It doesn't take more than the first 2 minutes to get the idea. This guy thinks Billy Graham is going to hell. He thinks Graham is going to hell because Graham thinks some certain people might NOT go to hell. Now, as far as I know, the preacher in the video above is a "nobody." I mean, I'm sure God loves him and "all [people] created equal and endowed by their creator..." and all that, but you know what I mean. Graham, on the other hand, is the most prominent evangelist of the 20th century (in case you didn't know).
So, there it is from the man himself. In 1978, in a McCall's magazine interview, Graham (or the organization, for Graham) said, "I used to think that pagans in far-off countries were lost--were going to hell--if they did not have the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached to them. I no longer believe that... I believe there are other ways of recognizing the existence of God... and plenty of other opportunities, therefore, of saying yes to God."
C.S. Lewis has been criticized for similar views (this link has some other interesting links). At the end of The Last Battle, Lewis wrote the following famous exchange between a follower of the Anti-Aslan, Satan-figure Tash, and Aslan himself, narrated by the man:
"Then I fell at his feet and thought, Surely this is the hour of death, for the Lion (who is worthy of all honour) will know that I have served Tash all my days and not him. Nevertheless, it is better to see the Lion and die than to be Tisroc of the world and live and not to have seen him. But the Glorious One bent down his golden head and touched my forehead with his tongue and said, Son, thou art welcome. But I said, Alas, Lord, I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash. He answered, Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me. Then by reasons of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted. Dost thou understand, Child? I said, Lord, thou knowest how much I understand. But I said also (for the truth constrained me), Yet I have been seeking Tash all my days. Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou shouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek."
So, the most popular Christian apologist of the 20th century was also an "inclusivist." Of course, neither of these men were professionally trained "theologians" nor does their adherence to a belief turn that belief into the proper or even an acceptable Christian position. In The Great Divorce, Lewis even suggests that some Christian theologians might have a theology club in hell. I'm not very interested in discussing the eternal fate of either of these men, or anyone else necessarily, but Gandhi usually comes up in these conversations. So, in our class discussion on Friday, I took a vote. On Nov. 22, 2010, 38 out of 70 Christian college students (with their heads bowed and eyes closed) raised their hands in answer to the question, "Do you expect to see Gandhi in heaven?"
I see that hand...
For another interesting video on the subject, head over to my friend Scott's site.
C.S. Lewis has been criticized for similar views (this link has some other interesting links). At the end of The Last Battle, Lewis wrote the following famous exchange between a follower of the Anti-Aslan, Satan-figure Tash, and Aslan himself, narrated by the man:
"Then I fell at his feet and thought, Surely this is the hour of death, for the Lion (who is worthy of all honour) will know that I have served Tash all my days and not him. Nevertheless, it is better to see the Lion and die than to be Tisroc of the world and live and not to have seen him. But the Glorious One bent down his golden head and touched my forehead with his tongue and said, Son, thou art welcome. But I said, Alas, Lord, I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash. He answered, Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me. Then by reasons of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted. Dost thou understand, Child? I said, Lord, thou knowest how much I understand. But I said also (for the truth constrained me), Yet I have been seeking Tash all my days. Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou shouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek."
So, the most popular Christian apologist of the 20th century was also an "inclusivist." Of course, neither of these men were professionally trained "theologians" nor does their adherence to a belief turn that belief into the proper or even an acceptable Christian position. In The Great Divorce, Lewis even suggests that some Christian theologians might have a theology club in hell. I'm not very interested in discussing the eternal fate of either of these men, or anyone else necessarily, but Gandhi usually comes up in these conversations. So, in our class discussion on Friday, I took a vote. On Nov. 22, 2010, 38 out of 70 Christian college students (with their heads bowed and eyes closed) raised their hands in answer to the question, "Do you expect to see Gandhi in heaven?"
I see that hand...
For another interesting video on the subject, head over to my friend Scott's site.
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