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5.09.2004
Heretic Tulsa bishop reacts to heretic charge: "The Pentecostal bishops' congress issued its conclusion in a March 29 report. 'Because of our concern for the many people that could be influenced to adopt this heresy and in so doing put at risk the eternal destiny of their souls, we are compelled to declare Bishop Carlton Pearson a heretic,' wrote Bishop Clifford Leon Frazier, chairman of the college's doctrinal commission." I was very relieved when I first read last year that Pearson, the pastor of a very large church here in Tulsa was going to be preaching a gospel of inclusion. I hold out hope that he will lead a movement to call attention to the very divisive nature of exclusionary religious practices. Sure, its always nice to believe that you, and only you, through your own accident of birth just happen to be in the right place at the right time. You, above all else are blessed with the one true religion. This ignores the very real reality that religious membership is HEAVILY influenced by where and when you are born. This is easily confirmed by a quick glance over a map of religious memberships by geography. Very rarely do you have people that go against their upbringing to adopt a different faith than the one that is accepted in their community and by their friends and relatives. Its rare. More likely you stick with the religion that you are born with or you move to a religion in the same overall faith but in a different sect or denomination. If you find God to be a benevolent being then you are drawn to an inclusionary religious message. One that acknowledges that an accident of birth should not be sufficient to damn a good person to hell. The odds of being born in the exact place and time of the one true perfect religious faith is zero when you consider all variables of time and space. Nobody worships Zeus anymore, yet at one time that too was an accepted religious practice. The various forms of Protestantism are offshoots of the Catholic Church, which is an offshoot of the Jewish faith. There is even some historical evidence that suggests that Judaism originated from older Mesopotamian polytheistic religions. No one religion has existed in its present form since the dawn of the human race. Even the most ancient of religions have their origins within a measurable timeframe. Even if you believe the creation story of the Bible and that the beginnings of Judaism started at creation then you must acknowledge that there is a good possibility, unless you are from that region of the world, that a good number of your ancestors were heathens, followers of false religious faiths. What you lose by adopting a religion of inclusion is that ego-driven need to be special but what you gain is a more compassionate (and realistic, if you ask me) view of the world, and of God. My main beef with any exclusionary religion is that it doesn't take much common sense, or an atlas to prove they are wrong in their claims of being the one and only way to heaven. So why should you take anything else they say seriously? I accept that people seem to need religion, or at least a spiritual connection to the world they live in. But when that religion leads them to wall themselves off from the rest of society in some vain belief that they are the anointed ones, then we get problems. I like what Carlton Pearson is trying to do, but that doesn't mean I'll be attending Higher Dimensions any time soon. I'll watch from a distance thank you. | |
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