The Eschatological Judgment of Christ: The Hope of Universal Salvation and the Fear of Eternal Perdition in the Theology of Hans Urs Von Balthasar

Hans Urs von Balthasar hopes that all might be saved. Critics say that makes Balthasar a universalist and his universalism has become a hindrance for the evangelical mission of the church. Why would anyone evangelize and seek to convert others to the Christian faith if it is assured that everyone will be saved? Balthasar throughout his writings denied he was a universalist. He said that there is no way to know if all will be saved or not. Since God desires all will be saved we can hope all will be but until everyone has been judged there will be no way to know if Gods desire will be accomplished. Why? Because God does not force salvation on anyone. God gave humanity freedom and he will not remove it from anyone even if it means he risks losing some to perdition. Balthasars critics believe his denial was merely a pretense so that his speculations would not be condemned. They do not take his denials seriously. But should they? Does he really believe it is possible some might be damned? If so how? By what means would anyone be damned? Karlson offers a welcome corrective to the many one-sided treatments of Balthasars eschatology. His extensive knowledge of Balthasars corpus reveals a thinker for whom sin and damnation remain essential parts of the Christian drama. Future commentators on Balthasar will ignore this book at their own peril. --Patrick X. Gardner Valparaiso University Karlson has produced a wonderful and readable introduction to a very complicated and important discussion within Catholic theology. --Thomas L. Humphries Jr. Associate Professor of Philosophy Theology and Religion Saint Leo University; author of Ascetic Pneumatology from John Cassian to Gregory the Great Henry C. Anthony Karlson III is an independent scholar interested especially in the field of comparative theology. Previously he wrote for the Catholic blog Vox Nova; he currently writes for Patheos.com which hosts his blog A Little Bit of Nothing.