Carlton Pearson – Research Resources

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Contra
Bishop Pearson’s Gospel of Inclusion (Contra) by Bob Waldrep, Watchman Fellowship of Alabama.

Ultimately Pearson asks to just be left alone, stating, “The Church folk are having a fit [over the message I preach] and I say why don’t ya’ll just leave me alone? I’m not hurting nobody, I’m harmless.”19

The problem, as with all who offer a different gospel, is that it isn’t a harmless message. By denying the true gospel, it leads people from the truth; it becomes a barrier to their responding to the real gospel of Jesus. As such, it places them in great danger, as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in the passage quoted above. But Paul wrote that not only are those who respond to a false gospel in danger, but so is the one who presents such a gospel

Carlton Pearson, “The Gospel of Inclusion” by Gary A. Hand

Carlton Pearson wishes to see himself as the leader of a new theological approach, redefining God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation and sanctification. He looks to himself as the head of the movement and to others in order to provide a foundation for his beliefs, pointing toward those who call themselves “Universal Reconciliationists,” with similar views. He uses the trendy terminology, that is so overused in charismatic circles today, that is supposed to assign a high level of importance and intellectual credence to what is being stated, indicating that a “paradigm shift” in thinking identifies his theological system, hoping to convince other people that he is doing great and mighty things.

Paradigm shifts, no matter how they are defined by their proponents, must adhere to the teachings in the Scripture, otherwise, like Carlton Person’s “new” theology, they are simply the old heresies wrapped in another package.

Carlton Pearson and Universalism (contra) by Mike Oppenheimer

Pearson has recently come out with a book and statements that has endorsed universalism. Oral Roberts University took action and removed him from its board of directors due to his theological differences. According to “The Tulsa Beacon,” Pearson has been confronted over his teaching by televangelists John Hagee, Marilyn Hickey and his mentor, Oral Roberts. Roberts sent Pearson a 12-page response after he sent him details on the teaching. While I certainly do not agree with what these people mostly teach, what I do appreciate is even his own friends did not bend their views because of friendship and stood for Biblical truth on this matter. This is a rarity in these times.

Pro
What is Carlton Pearson’s “Doctrine of Inclusion?” (Pro) by Gary Amirault

I was asked by Carlton Pearson to write an editorial for the Tulsa Beacon, a Christian newspaper in Tulsa Oklahoma on behalf of himself as to what Carlton’s “Doctrine of Inclusion” consisted of. I assumed since he asked me to write it that he (Carlton) believed like I do, that is, the universalism expressed in the Scriptures by all of the prophets, Jesus Himself and His apostles. Here is what I first wrote.

Multimedia

Heretics “The story of Reverend Carlton Pearson, a renowned evangelical pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who cast aside the idea of hell, and with it, everything he’d worked for over his entire life.”. Public Radion, This American Life, WBEZ Chicago. Listen online.

Prologue. Carlton Pearson’s church, Higher Dimensions, was once one of the biggest in the city, drawing crowds of 5,000 people every Sunday. But several years ago, scandal engulfed the Reverend. He didn’t have an affair. He didn’t embezzle lots of money. His sin was something that to a lot of people is far worse … he stopped believing in hell. (2 minutes)

Act One. Rise. Reporter Russell Cobb takes us through the remarkable and meteoric rise of Carlton Pearson from a young man to a Pentecostal Bishop: from the moment he first cast the devil out of his seventeen-year-old girlfriend, to the days when he had a close, personal relationship with Oral Roberts and had appearances on TV and at the White House. Just as Reverend Pearson’s career peaked, with more than 5,000 members of his congregation coming every week, he started to think about hell, wondering if a loving God would really condemn most of the human race to burn and writhe in the fire of hell for eternity. (30 minutes)

Act Two. Fall. Once he starts preaching his own revelation, Carlton Pearson’s church falls apart. After all, when there’s no hell (as the logic goes), you don’t really need to believe in Jesus to be saved from it. What follows are the swift departures of his pastors, and an exodus from his congregation — which quickly dwindled to a few hundred people. Donations drop off too, but just as things start looking bleakest, new kinds of people, curious, start showing up on Sunday mornings. (23 minutes)
Song: “Let the Church Roll On,” Mahalia Jackso

News and News Archive

Carlton Pearson news tracker

Web Sites

Higher Dimensions Former official web site of Carlton Pearson, who has been declared a heretic for preaching false doctrines. [Note: the link leads to an archived version of the website, at the Internet Archive’s WayBack Machine. Check any link before Aug. 29, 2006. After that, the archive shows the domain name was dropped, and subsequently purchased by an ‘Adults Only’ outfit.]
New Dimension “The Friendliest, Trendiest, Most Radically Inclusive Worship Experience!” Carlton Pearson’s new official web site.