271 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
271 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
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UNIVERSAL SALVATION
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The compassion and grace of God know no bounds. In some passages
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from scripture, the extent of God's saving work is predicted eventually to
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embrace all humankind. Thus does the Divine Parent's heart yearn for all
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His children. In Buddhist terms, the essential purpose of absolute Truth
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is to liberate all sentient beings, and Mahayana Buddhist scriptures
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express the universality of grace in the vow of the Buddha Amitabha. His
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vow is similar to the Bodhisattva Vow to save all beings, and in popular
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Buddhism the great Bodhisattvas who attend the Buddha are revered as
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manifesting gracious aspects of Ultimate Reality.
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Universal salvation is compatible with the belief that there is
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only one valid and true religion. Salvation may come to all people
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through one central point: thus in Abraham 'shall all the families of the
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earth be blessed' (Genesis 12.3). For those who believe in one religion
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as the only way, the divine mandate to save all humankind is a powerful
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impetus to missionary activity.
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We conclude with several passages which offer salvation to souls in
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hell. If salvation is to be available universally, to every soul who has
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ever lived regardless of his or her earthly life, the doctrine may appear
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at odds with beliefs about hell and the Last Judgment. If God is most
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essentially just, how can the wicked receive salvation? On the other
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hand, if God is most essentially gracious and compassionate, how can He
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permit any creature to suffer in hell eternally? Compassion and justice
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must go together. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism reconcile these aspects
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of Ultimate Reality by regarding all states of hell as purgatories,
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designed to mete out punishments for a limited period of time, that evil
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karma might be burned up and the soul have a future opportunity to find
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the Path. Christian and Islamic theologians dispute this question among
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themselves--some upholding an eternal hell, others looking to universal
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salvation. The Latter-day Saints practice baptism for the dead, thereby
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emptying hell of its dead through the efforts of the living.
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God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the
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knowledge of the truth.
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Christianity. Bible, 1 Timothy 2.3-4
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The daily concern of the Parent is single-heartedly how best I can advance
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arrangements to save all of you.
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Tenrikyo. Ofudesaki 14.35
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We will make offering unto thee with worship, O Lord, and to the Right,
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That you may achieve through Good Mind the destiny of all creatures in the
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Dominion. For the salvation of the man of insight among such as you, O
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Wise One, will hold good for everyone.
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Zoroastrianism. Avesta, Yasna 34.3
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The Dharma of the Buddhas
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by the constant use of a single flavor
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Causes the several worlds
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universally to attain perfection,
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By gradual practice
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all obtain the Fruit of the Way.
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Buddhism. Lotus Sutra 5
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"As I live," says the Lord God, "I have no pleasure in the death of the
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wicked."
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Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Ezekiel 33.11
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When Israel crossed the Red Sea, the angels were about to break forth in
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song, but the Holy One rebuked them, "My children are drowning, and you
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would sing?"
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Judaism. Talmud, Megilla 10b
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1 Timothy 2.3-4: Cf. 2 Timothy 2.13, p. 507; Torah Yesharah, p. 506.
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Yasna 34.3: The passage asks that these prayers to God cause all
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creatures, not just the wise man, to achieve their destiny in God's
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Kingdom. Lotus Sutra 5: This is the conclusion to the long Parable of the
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Rain Cloud, pp. 142f. Megilla 10b: 'My children' are the Egyptians who
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drowned in the waters while the Israelites escaped--Exodus 15.1-11, p.
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564. On God's love for Israel's enemies, cf. Amos 9.7, p. 281.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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God it is who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the Religion of
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Truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religion, however much the
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idolators may be averse.
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Islam. Qur'an 9.33
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Turn to me and be saved,
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all the ends of the earth!
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for I am God, and there is no other.
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By myself I have sworn,
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from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness
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an irrevocable decree:
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"To me every knee shall bow,
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every tongue shall swear."
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Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Isaiah 45.22-23
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Miqdad reported that he heard God's messenger say, "There will not remain
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on the face of the earth a mud-brick house or a camel's hair tent which
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God will not cause the confession of Islam to enter, bringing both mighty
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honor and abject abasement. God will either honor the occupants and put
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them among its adherents, or will humiliate them and they will be subject
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to it." Miqdad said, "God will then receive complete obedience."
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Islam. Hadith of Ahmad
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God is on the watch for the nations of the world to repent, so that He may
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bring them under His wings.
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Judaism. Midrash, Numbers Rabbah 10.1
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I testify that Thou art the Lord of all creation, and the Educator of all
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beings, visible and invisible. I bear witness that Thy power hath
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encompassed the entire universe, and that the hosts of the earth can never
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dismay Thee, nor can the dominion of all peoples and nations deter Thee
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from executing Thy purpose. I confess that Thou hast no desire except the
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regeneration of the whole world, and the establishment of the unity of its
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peoples, and the salvation of all them that dwell therein.
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Baha'i Faith. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah 115
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Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
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my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
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I have put my Spirit upon him,
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he will bring forth justice to the nations.
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He will not cry or lift up his voice,
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or make it heard in the street;
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Qur'an 9.33: Cf. Qur'an 22.56, p. 1111. Isaiah 45.22-23: Cf. Isaiah
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2.2-4, p. 1112; 56.7, p. 243; Zechariah 14.9, p. 1111. Hadith of Ahmad:
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Cf. Qur'an 21.104-05, p. 1111. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah
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115: Cf. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah 111, p. 274;
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'Abdu'l-Baha, Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 290, 1119.
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a bruised reed he will not break,
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and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
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he will faithfully bring forth justice.
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He will not fail or be discouraged
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till he has established justice in the earth;
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and the coastlands wait for his law.
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Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Isaiah 42.1-4
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The Tathagatas do not enter ultimate liberation until all living beings
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have entered ultimate liberation.
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Buddhism. Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 4
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God did not call me for myself. He called me expecting that I would
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develop the universal personality [that can relate well with all people
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and things].
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Unification Church. Sun Myung Moon, 4-14-57
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I establish the Vows unexcelled,
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And reach the highest path, Bodhi.
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Were these Vows unfulfilled,
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I would never attain Enlightenment.
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I will be the great provider
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Throughout innumerable ages.
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Should I fail to save all in need,
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I would never attain Enlightenment.
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Upon my attaining Enlightenment,
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If my Name were not heard anywhere
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In the ten quarters of the universe,
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I would never attain Enlightenment.
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Practicing the Holy Way--selflessness,
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Depth in right reflection and pure wisdom,
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Aspiring toward the highest path,
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I will be the teacher of devas and men.
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My wondrous power by its great light
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Brightens countless lands throughout,
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Removes the darkness of the three defilements
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And delivers all from suffering and pain.
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Buddhism. Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra 9.1-5: Juseige
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Those who are wretched shall be in the Fire... they will dwell therein for
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all the time that the heavens and the earth endure, except as your Lord
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wills; for your Lord is the sure Accomplisher of what He plans.
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Islam. Qur'an 11.106-07
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For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the
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unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the
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flesh but made alive in the spirit; in which he went and preached to the
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spirits in prison, who formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited
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in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark.
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Christianity. Bible, 1 Peter 3.18-20
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It is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten
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with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between
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the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other--and behold what
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is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them
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cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect.
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Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the
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gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of
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the fullness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in,
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that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of
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dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place.
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Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Doctrine and
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Covenants 128.18
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Isaiah 42.1-4: This 'servant song' is understood differently by Jews and
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Christians. Jews interpret the servant to be Israel, and view the passage
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as a statement of Israel's vocation to be a light to the world. Christians
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understand the fuller meaning of the servant as realized in Christ.
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Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra 9.1-5: This is one of the chief hymns of the
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Pure Land school. One should not interpret this passage as speaking of
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God's love in the western sense of the divine Being's love for his
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creatures. Rather, the ideal of the bodhisattva illustrates the Mahayana
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Buddhist principle that Ultimate Reality is itself all-embracing,
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inclusive of every living being and of the nature of compassion. One who
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truly understands this principle cannot help but feel suffering as long as
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there is even one individual who suffers, for that unfortunate individual
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is one's very self. This is the essence of the Bodhisattva Vow; see
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Sikshasamuccaya 280-81, pp. 979f., and Garland Sutra 23, p. 980; see also
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the Eighteenth Vow of Buddha Amitabha, Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra 8.18,
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p. 639. Qur'an 11.106-07: Based on this verse, some Muslim theologians
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have deduced that the penalties in hell are not eternal, for 'the time
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that the heavens and the earth endure' has a limit; in the end they are to
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be dissolved and renewed. 1 Peter 3.18-20: This passage is usually
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interpreted to mean that Jesus preached to the spirits in hell. Or, if the
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doctrine of eternal hell is to be upheld, then the 'prison' may be
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interpreted as an intermediate state of purgatory. Compare Markandeya
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Purana 13-15, p. 981. Doctrine and Covenants 128.18: The baptism for the
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dead is an important rite of the Latter-day Saints, bringing salvation to
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those who have passed away in ignorance--'those who have died in the
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gospel' are Christians ignorant of the new dispensation--and bringing
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wholeness and complete salvation to the cosmos. Notice the Bible
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references to Malachi 4.6 and Hebrews 11.39-40. Cf. Doctrine and
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Covenants 76.54-93, p. 322.
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