Joy Beyond All Worlds: Universal Salvation, George MacDonald, and J.R.R. Tolkien

"A thoughtful and deeply rewarding sequel [to Destined for Joy], Joy Beyond All Worlds presents the Christian Universalist vision with clarity, charity, and an unshakable confidence in the invincible goodness of God."—John Carswell, author of Tolkien’s Overture and host of The Tolkien Road PodcastJoy Beyond All Worlds gathers Alvin F. Kimel Jr.’s reflections on the greater hope of the gospel: the unconditional grace of the Holy Trinity, the destiny of creation in Christ, and the final triumph of divine love. Drawing on Scripture, the Church Fathers, George MacDonald, David Bentley Hart, and J. R. R. Tolkien, Kimel argues that Christian hope must be measured by the boundless goodness of God.In these essays, Kimel explores universal salvation, apokatastasis, divine judgment, free will, and the healing purpose of God’s redemptive action. As Roberto J. De La Noval, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Theology at Boston College has expressed, "In these pages Kimel's pen overflows beyond theological and philosophical analyses to sermons for piercing the heart and to poetic revelries on the mythic genius of J.R.R. Tolkien and the symbolic theology of George MacDonald's novels."Serious yet accessible, Joy Beyond All Worlds is for readers of theology who are wrestling with hell, hope, the love of God, and the gospel’s final meaning. Read more