Gay-accepting, Hell-denying Bishop Carlton Pearson dies at age 70

Carlton Pearson
Photo: YouTube screenshot

Bishop Carlton Pearson, an influential Oklahoma megachurch pastor who was declared a heretic for denying the existence of Hell and affirming gay rights, died last Sunday at the age of 70 from cancer. He is survived by his mother, son, daughter, and ex-wife.

Pearson began preaching at age 15, was ordained as a pastor at age 18, and attended Oral Roberts University where he was mentored by its eponymous religious leader. At age 27, he founded his own church, the Higher Dimensions Evangelistic Center, which became one of the largest churches in Tulsa, attracting 6,000 congregants a week.

He was ordained as a Pentecostal bishop in 1997 and campaigned for then-presidential candidate George W. Bush in 2000.

Despite his conservative Christian credentials, Pearson began to defy his denomination’s teachings in 1994 when he stopped believing in the existence of Hell. While watching television coverage of Muslim people severely harmed by the Rwandan genocide, he realized that God would…

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