Universal

a. (universal is, Latin.) General; extending to all (South). 2. Total; whole (Dryden). 3. Not particular; comprising all particulars (Arbuthnot). Unive/rsau. s. The whole; the general system of the universe: not in use (Raleigh). UNIVERSALISTS, in church history, were originally those reformers who taught a kind of middle doctrine, between the systems of Calvin and Arm in i us. ‘They were denominated hypothetical Universalists, because they maintained, that God is willing to show mercy to all mankind; and because they held,, that faith in Christ is a nece ary condition to render them the objects of the divine, mercy, These opinions-were intended to be opposed to the notions of Calvin, concerning election and reprobation, on the one hand; and to the Opinions of Pelagius, concerning the merit of good works, on-the other. The doctrines of the hypothetical Universalists were propagated with succe by John Cameron; and were further illustrated and defended by Mases Amyrant, a man of great learning and sagacity. The opinions he maintained, and which produced no small changes in the doctrine of the reformed in France, are briefly summed up in the following propositions: That God desires the happine of all men; and that: no mortal is excluded by any divine decree from the benefits that are procured ‘by the death, sufferings, and gospel = Christ: Thai, however, none can be made a partaker of the ble ings of the gospel, and of eternal salvation, unle he believe in Jesus Christ: That such, indeed, is the immense and universal goodne of the Supreme Being, that he refuses to none the power of believing; though he does not grant unto all his a istance and succour, that they may wisely improve this power to the attainment of everlasting salva~ tion: And that, in consequence of this, multitudes perish through their own fault, and not from want of goodne in God. Bat the doctrine of the present Universalists _ is widely different from this. Their opinion is, that no human creature, whatever his conduct may have been, will be eternally miserable; but that all men universally, after having been subjected to degrees of punishment proportioned in duration to their respective crimes, will be purified and perfected thereby, and then admitted-to the presence of God, there to enjoy unending felicity. ‘This doctrine is not hinted ‘at by any of the Ante-nicene fathers, except Origen, and by him very obscurely. Among the moderns it has been embraced and defended by Dr. Thomas Burnett, Dr. Hartley, Mr. ‘Winchester, Mr. Vidler, and a few others. is now held by almost all the Socinians. We shall simply remark of this doctrine, that. it has no foundation in Scripture; as is indeed admitted by Dr. Hartley; and that it is a dangerous doctrine, which is expre ly allowed by one ofits abettors, Dr. Thomas Burnett. - For tolerably decisive refutations of the notion, we beg to refer to the 2ist of Dr. Gregory’s Letters on the Evidences, Doctrines, and Duties of the Christian Religion; and to an anonymous pamphlet very recently published by Riving ton’s, entitled, The Errors of Universalism; or, the Doctrine of the Non-eternity of future Punishments contrary to Scripture and dangerous to Society. 152