Torment forever or mercy forever?

There’s a new movie, Come Sunday, on Netflix about Evangelical bishop Carlton Pearson. I haven’t seen it and don’t have a subscription to Netflix. But Pearson was on Sunday’s All Things Considered and the movie’s creators were on The 1A, both on NPR. A few things caught my interest.

Pearson is a fourth-generation preacher. He led a church in Tulsa, OK with attendance near 5,000. A Big Deal. But he got stuck on a central piece of the Evangelical message: the reason for believing was to avoid damnation and hell. He thought this message was wrong. Hadn’t Jesus already died for the sins of the world? Isn’t it better to invite people into to church by saying they’re already safe with God? Invite them in with love instead of fear.

That change in direction is the subject of the movie. It includes the reactions of the associate pastors, Pearson’s mentor, the choir director, and the congregation. Later, Pearson is declared a heretic.

Henry, one of the associates, asks Pearson what if you’re wrong? What if there really is a hell and we are responsible for sending people there?

In the All Things Considered interview Pearson answers that question.

We are dealing with at least 2,000 years of entrenched indoctrination - at least 2,000 with Christianity, 6,000 if you include Judaism. The concept, though, of a God who has terrible anger-management problems - freaks out with these tantrums, and throws earthquakes, and volcanoes, and tsunamis, and cancer and AIDS on people is a very frightening presupposition.

It worried me for years - not the love of God, not the cross of calvary, but that eternal torment, not just punishment that you eternally, while mercy endures forever - we love to quote that scripture. His mercy endures forever. How can mercy endure forever and torment endure forever? One would cancel out the other. And I believe that I'm actually trying to correct the thinking of my people - God's people, the Christian church, Judeo-Christian ethics - change our belief about a God who is angry and who we need Jesus to protect us from. Now, that's radical. It's revolutionary, and it's evolutionary.

In the 1A discussion (I don’t have a transcript to quote) we hear about Reggie the choir director who is gay. Those discussing the movie appreciate that Pearson struggles against the teaching that because Reggie is gay he is going to hell. This is another place where Pearson’s understanding conflicts with the denomination’s leadership.

I’ll add just a bit more. All that teaching about hell and inviting members through fear is a sign of ranking. The leadership tells the members do what I say to avoid eternal punishment. It is spiritual violence – we control your access to heaven. It is that constant threat that keeps the members attempting to be obedient. What Pearson offered broke that fear, broke the hierarchy, and a life without ranking.