Heretic

The story of Reverend Carlton Pearson, an evangelical pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His 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 was denounced by almost all his former supporters, and today his congregation is just a few hundred people. 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.

So went the introduction to the National Public Radio program "This American Life" on the program that aired last weekend. I happened to be driving and listening to NPR when the program came on and, needless to say, the introduction caught my ears. They devoted the entire one hour broadcast to the story of Carlton Pearson. It's a fascinating (and sad) tale.

You can listen to it online by going to http://www.thislife.org. The episode is entitled "Heretics".