This book aims to uncover and explore the ideas of notable people in the story of Christian universalism from the time of the Reformation until the end of the nineteenth century. It is a story that is largely unknown in both the church and the academy, and the characters that populate it have for the most part passed into obscurity. With carefully located bore holes drilled to release the long-hidden theologies of key people and texts, the volume seeks to display and historically situate the roots, shapes, and diversity of Christian universalism. Here we discover a diverse and motley crew of mystics and scholars, social prophets and end-time sectarians, evangelicals and liberals, orthodox and heretics, Calvinists and Arminians, Puritans, Pietists, and a host of others. The story crisscrosses Continental Europe, Britain, and America, and its reverberations remain with us to this day.
Robin Parry grew up near Liverpool before moving to Wales at the age of ten. It was in Wales that he became a Christian. In 1991, after completing his undergraduate degree in theology and some teacher training, he got married to Carol and moved to Worcester (the original one). They have been there ever since. Robin and Carol have two daughters, Hannah and Jessica, and a cat called Monty. Having been a teacher in a Sixth Form College (1991-2001), he moved into theological publishing, first at Paternoster (2001-2010) and then at Wipf and Stock (2010-), where he works as an editor. Robin's MA and PhD were in Old Testament, both degrees overseen by Professor Gordon Wenham. Robin writes books for a hobby and is trying to learn to play the cajon.
Ilaria Ramelli earned two MAs (Classics with specialization in Early Christianity and Philosophy with specialization in History), a PhD (Classics and Early Christianity) a Doctorate honoris causa, a postdoctorate (Late Antiquity and Religion), and some Habilitations to Full Professor - Ordinarius (History of Philosophy, Classics, Greek Language and Literature). In the last twenty years, Ramelli has been Professor of Roman Near Eastern History, Onassis Senior Visiting Professor of Greek Thought (Harvard; Boston University), of Church History (Columbia), of Religion (Erfurt University, Max Weber Center), and Senior Research Fellow (Durham University; Oxford Corpus Christi; Catholic University, Milan; Princeton University).
Ramelli is Full Professor of Theology and K.Britt endowed chair at the Graduate School of Theology, SHMS "Angelicum" University, the director of international research projects, and Senior Research Fellow (Oxford University Christ Church; Durham University, for the second time; Erfurt University, MWK, within a Forschungspreis of the Humboldt Foundation).
She received, among other prizes, two Agostino Gemelli Awards (1996; 1997), the Marcello Gigante Classics International Award sponsored by the President of the Italian Republic (2006), ten SBL Mentions for for Distinguished Scholarly Service (2009-19), the inclusion in Great Minds of the 21st Century (2011) and in 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century (2011 & 2014), a Marie Curie Prize from the European Commission (2016), a Research Award from the Humboldt Foundation (2017), and many other grants, awards, and nominations.
Besides delivering lectures and seminars, including many invited and main lectures, and and directing editorial endeavours, workshops, seminars, and research projects, Ramelli has authored numerous books, articles, and reviews in leading scholarly journals and series, on ancient and patristic philosophy, especially Platonism and Stoicism, first-millennium Christianity, the New Testament, the reception of Scripture, ancient Religions, Classics, and the relationship between Christianity and classical culture.
