Twenty-Four Short Sermons on the Doctrine of Universal Salvation

Dods, John Bovee, 1795-1872Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.6

Word count: 347K words
Chapters: 35

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Twenty-Four Short Sermons On The Doctrine Of Universal Salvation by John Bovee DodsAuthor: Dods, John Bovee, 1795-1872,Language: English, Class: BX: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: Churches, Church movements, Release Date: Nov 21, 2005

Editor's review

This is a collection of sermons by the nineteenth-century American religious thinker John Bovee Dods, containing twenty-four short sermons that set out the theological position of universal salvation—the claim that all people will ultimately be saved. Its value lies in presenting, in the accessible and brief form of sermons, the nineteenth-century debate within American Christianity over the scope of salvation; it is a primary source for studying the Universalist movement and the religious polemical culture of the time. Each sermon is clearly structured and plainly worded, making the main points of the argument accessible to non-specialist readers. Readers should note that the author's stance is pronounced: this is apologetic writing from a particular theological camp, not a neutral survey of theology. For readers interested in American religious history, the development of Universalism, or the evolution of the sermon as a form, the book offers readable original texts; for readers who simply want to understand orthodox Christian doctrine, it should be read alongside works taking the opposite position.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and students studying American religious history, especially the Universalist movement
Readers interested in nineteenth-century sermon style and religious polemic
Theology enthusiasts who want to understand the basic arguments for universal salvation

Not a good fit for

Ordinary readers seeking a neutral, comprehensive introduction to theology
Readers who reject the Universalist position and want only expositions of orthodox doctrine
Readers with no interest in religious debate who want only literary works

Reading tips

Read one sermon first to grasp the author's argumentative pattern, then skim the remaining chapters by theme
Read alongside contemporaneous works opposing Universalism to avoid accepting only one side of the argument
After each sermon, summarize its core argument in two or three sentences to grasp the whole

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What does "universal salvation" mean in this book?

It refers to a theological position holding that God will ultimately save all people and that no one is permanently lost. The author, Dodds, argues this position from various angles in twenty-four short sermons. Readers should note that this is the view of a particular camp; the book presents that camp's arguments, not a consensus among all schools.

Is this book an academic theological work?

No. It is a collection of short sermons for congregations, written in accessible language with concise arguments and a persuasive purpose. Its academic value lies mainly in serving as primary material for religious history and sermon literature, not as a systematic theology textbook. Researchers should use it in the context of nineteenth-century American religious controversy.

Can someone read it without knowing Christian theology?

Yes, but some background knowledge is needed. The book involves basic concepts such as redemption, judgment, and eternal punishment; complete unfamiliarity would make it difficult to grasp the focus of the arguments. It is advisable to first understand the basic framework of Christian soteriology before reading, to understand what the author is arguing against and what he advocates.

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About the author

Dods, John Bovee, 1795-1872 Author · American · 1795–1872

John Bovee Dods (1795–1872) was an American minister and writer. Public information about him is limited, and the details of his life are largely unknown, but his surviving works and later references show that he was active in nineteenth-century American religion and popular thought, spreading his convictions through preaching and writing. He was concerned with Universal Salvation—the doctrine that all people will ultimately be saved—and his representative work, Twenty-Four Short Sermons on the Doctrine of Universal Salvation, sets out this theme step by step in the form of short sermons. He also promoted mesmerism and spiritualism and wrote several popular works for general readers. His plain, lucid prose, focused on argument and persuasion, is typical of nineteenth-century American popular religious writing, and he had some influence on the circulation of folk religious ideas of his time.