... to reconcile to himself all things

Over at Ragged Glory, I ask about universalism.

Traditional Christian teaching says that many (presumably the majority) of human beings will ultimately be damned. But some Christians resist that conclusion: they argue in favour of universalism, the belief that every human being ultimately will be saved.

The biblical case for universalism is stronger than most Christians realize. We're used to hearing that unbelievers will spend eternity in hell — so used to it that we bleep right over a series of New Testament passages that appear to say just the opposite.