And I think the gospel of John makes a strong move toward the belovedness of all humanity. Likewise the gospel of Matthew. Isaiah certainly fosters the idea of Israel as beloved and ultimately salvaged.
I think the Bible takes us through a continuum of judgment/redemption, where God becomes less wrathful and more broadly accepting. We see this in the softening of the Law into “everything depends on love” and “the sabbath was made for humanity...”. We see it with the acceptance of the Gentiles as part of the “remnant.” We see it in the move from Deuteronomy to Isaiah. Here’s the thing: the Bible makes clear that Israel is saved time and again as the “righteous remnant” — even when they patently do not merit salvation. As the move is made to the church being recognized as the “righteous remnant,” and the church becomes more broadly Gentile, we see a move toward universality. In fact, in every story I’m aware of, God favors the lesser, the unfavorable, the also-ran. That, to me, is more compelling than any other consideration.
This is your substitutionary atonement bias. I think we’re moved away from a “wrath of God” model, theologically.
The fact we’re mortal is borne out by the fact that everyone, to date, will die.
