You Heretic!
Have you ever heard of Carlton Pearson? He's a minister in Tulsa, OK. There was a point in Pearson's ministry when he was preaching to five thousand people during the week, made regular appearances on TV and at the White House and traveled the globe guest speaking in front of huge audiences. Then Pearson fell. But his "fall from grace" wasn't what you would expect. Pearson's fall wasn't due to an adulterous relationship or a money scandal. It began when Pearson started asking one very particular question: Does God, who is so loving and compassionate, really condemn most of the human race to burn and writhe in the fire of hell for eternity?If you have the time, it's worth hearing his story on This American Life. You can find the episode (free of charge) here. It's episode 304 and it aired around this time last year, 12/16/05.
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posted by jch at
10:07 PM
11 Comments:
Thanks for the recommendation. This American Life has to be the best show on radio. My CPE supervisor this past summer was Pentecostal, and he talked about all the fallout that surrounded Pearson's decision. It was definitely interesting to listen to his account of the event in this interview. I'll take this kind of scandal any day over the others.
I've never considered the gospel of inclusion before. That kind of thought process is completely foreign to me. Thanks so much for sharing this interview and for the challenge it brings.
Let me say that this is well worth the time. Like Nathan the Gospel of inclusion isn't anything I have thought about before and it is definitely problematic for me, but Pearson makes a very persuasive argument for the idea that God isn't as condemning as the church has made Him out to be. While that's a very important theological discussion to be had, what stuck out to me in this episode the most was the personal stakes involved with Pearson following his conviction of who God revealed himself to be to him. That courage is inspiring.
Very worthy listen, and I generally concur with the comments. Do you think we spend much of our lives trying to be justified - in our own mind? That's what I kept hearing. Pearson wanted to be justified by his peers for his new and exciting gospel; the interviewer felt justified because his belief that there is no hell was justified by Pearson. I found this interesting.
Christi & I listened to this last year and thought it a really good piece. It was especially helpful for her to understand the dynamics of religious culture in the south, i.e. when someone asks you where you go to church it's kind of like asking what your college major was. :-)
I think this is just brilliant. It makes so much sense to me. Christianity should be about things far greater than staying out of Hell.
Pearson isn't so radical. There are a lot of us who do not believe that Scripture teaches eternal torment for the unsaved. But I don't see eye-to-eye with him on this inclusion gospel.
His "New Dimension" site hits me wrong, and I have to work through some surface stuff to get to the important stuff. The site is plastered with his face, and it proclaims "The Friendliest, Trendiest, Most Radically Inclusive Worship Experience!" I am not interested in "trendy" worship. So, I have to work at getting past this negative first impression.
The gospel of inclusion, IMO, is that Jesus DIED for all, but not all will have eternal life. Big difference between what I believe and what Pearson preaches.
He seems like a nice guy, and preaches a lot of solid stuff, but some of his teachings are on shifting sand.
Vicki, Pearson isn't radical in your eyes but consider his background, his faith tradition. I would say that "radical" doesn't even begin to describe the theological move he made.
And do you really think there are "a lot" who don't believe in a literal Hell? I'm curious about your faith tradition...
I agree about the New Dimension website. Too much Pearson. Yikes.
they're working on a tv version, on showtime i think, of "this american life". just wanted to mention it in case you didn't already know about it. sounds really interesting.
jch - My faith tradition was mainline CoC. I am still CoC, but loosely so in the eyes of some.
Let me clarify: I did not say that I don't believe in a literal hell. I said that I don't believe in eternal torture. That is some different from what you said, as well as with Pearson. I believe that the punishment will fit the crime, and when that is complete, the soul that does not claim Jesus as Savior and Lord will simply cease to exist w/o hope of resurrection. Not only do I find this to be sound scripturally, I find it to speak of a God who is both just AND merciful. The exception to that is satan and his helpers. I believe they will find themselves in eternal torture.
And yes, this view is radical among my "faith family", but I find more and more who have come to similar conclusions as I. Most are afraid to say it out loud for fear of ridicule.
Not the same as Pearson in many ways, but we do have the common belief that hell is not a place of eternal torture for those who don't believe Jesus is their Savior.
BTW, I guess this makes me a heretic, too. <<< sigh >>>
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