Doctrine of Inclusion

I never expected to admire an evangelical Pentecostal priest. Their views generally diverge widely from my own and also their method of delivery. I do, however respect and admire Bishop Carlton Pearson. Bishop Pearson had a very successful career going, his church members numbered thousands and the Sunday offerings averaged $60,000.

However, he had an epiphany while looking at the suffering shown on TV, for example, the starving and cruelly treated millions in Africa. He concluded that hell was here on earth – what we do to one another. Further, he concluded that all people are already “saved.” They do not have to accept Jesus as their savior to go to heaven. His “Doctrine of Inclusion.”

For as long as I can remember I have never been able to accept that the vast majority of humankind was doomed because they had not been “saved.” That does not jibe with the compassionate, forgiving God I have been taught about. In fact, I think this philosophy smacks of the type of fundamentalism that spawns Islamic extremists. No, it does not advocate active violence against others. But it does condemn through exclusion. If you do not accept our beliefs then to Hell with you! See the blog by the Velveteen Rabbi for his comments. He tells it better than me.

Bishop Pearson did not realize how his new doctrine would splinter his church and bring vehement rejection. He lost his flock; he lost his church (which was eventually foreclosed by the bank). He could have recanted and said he had “lost his way.” He did not and has not.

This was a man that was on the fast track. Oral Roberts, his mentor, had come to his church and publicly announced that Bishop Pearson was destined to be one of their greatest leaders. No more, Oral Roberts has disowned his disciple.

I admire the fortitude and integrity displayed by this man. I admire his compassion. I accept his doctrine.