Carlton Pearson's book, The Gospel of Inclusion presents a powerful new voice that is emerging in Pentecostal circles. The God Bishop Pearson is serving is a God of love not judgment, a God of universalism not sectarianism, a God of expansion not control. It is intriguing, provocative and hopeful, a surprising twist in our ancient faith story.
Speak the name "Carlton Pearson" and you will get one of two reactions: "heretic" or "prophet." Pearson was a Christian mega-star, host of his own TV show, traveling in private jets to speak at evangelical Christian gatherings. His church, Higher Dimensions, drew 5,000 people every Sunday. He was Oral Roberts' beloved protege.Then, Pearson watched everything he had built crumble due to scandal. He didn't have an affair. He didn't embezzle church funds. He stopped believing in Hell. Following a revelation, he began to preach that a loving God would not condemn most of the human race to burn in the fires of Hell for eternity. Shocked, the Pentecostal community made him an outcast. This book is the story of one man's turning his back on fifty-plus years of religious teachings and on a "family" of millions to preach a new truth-The Gospel of Inclusion. In this book, Pearson shows that all of God's children are already saved by the sacrifice of Christ-gays, Muslims, Jews, atheists, everyone. Weaving theology, biblical scholarship and cultural history, Pearson asserts that the dogma of Hell is nothing more than a device to control the faithful, that authoritarian religion is at the heart of the world's troubles, that God is not a Christian, but indeed belongs to all humankind.