Destined for Joy

The Gospel of Universal Salvation

By: Alvin Kimel, David Bentley Hart

Narrated by: Boyd Barrett

Featuring a Foreword by Bradley Jersak and Afterword by David Bentley Hart

“This is a book that many of us have been waiting for for a long time . . . Enthusiastically recommended!” (Robin A. Parry, Ph.D., Anglican priest, editor, and author of The Evangelical Universalist)

Destined for Joy is a collection of essays devoted to the theme of the absolute love of God and the gospel of universal salvation. Written over a period of 10 years and revised for publication in this volume, they represent the fruition of the author’s theological and spiritual development over a span of four decades in parish ministry. If God has truly revealed himself in his incarnate Son Jesus Christ as absolute and unconditional love, does this not mean that he intends the salvation of all? As Jesus declared to Dame Julian of Norwich: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

Many listeners will be surprised to discover that hope for universal salvation was widely prevalent in the early Church and is robustly defended today in the writings of theologians across the theological spectrum. In this extraordinary collection, Alvin F. Kimel discusses the works of the 7th century mystic St Isaac the Syrian and 14th century mystic Julian of Norwich, the 19th century writer George MacDonald, Lutheran theologians Robert W. Jenson and Gerhard Forde, evangelical philosopher Thomas Talbott, and Eastern Orthodox theologians Sergius Bulgakov and David Bentley Hart, to name just a few of many. It’s an indispensable resource for anyone interested in understanding the doctrine of universal salvation.

"Al Kimel puts brilliantly the argument for full Christianity that has too rarely been made in the past." (John Milbank, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Nottingham and author of numerous books and essays, including Theology and Social Theory, Being Reconciled, and The Suspended Middle)

©2022 Alvin F. Kimel Jr (P)2022 Alvin F. Kimel Jr

Accessible and thorough exploration of the history of universal salvation

Well, it took several weeks of listening to finish, but I’m heartily recommend Fr. Kimel’s book! If you’ve ever wondered about Christian universalism, apokatastasis, or the reconciliation of all things, then this is an accessible and exhaustive guide to the history of the idea, the questions and objections often posed, and the thoughtful answers that have been offered in various times and places where the Church has gathered. There’s a LOT of material here that will reward careful study. The appendix with Fr. Kimel’s address given at his son’s funeral is a powerful reminder of real world events where high flying theological rubber meets the road.

The only downside to the Audible is an uneven performance by the reader/narrator. Since the word apokatastasis plays such an important role in the text, it was grating to hear it pronounced hundreds of times with accents on the second and fifth syllables rather than with a single stress on 4th syllable. There are passages from Julian of Norwich that are suddenly read with a strange, singsong inflection and an odd pronunciation that I suspect reflects the orthography of an old (public domain) English printing of her Showings. Finally, a few names could use a little help. It took a while to settle on a pronunciation for (Theodore of) Mopsuestia and (Hans Urs von) Balthasar threw me for a few loops. But these are minor quibbles compared to the great value of Fr. Kimel’s work!

Dig in and savor this beautiful offering ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hope after death

God is Love and All will be saved in the end. All shall be well.

Challenging & Comforting

This book is a gift and a blessing. Christians need to be challenged to trust God’s eternal love and mercy, and to let go of the vision of eternal torment most of us were taught. I plan to listen to this audio book again!

Finally, a true clarification of the worst heresy of our faith!

Nothing is more disappointing to a Bible student to acknowledge the heroes and mentors and great Bible teachers are hopelessly flawed. They have made great observations of the word of God but ultimately came to the wrong conclusions. May the spirit open your heart to this vital truth. Universal salvation is the plan for all of God’s children.

Hope is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul

This is a well researched and well thought out book. It is both educational and enlightening while still remaining entertaining. Better than all that though is it gives hope. Hope that God is better than we imagine, more loving than we imagine, more healing and reconciling that we have been telling one another.
You don’t have to be churchy or a professor to follow the history or the logic here and for many that have been given a vision of the Heavenly Father as a sadist or a big combat boot in the sky, the case presented here will afford them the chance to love God who loves them too, in fact who loved them first and best. Many of the arguments against faith in todays age are the illogic assertions of people of faith- there are memes about it even lol, but in this volume we find that the popular view of today has not always been the view and traces some of how that came to be.
If you are opposed to faith in universalism (the thought not the denomination) there is a rich meal here to examine why that is so, if you are not opposed to the thought there is a rich meal here to show you are not alone in your thinking. If you have not decided either way, there is a meal yet again showing why some people have accepted or rejected the thought.
If you object to the notion of God based on Christians you have known, here you can set aside what they have said or done and look for yourself to see if there is not a better meal than what has been shown to you, and in fact, why rejecting some beliefs or behaviors actually draws you closer to the truth.

Pull up a chair, taste of this work, I promise you will find nourishment there

Very thorough examination of the larger Hope!

Fr. Kimel’s examination of the ancient Christian doctrine of the reconciliation of all things is robust and leaves no stone unturned. He offers a thoughtful discussion of topics as wide ranging as the theology of Julian of Norwich, the salvation of Judas Iscariot, the juxtaposition of free will and universal salvation, the salvation of George Macdonald’s Lillith, the parables of the sheep and the goats and Lazarus and the rich man, the role of the lake of fire, and many other issues. David Bentley Hart’s afterword is excellent. Whether you agree with Fr. Kimel’s conclusions or not, this book cannot be ignored. Highly recommended!

Soul Satisfying

I feel like my faith has been strengthened. I had been looking for a more forgiving and compassionate vision of God. I will be re-reading this more than once in order to really absorb the concepts!