Here, we’ll examine why Bishop Carlton Pearson’s
understanding of hell as a metaphor rather than a literal place of eternal
punishment aligns closely with the teachings of Jesus and Paul, as well as with
early Christian beliefs about justice, restoration, and God’s love.
1. Jesus’ Use of Gehenna and Hyperbole
To understand why the traditional concept of hell may be
inconsistent with Jesus’ teachings, we need to consider his use of the term
“Gehenna.” In many English translations of the Bible, Gehenna is translated as
“hell,” but the term has a specific historical and cultural context. Gehenna
(or “Ge-Hinnom”) was a real place—a valley outside Jerusalem associated with
idolatry, child sacrifices, and, later, with a site for burning refuse. By
Jesus’ time, it symbolized a place of judgment and purification rather than a
literal realm of eternal torment.
When Jesus warned people about Gehenna, it’s likely he was
using hyperbole, a common rhetorical technique in first-century Jewish
teaching. Jesus often used vivid, exaggerated language to stress the
seriousness of moral choices, but his intent wasn’t to endorse a place of
everlasting punishment. For instance, when Jesus spoke about cutting off a hand
or plucking out an eye to avoid Gehenna (Matthew 5:29-30), he was clearly using
metaphorical language. This kind of hyperbole was meant to convey the urgency of
ethical living and the serious consequences of unloving behavior—not to
describe a literal place of eternal suffering.
Jesus often challenged the Pharisees and religious leaders
of his time, who emphasized doctrines of purification and punishment as
motivators for religious adherence. By referencing Gehenna, he could have been
critiquing the fear-based approach that emphasized outward behavior over inner
transformation. In this way, Jesus’ references to Gehenna align more closely
with a call for present-life transformation and a warning against the natural
consequences of unethical living, rather than a belief in post-mortem
punishment.
2. The Apostle Paul’s Silence on Hell
Perhaps even more striking than Jesus’ use of Gehenna is the
complete silence of the Apostle Paul on the topic of hell. Paul, who wrote much
of the New Testament and is considered one of the foundational voices of early
Christianity, never mentioned hell as a place of eternal torment. Instead,
Paul’s writings focused on themes like grace, reconciliation, and the
transformative power of the resurrection. His emphasis was on salvation as a
present experience of living in unity with Christ, rather than a fear-driven
avoidance of eternal punishment.
Paul often spoke about consequences for sin, but he framed
these in terms of “death” or “destruction”—language that suggests separation
from God rather than endless suffering. For example, in Romans 6:23, he writes,
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.” Here, Paul contrasts spiritual death with the promise of life,
focusing on the gift of life in Christ rather than the threat of eternal
punishment. Similarly, when Paul mentions “perishing” or “being cut off,” he
uses these terms in a way that suggests a loss or cessation, not a never-ending
hell.
Paul’s silence on hell supports Pearson’s view that the
traditional doctrine may be a later development in Christian history,
influenced more by medieval theology than by early Christian beliefs. The
absence of hell in Paul’s teachings indicates that, for him, the core of the
gospel was the hope of resurrection and the transformative power of God’s
grace, not fear of eternal punishment.
3. Reconciliation, Grace, and a Restorative View of
Justice
At the heart of Paul’s gospel is reconciliation—God’s act of
restoring humanity into right relationship with Him. Throughout his letters,
Paul emphasizes that God’s love is unconditional, an idea echoed in Jesus’
teachings. For both Jesus and Paul, God’s justice is restorative, focused on
healing and transformation, rather than retributive, aimed at punishing sin
forever.
The traditional concept of hell as a place of eternal
torment contradicts this understanding of God’s justice. If God’s justice is
truly restorative, then the ultimate purpose of judgment would be correction
and healing, not unending punishment. This aligns with Pearson’s belief that
God’s love is too vast and merciful to consign anyone to eternal suffering.
Pearson’s “Gospel of Inclusion” suggests that God’s grace is for all people,
and that God’s desire is for every person to be reconciled to Him—a concept
deeply rooted in Paul’s teachings on grace and the transformative power of
God’s love.
4. Early Christian Views and the Development of Hell
Doctrine
The doctrine of hell as eternal torment did not emerge until
centuries after Jesus and Paul. In the early church, many Christians held a
view called “universal reconciliation,” which suggested that all souls would
ultimately be reconciled to God. Early theologians like Origen believed that
even the most hardened sinners would undergo a period of purification before
eventually being restored. It was only in the medieval period, with theologians
like Augustine, that the notion of eternal, conscious torment became mainstream
in Western Christianity.
This historical context suggests that the doctrine of hell
as eternal punishment is not intrinsic to the gospel message but is a later
addition, influenced by cultural and philosophical factors. In this light,
Pearson’s rejection of hell aligns with an older and arguably more biblically
consistent tradition within Christianity—one that sees God’s justice as
fundamentally merciful and redemptive.
5. The Dangers of a Fear-Based Faith
One of Pearson’s primary criticisms of the traditional
doctrine of hell is that it promotes a fear-based approach to faith. When
people are motivated by fear of punishment, they may focus on external
behaviors while neglecting the transformative inner life that Jesus taught.
This fear-based approach can lead to a “performance” mentality, where faith
becomes about following rules to avoid punishment, rather than about growing in
love, compassion, and unity with God.
Jesus’ teachings emphasize love and relationship with God as
the foundation of faith, not fear of retribution. Paul also highlights that it
is “the kindness of God that leads to repentance” (Romans 2:4), suggesting that
genuine transformation arises from experiencing God’s grace, not from terror.
Pearson’s perspective resonates with this message, encouraging believers to
embrace a loving and merciful view of God that fosters inner transformation
rather than external conformity.
6. Hell as a Symbol for Natural Consequences and
Present-Life Transformation
When Jesus spoke of Gehenna, he was likely using it as a
symbol for the natural consequences of a life lived in opposition to God’s
ways. Just as physical fire consumes waste, the metaphor of fire may illustrate
the way selfish or harmful behaviors ultimately destroy or consume a person’s
life, relationships, and spiritual health. In this sense, “hell” can be
understood as the self-inflicted suffering and separation from God’s love that
people experience when they reject divine love and grace.
Bishop Carlton Pearson’s view aligns with this
interpretation, suggesting that hell represents the painful realities of life
disconnected from God, rather than a literal place of torment. In this view,
Jesus’ warnings about Gehenna were meant to provoke a change in this life,
urging people to turn away from harmful ways and embrace God’s love.
Conclusion: Why Carlton Pearson Was Right
Bishop Carlton Pearson’s message that God’s love excludes no
one and that hell is not a literal place of eternal torment is rooted in both
biblical teaching and early Christian tradition. The hyperbolic nature of
Jesus’ references to Gehenna, Paul’s complete silence on hell, and the
restorative view of God’s justice all support Pearson’s belief that the
traditional doctrine of hell does not align with the gospel’s core message of
love, reconciliation, and transformation.
Pearson’s “Gospel of Inclusion” echoes the foundational
Christian belief that God’s love and grace are truly for all people. Rather
than promoting fear of punishment, his message calls believers to a deeper
understanding of God’s character as endlessly merciful and compassionate. By
rejecting hell as eternal torment, Pearson invites Christians to rediscover the
good news of a loving God who desires to restore and heal, not condemn.
In embracing this perspective, Pearson aligns with a gospel
that celebrates God’s grace and calls us to live lives of love, compassion, and
transformation. He reminds us that God’s love is too vast to be limited by
human notions of retribution, pointing instead to a divine justice that seeks
the ultimate reconciliation and wholeness of all creation.
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