Emil Brunner  Home/Start  Sitemap

This theologian was probably the most influential on Tournier's universalism, particularly in light of his association with him from his earlier years in the Oxford Group.⁴² Several concepts can be found in Brunner's works which also appear similarly in Tournier's writings. First, Brunner's emphasis on God's unconditional love⁴³ and forgiveness⁴⁴ is also prominent in Tournier's soteriology.⁴⁵ Second, that Christ died for all men, as Tournier believes,⁴⁶ is also present in Brunner's writings,⁴⁷ though he never states that Christ's death is also effective for the salvation of all men. Third, when Tournier points out that man is both guilty and also forgiven,⁴⁸ he could be echoing Brunner, who similarly notes: "To love means to accept . . . [a sinner] as he is, 'in Christ,' as one who has been judged in him and granted the grace of God, above whom there stands the word 'sinner,' 'fallen being,' but also the word 'justified,' or 'one who has been restored."'⁴⁹ Fourth, Brunner's views on the reconciliation of all, and God's desire to save all⁵⁰ are also reflected in Tournier's works.⁵¹ A final possible Brunnerian influence on Tournier could have been his ideas on the possibility of universal salvation. Brunner feels that no answer should be given to the question: "Is there such a thing as final loss or is there a universal salvation"? The basis of this view lies in his belief that "God does not belong to the realm of perceptible objects, but to that of speaking and being spoken to."⁵² Hence, Brunner refuses to answer the question. Tournier, however, possibly unaware of the basis of this paradox, the reasons for Brunner's refusal to answer it, and the implications of answering it, possibly chose to naively answer it: "Yes, there is such a thing as universal salvation."⁵³