Universal Restoration includes major premises of Calvinism and Arminianism, while avoiding their flaws.
This breakdown is based on a sermon by Elhanan Winchester as found in A Larger Hope? by Robin Parry and Ilaria Ramelli (pg. 119)
1. God loves all
Calvinism- No
Arminianism- Yes
UR- Yes
2. The objects of God's love will come to salvation
Calvinism- Yes
Arminianism- No
UR- Yes
3. God desires all to be saved
Calvinism- No
Arminianism- Yes
UR- Yes
4. All God's purposes will be accomplished
Calvinism- Yes
Arminianism- No
UR- Yes
5. Christ dies for all
Calvinism- No
Arminianism- Yes
UR- Yes
6. All for whom Christ died will be saved (his blood was not shed in vain)
Calvinism- Yes
Arminianism- No
UR- Yes
Calvinists hold that God only loves some, that only some will be saved. In other words, God is unwilling to save all. Arminians hold that God loves all, but only some will be saved because human freedom will thwart God's will. In other words, God is unable to save all. Classical Universal Restoration (Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, et al) asserts that God loves all, is willing to save all, and is able to bring all to salvation willingly. In other words, God is willing, God is able, and God will save all. The UR position is the more fitting account of God's love, will, and power.
I have objections with two of your statements:
4. All God's purposes will be accomplished
And
6. All for whom Christ died will be saved (his blood was not shed in vain)
In response to 4: We agree God desires for all to be saved, but His “desire” is not the same as God’s purpose. God’s “purpose” seems to be; to do or allow all He can to help willing individuals fulfill their earthly objective, which may not result in their salvation, because they did not fulfill their earthly objective.
In response to 6: You are suggesting if a person Christ shed His blood for is not saved, than Christ shed His blood in vain, which is not true. Christ’s Love compelled Him to shed His blood partly as a sacrificial show of His Love. This is who Christ is and the way He acts. Let us just imagine: The prodigal son never returning to his father, did the father wait in vain for the son to return or does the father waiting show his love to everyone a to who he is and what a Loving parent is to do? The father’s Love compels him to do what he did and not the son’s eventual return (that does not have to happen).
You are assuming deity Loves for the results, while Deity Loves because Deity is Love, it is unconditional, so no good results are needed.
Everything is driven by the objective and the objective is not to live forever in heaven, but eternal life is one of the results of our fulfilling our earthly objective.
Has God given man a mission statement? (this is always good to have)
You can take any command in scripture and have Biblical support for calling that command “Man’s Objective” and have Biblical support for saying that, but there are two overriding commands all other commands are bases on and subordinated to.
Would “Loving God and secondly others with all our heart, soul, mind, and energy” be our Mission statement given as a command?
God is Love, but how do we define this Love and measure this Love?
This Godly type Love is defined by Jesus’ words and deeds (you can also use 1 Cor 13 and 1 John 4), so what is that?
Can we measure the “love” one being has for another being by the amount the Lover is willing to unselfishly sacrifice for the other being?
Is God this ultimate Lover? Would that “Love” compel even
God to make beings that could Love like He Loves (this “Love of God” is totally unselfish [a measurement for pure Love] and thus is not for God’s sake at all, but is totally for the sake of others [which would also be God’s sake])?
So, if God is not doing anything for His own sake and everything for the sake of others, would He be expecting or needing anything from man or would God just be trying to give the greatest gifts He could give to man?
The reason this “Love” is the most powerful force in all universes is because it compels even God.
So, to have this Love would make us like God Himself, so why does God not just make us with this Love and place us in heaven?
Are there something God just cannot do: like make another Christ, since Christ was never made but always existed?
Could God place this Godly type Love in a person at his/her creation (an instinctive love) or would an instinctive love be like a robotic love and not like God’s Love?
Could God just force His Love on man against the “will” of man or would that be like a shotgun wedding with God holding the shotgun?
What does man need that he does not have instinctively in order for man to fulfill His Mission?
Man must have a very limited amount of autonomous free will to make at least the one choice to humbly accept or reject God’s Love (forgiveness/mercy/grace/charity).
Man’s objective seems to be to obtain and grow this Godly type Love to fulfill the mission (statement) of Love God and secondly others with all our heart, soul, mind, and energy.
Our “objective” while here on earth is to just accept God’s gift as it was given as pure charity, this will enable us to fulfill our mission.
God is not trying to get you to do something, but is trying to give you something.
The problem is not sin (unforgiven sin is a huge problem), because God will forgive our sins which helps us to Love (…he that is forgiven much will Love much….) God hates sin, but does allow it, so we can more easily accept His Love (in the form of forgiveness the easiest way for us to accept His charity). The problem is always our fulfilling our objective.