Who is this guy?

My name is Vin Sparks and I think I probably represent the average Christian American with a not so average take on things.  I found the Lord Jesus to be real in my life on January 23, 1980.  I can honestly say that, while I have not always been the best “me” I can be, something happened that night between the time I went down in the water and when I came back up again.  Something radical.   Something capable of changing my life.  I know this because…thats what it did – it changed my life.  I’ve never been the same.

I have five spectacular adult children and six fantastic grandchildren.  I live in the Milwaukee, WI area where I write, teach, and do a little consulting.

So, why this blog? 

Back in 1974 we purchased our first new car. (Yes, there were paved roads.) My wife (then) and I agreed that I would pick the model and she would pick the color. We purchased a brand-new Buick Opel Manta – in lime green.

Have you ever purchased something that seemed unique to you before you bought it, but after you brought it home, you noticed that it seemed everyone had one? They were all over the place?

This is what seemed to take place with that lime green car. No, everyone didn’t have one, but we saw more than a few, one of which was owned by the couple living in the apartment next door whose spot in the carport was right next to ours. That punctuated the phenomenon for me.

As mentioned, I have been a Christian since January of 1980 and in all that time I had never considered Universal Reconciliation. I am a graduate of a Bible institute in San Diego and have been a diligent student of the scriptures ever since. I knew, vaguely, what UR was, but I never took the idea seriously before January 2021. It was then that I read a familiar passage of scripture on a UR website and the truth of God’s plan to reconcile the entire world to Himself hit me like a bolt of lightning. I broke down and wept.

That was ONE passage of scripture (Colossians 1:15-20) the green Opel Manta of my story. Since receiving what God had for me, I’ve been seeing Universal Reconciliation in the Scriptures throughout the Old Testament and New – in the Gospels and in Paul, in Peter and in Revelation. UR seems to permeate the Bible, as one would expect the truth to do.

Now, I’m not saying that an “all-dogs-go-to-heaven” kind of teaching is not without its challenges, scripturally, but neither is the idea of hell, eternal punishment, outer darkness, or the outright annihilation of most of humanity. Since that fateful day in January 2021, I have researched the doctrine of Universal Reconciliation from many different vantage points and have found scores of passages in God’s Word that have been hiding in plain view. This is scripture that seems to clearly and explicitly teach us that all things will be reconciled to God.

I would like to share some of this research with you. The challenge, if you would care to engage, will be to consider this material without a presupposition to eternal conscious torment. Try to look at it on its own strength of message without allowing your mind to immediately go to a passage that seems to counter it. Allow yourself the benefit of an unencumbered analysis of what is being said without dismissing the premise out of hand.

Those passages that seem to fly in the face of Universal Reconciliation can and have been addressed; many right here in this blog. First determine if UR can be supported in the research I am sharing. If it cannot, there is no reason to go on. If it can, then the “hell-fire and brimstone”, “weeping and gnashing of teeth”, “eternal torment” passages can be addressed. They will still be there.

Posts are included in one of five categories – Proof Texts, Refute Texts, FAQ, Answering the Critics, and Arguments. They can be sorted by category, if you find that helpful, by scrolling to the bottom of any page. When addressing a single passage, the post title will be the reference scripture. The King James Version of the Bible is the default unless noted otherwise. You can see a complete listing of posts under the “Blog” tab.

For a bit of a “guided tour” experience, click on the Biblical Universalism tab, read, and follow the links at the end of the page.

I am praying that, when you’ve finished going over the research, you will be able to say that you have been blessed in considering the Universal Reconciliation of all things through the blood of the cross.

Finally, please reach out and let me know what you think. The Contact page contains all my details.

Could the doctrine of the Universal Reconciliation of all things be what is next for God’s church? To God be the glory.

Thank you for your interest,

Vin Sparks

More of Vin’s writing:

Webbook: https://undressingorthodoxy.com/

Older Blogsite: https://sketchesontheway.blog/