More and more ELCA pastors are coming out of the closet and admitting they are universalists. Universalism is the belief “that all human beings will eventually be saved.” (See here)
Below is a recent Facebook post by prominent Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor, Clint Schnekloth. Schnekloth is a pastor, author and blogger; he created and facilitates the ELCA Clergy Facebook Group that has over 5800 members.
Below is a recent Facebook post by prominent Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor, Clint Schnekloth. Schnekloth is a pastor, author and blogger; he created and facilitates the ELCA Clergy Facebook Group that has over 5800 members.
This is a false teaching that is dangerous, risking the eternal lives of people who put their trust in it. The Bible, which is God’s Word, teaches that some people will be saved and go to heaven when they die and some people will go to hell with they die. "...Universalism and universal salvation are unbiblical beliefs. Universalism directly contradicts what Scripture teaches…To say that those who reject God’s provision of salvation through His Son will be saved is to belittle the holiness and justice of God and negate the need of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.” (See here)
Rev. Schnekloth is one of the growing number of ELCA pastors that espouse this belief. The most renowned pastor in the ELCA, Nadia Bolz-Weber, is a universalist. (See here) Rev Bolz-Weber will be a keynote speaker at the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering. Around 30,000 youth typically attend the event.
There are still ELCA pastors who will not admit to the label “universalist,” most likely because they understand that it is viewed as heresy, but they do openly teach the principles of universalism. For example, the leader of the ELCA, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, in an interview last year was asked, “Is there a hell?” She replied, “There may be, but I think it is empty.” (See here) That is universalism, plain and simple. If hell is empty, all people will go to heaven. Presiding Bishop Eaton is a universalist.
There are many more examples of the ELCA propagating universalism. They do it in their seminaries, in their publications, on social media and in their churches. If the growth of universalism is a concern to you, please go to the following links, here (and scroll down the page) and here, to find just how prevalent this teaching is in the ELCA.
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