That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation
By David Bentley Hart
Published by Yale University Press, 2019, pp. 232.
Greek translation published by Akritas, 2023, pp. 282.
Book Reviewed (from the Greek text) by:
Fr. Nikolaos Loudovikos
(Published in "Synaxis", Issue 171, March 2025)
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos
By David Bentley Hart
Published by Yale University Press, 2019, pp. 232.
Greek translation published by Akritas, 2023, pp. 282.
Book Reviewed (from the Greek text) by:
Fr. Nikolaos Loudovikos
(Published in "Synaxis", Issue 171, March 2025)
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos
Before I delve into the more profound theological aspects, I will begin by recounting a revelatory conversation, still vivid in my memory, with the venerable Elder Paisios during our very first meeting, decades ago. "The Fathers have concealed the love of God from us," he said to me. My ecclesiastical experience was merely a few months old, yet I had managed to read a couple of books. "But that is what they talk about," I stammered. "As soon as one encounters it, one feels the need to hide it; it is incomprehensibly vast, unbelievably compassionate, and indescribably humble and noble," he replied. "And why should it be hidden?" "Because its revelation would make people completely listless and indifferent," he replied. However, my own inquiry multiplied: could human indifference, listlessness, or audacity negate the goals of such a love? Therefore, did human, warm, or even merely elementary response matter, despite the absolute selflessness of God and the strength of His metaphysical imposition? This demolished a valuable remnant of my Platonizing, all-embracing, with the annihilating meaning that Levinas attributed to the term "metaphysics".
