Do All Squirrels Go to Hell? A Hermeneutical Examination of Eschatological Knowledge

Abstract

The theological conversations surrounding universalism, the idea that God’s salvation can be extended beyond just a handful of morally attuned individuals, is an ever-growing concern within the field of constructive ecotheology. Historically one of the main tensions preventing a broader acceptance of universalism has lied between the divine act of Grace and the finite option of free will. This senior thesis attempts to revitalize the theological conversation surrounding these tensions through proposing a new perspective on human knowledge: ‘The Fall of Man’ resulted in human knowledge deviating away from that shared by the rest of creation and from God’s edenic and salvific intentions. Through critical examination of our transformed understanding and its role in free will this paper will not argue whether salvation can be expanded, but rather how salvation could be expanded.