discover how your marriage reflects the state of your faith and your relationship with God.

As a citizen of the United States, I believe individuals have the right to burn books, including religious texts. No part of our government can prevent individuals from burning the Qur’an. Individuals have the right to burn the Qur’an; but, I do not support them, and I have been proud that our country has engaged in an open dialogue of repudiation.

As a Christian I condemn the burning of the Qur’an. It is an act of hate and cowardice. It drives people away from God and does not express the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we, as Christians, were called to burn the books of other religions, Jesus would have instructed us to do so. Instead, in Matthew 28, Jesus tells his followers:

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

Christians are called to go out into the world and not stand behind their walls hurling insults and burning books. Christians are called to make disciples, that is, tell people about Jesus. I believe Jesus is attractive, and it is usually the Christians that drive people away from Jesus. Christians are called to baptize; fire and water do not mix well. Christians are called to teach everything Jesus taught. Jesus taught patience, peace, love, kindness, selflessness, forgiveness, and grace. Jesus taught that he was the ultimate authority, who had all power, and he would be with us until the end of the world.

Too often the Church has tried to be the ultimate authority and power on this earth. The Church has been responsible for persecution, murder, genocide, rape, and a host of other injustices. These have been caused by the Church forgetting that it is under the authority of Christ and not an authority in and of itself. The Church is responsible for building up the Kingdom of God, but this can only be done through the power of Jesus working in this world.

Burning a Qur’an accomplishes nothing for the Kingdom of God. It is an evil act, perpetrated by weak people, who seek out power, and long for the authority properly given to Jesus. It is an act committed by people who would rather be a god than worship God.

But, beyond speaking words of condemnation, what can I do? I have thought and prayed about that question most of this last week. What are the implications of Jesus having all authority; even authority over the Qur’an? What are the implications of needing to be ready to go to the people of all nations; to meet them in their cultural and religious context? How do you protest a book burning?

Over the next month I am going to read the Qur’an. I can’t read Arabic or I would read a copy of the original text. I do have an English translation on my bookshelf that I picked up back in school. I have read portions, but never the whole thing.

If you would like to join me then you can get a copy of the Qur’an from your local library, order one, or read it online.

I’m going to make September 2010 “Read a Qur’an Month”. Then I can interact with 1.8 billion people on this planet from a position of knowledge and not one of ignorance.

Concerning the Light wherewith Jesus Christ hath enlightned every Man: The Universality and Sufficiency of God’s Grace to all the world made manifest therein.

Q. How can it be proved, that there is a day wherein People may know things concerning their Peace, which afterwards may be hid from them?

A. And when he was come near, he beheld the City, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known even thou, at least in this thy day the things which belong unto thy Peace; but now they are hid from thine Eyes [Luke 19:41-42].

Q. Is there any further Scripture Proof of the Lord’s willingness to gather a People, who would not, and therefore were condemned?

A. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thou that killest the Prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, How oft would I have gathered thy Children together, even as a Hen gathereth her Chickens under her Wings, and ye would not? [Matt. 23:37; Luke 13:34]

Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou Wicked Servant! I forgave thee all the Debt, because thou desiredst me; shouldst not thou also have had Compassion on thy Fellow-Servant, even as I had Pity on thee? And his Lord was wroth, and delivered him to the Tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him [Matt. 18:32-34].

Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of Everlasting Life, lo we turn to the Gentiles [Acts 13:46].

Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out my Hand, and no man regarded: But ye have set at nought all my Counsel, and would none of my Reproof; I also will laugh at your Calamity, I will mock when your Fear cometh [Prov. 1:24-26].

And at what Instant I shall speak concerning a Nation, and concerning a Kingdom to build and to plant it; If it do Evil in my Sight that it obey not my Voice, then I will Repent of the Good wherewith I said I would benefit them [Jer. 18:9-10].

Q. Doth God’s Spirit strive then for a season, and afterwards forbear?

A. And the Lord said, my Spirit shall not always strive with man [Gen. 6:3].

Q. May it then be resisted?

A. Ye Stiff-necked and Uncircumcised in Heart and Ears, ye do always Resist the holy Ghost, as your Fathers did, so do ye [Acts 7:51].

For the Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all Ungodliness and Unrighteousness of man, who hold the Truth in Unrighteousness [Rom. 1:18].

***

Barclay points out that there are scriptures which show a people given the opportunity to know God, but who instead refuse God. Barclay, it would seem, believes that salvation is universally available but is not universally received.  Further, Barclay seems to suggest that there may be a point when God will cease in his pursuit of a person.

I would take issue with the idea that God ceases in his pursuit of anyone, but I would concur that it is possible for people to resist the God who pursues them.

Concerning the Light wherewith Jesus Christ hath enlightned every Man: The Universality and Sufficiency of God’s Grace to all the world made manifest therein.

Q. What is the Gospel?

A. I am not ashamed of the Gospel; for it is the Power of God unto Salvation, unto every one that believeth [Rom. 1:16].

Q. Is this Gospel hid?

A. If our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are Lost, in whom the God of this World hath blinded the Minds of them which believe not, lest the Light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ should shine unto them [2 Cor. 4:3-4].

Q. Is this Light then come into the World? And are not Men condemned because they love it not, and not because it is hid from them?

A. And this is the Condemnation, that Light is come into the World, and Men love Darkness rather than Light [John 3:19].

Q. Why do they so?

A. Because their Deeds are Evil [John 3:19].

Q. Is every Man enlightened by this Light.

A. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light, that was the True Light, which enlighteneth every Man that cometh into the World [John 1:8-9].

Q. Doth this Light discover all things?

A. All things that are reproved are made manifest by the Light; for whatsoever doth make manifest is Light [Eph. 5:13].

Q. Do Evil Men preach up this Light, or mind it?

A. Every one that doth Evil hateth the Light, neither cometh to the Light, lest his Deeds should be reproved [John 3:20].

They are of those that Rebel against the Light [Job 24:13].

Q. Do good Men love it, and follow it?

A. He that doth Truth comes to the Light, that his Deeds might be made manifest, that they are wrought in God [John 3:21].

Q. What Benefits doth redound to such as love the Light, and walk in it?

A. If we walk in the Light, as he is in the Light, we have Fellowship one with another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all Sin [1 John 1:7].

Q. Doth Christ command to take heed to the Light?

A. While ye have the Light, believe in the Light, that ye may be the Children of the Light [John 12:36].

Q. Were the Apostles commanded to turn People to the Light?

A. Delivering thee from the People, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their Eyes, and to turn them from Darkness unto Light, and from the Power of Satan unto God, that they may receive Forgiveness of Sins, and Inheritance among them which are sanctified, through Faith that is in me [Acts 26:17-18].

Q. Doth this Light abide with every man all his Life time, in order to save, or only during the Day of his Visitation?

A. Yet a little while is the Light with you; walk while ye have the Light, lest Darkness come upon you [John 12:35].

Again, He limiteth a certain Day, saying in David, to day, after so long time, as it is said, To day if ye will hear his Voice, harden not your Hearts [Heb. 4:7].

***

Barclay affirms the importance of the Gospel as the the Power of God to bring salvation to all people who believe.

The light of the Gospel (Jesus) is revealed to all people but those who remain in darkness do not receive the light; they are in rebellion against the light. It is those who walk in the light (and not those who walk in the darkness) who are cleansed of their sin by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Those who harden their hearts against the light are in danger of being lost to the darkness.

Concerning the Light wherewith Jesus Christ hath enlightned every Man: The Universality and Sufficiency of God’s Grace to all the world made manifest therein.

Q. Seeing then by these Scriptures it appears that the Love of God is held out to all, that all might have been or may be saved by Christ: What is to be judged of those who assert, that God nor Christ never purposed Love nor Salvation to a great part of Mankind, and that the Coming and Sufferings of Christ never was intended, nor could be useful to their Justification; but will and must be effectual for their Condemnation, even according to God’s Purpose, who from their very Infancy to their Grave with-held from them all Means of Salvation? What saith the Scripture to such?

A. For God sent not his Son into the World to condemn the World, but that the World through him might be saved [John 3:17].

I am come a Light into the World, that whosoever believeth in me, should not abide in Darkness. And if any Man hear my Words and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the World, but to save the World [John 12:46-47].

Q. From what Scripture then came these Men to wrest an Opinion so contrary to Truth?

A. For the Children being not yet born, neither having done any Good or Evil, that the Purpose of God according to Election might stand, it was said unto her, The Elder shall serve the Younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated [Rom. 9:11-13].

Q. I perceive in that Scripture it was only said before the Children were born, The Elder shall serve the Younger; These other Words (Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated) are mention’d out of the prophet Malachie, who wrote them many hundred Years after both were Dead: Doth not the Scripture mention any other Cause of God’s hating Esau, than meerly his Decree? What saith the same Apostle elsewhere?

A. Lest there by any Fornication or Profane Person, as Esau, who for one Morsel of Meat sold his Birth-right; for ye know, how that afterward when he would have inherited the Blessing, he was rejected [Heb. 12:16-17].

Q. But seeing that such allege, that it is because of Adam’s Sin that many, even Children are Damned: Doth not the Scripture aver, that the Death of Christ was as large to Heal, as Adam’s Sin could Condemn?

A. For if through the Offence of one many be Dead, much more the Grace of God, and the Gift by Grace, which is by one Man, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the Offence of one, Judgment came upon all Men to Condemnation, even so by the Righteousness of one, the free Gift came upon all Men unto Justification of Life [Rom. 5:15,18].

Q. That proves abundantly that Christ’s Death is of sufficient Extent to make up any Hurt Adam’s Sin brought upon Mankind: What is then the cause of Condemnation?

A. He that believeth on him is not Condemned, but he that believeth not is Condemned already, because he hath not believed in the Name of the Only Begotten Son of God [John 3:18].

And with all Deceivableness of Unrighteousness in them that Perish, because they received not the Love of the Truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong Delusions, that they should believe a Lye, that they all might be damned who believe not the Truth, but had Pleasure in Unrighteousness [2 Thess. 2:10-12].

Q. Seeing it is so of a Truth according to the Scripture’s Testimony, that God has purposed Love and Mercy to all, in the Appearance of his Son Jesus Christ; Is the Gospel or Glad Tidings of this Salvation brought nigh unto all, by which they are put into a Capacity of receiving the Grace, and being saved by it?

A. If ye continue in the Faith grounded and setled, and be not moved away from the Hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every Creature which is under Heaven, whereof I Paul am made a Minister [Col. 1:23].

***

Barclay seems to make the argument that all those who do not have knowledge of Christ are still able to receive salvation through the atoning act of Christ. This would speak to the situation of those, like Abraham, who lived before Christ, and those who lived in a place where knowledge of Christ had not come.

For Barclay, Christ’s atonement can not serve as condemnation for anyone. On the contrary Christ’s act of healing was larger than Adam’s sin and is sufficient to heal all the world of sin.

Barclay does not, in my opinion, argue that all are saved; rather, he certainly argues that salvation is available to all, and he may be arguing that all of creation is moving toward salvation.

Concerning the Light wherewith Jesus Christ hath enlightned every Man: The Universality and Sufficiency of God’s Grace to all the world made manifest therein.

Q. Wherein consists the Love of God towards Fallen and Lost Man?

A. For God so loved the World, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not Perish, but have Everlasting Life [John 3:16].

In this was manifested the Love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the World, that we might live through him [1 John 4:9].

Q. What is intended here by the World? all and every Man, or only a few?

A. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the Angels, for the suffering of Death crowned with Glory and Honour, that he by the Grace of God should taste Death for every Man [Heb. 2:9].

And if any Man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous; and he is the Propitiation for our Sins, and not for ours only, but also for the Sins of the whole World [1 John 2:1-2].

Q. Methinks the Apostle John is very plain there, in mentioning the whole World, which must be not only the Saints, but all others; seeing he distinguisheth the World from himself and all the Saints to whom he then wrote: What saith Paul else-where in this matter?

A. Christ in you the Hope of Glory, whom we Preach, warning every Man, and teaching every Man in all Wisdom, that we may present every Man perfect in Christ Jesus [Col. 1:27-28].

I exhort therefore, that first of all Supplications, Prayers, Intercessions and Giving of Thanks be made for all Men; For this is good and acceptable in the Sight of God our Saviour, who will have all Men to be saved, and to come to the Knowledge of the Truth; who gave himself a Ransom for all, to be testified in due time [1 Tim. 2:3-4,6].

Q. What is the apostle Peter’s Testimony in this?

A. The Lord is not slack concerning his Promise (as some Men count slackness) but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should Perish, but that all should come to Repentance [2 Pet. 3:9].

Q. Are there any more Scripture Passages that prove this thing?

A. Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no Pleasure in the Death of the Wicked, but that the Wicked turn from his Way and live [Ezek. 33:11].

The Lord is Gracious, and full of Compassion; slow to Anger, and of great Mercy. The Lord is good to all, and his tender Mercies are over all his Works. [Psal. 145:8-9]

To wit, That God was in Christ reconciling the World unto himself [2 Cor. 5:19].

***

The next topic Barclay covers is how the Light of Christ affects all people. Barclay contends that the light of Christ speaks to, and the Grace of God is sufficient for, all persons.

The very love of God is made known by the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son. Christ is thus able to serve as Advocate for not just a few elect, but for all people in the whole world.

The major question we have for Barclay in this section is whether or not he has crossed into universalism. He strenuously asserts that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked and is good to all. Does this mean that Barclay is saying that all must be reconciled to God and inherit eternal life? Barclay speaks directly to this issue later in the Catechism. My reading of Barclay is that the sacrifice of Christ is able to heal all sin, but it does not heal the sin of those who refuse to be healed.