At Pyromaniacs Phil Johnson has a good post debunking the “doubt is the new faith” of the emerging church. Johnson begins:

If our postmodern friends are correct and all certainty is arrogance, wouldn’t personal assurance of one’s own salvation be just about the ultimate conceit?

Many post-evangelicals avoid that uncomfortable question by backing into some form of universalism—because, you know, the only way it doesn’t seem arrogant to be certain I’m saved is if I’m pretty sure everyone is ultimately going to be saved.

Others avoid the issue altogether because, after all, that’s a doctrinal conundrum and post-evangelicals aren’t really into doctrine.

Of course, the correct answer to the question is succinctly distilled a familiar statement the apostle Paul made in a context where he was encouraging Timothy not to be timid…