If
Grace is True
By
Philip Gulley and James Mulholland
In
their new book If Grace is True, authors Philip Gulley and James
Mulholland, both conservatively trained pastors, veer off the beaten
path, and propose something new—that if grace is true, God
will save everyone.
Basing
this new doctrine on a particular life experience, the death of
a hapless woman who had lived a deprived and abusive life and who
was, just before her death, searching for God, Gulley and Mulholland
argue that God loves everyone and will, therefore, save everyone.
In
one place the author says: "Many people are suspicious of experiences
with God. You may be suspicious of mine. Some argue that such experiences
aren't trustworthy, that infallible Scripture is the only safe guide
in our search for truth." This reviewer can't argue with that
statement.
The
author goes on—“I freely admit that my belief is contrary
to certain Scriptures."
Most
importantly he says, "God will save everyone. I based my convictions
on my experiences with God. The obvious question is whether the
God I've experienced is also the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
of Jesus and of Christianity. Can a Christian believe God will save
everyone? Obviously if a Christian must believe the Bible is the
"infallible word of God," the answer is no. There are
too many verses about judgment, hell, and the eternal punishment
of the wicked to make such optimism reasonable."
He continues, "If you are unwilling to question the Bible,
neither my experiences nor my arguments will carry much weight."
Chapter
after chapter the author continues to promote his brand of “experience”
as the new “truth,” admitting that he has discarded
scripture as no longer relevant or trustworthy in light of his personal
revelation.
True
Christians will see this as another argument against scripture that
the authors can't reconcile with life. Though I would like to say
believers and nonbelievers alike will find comfort in a book on
grace, I don't believe they will find it here.
|
The
Book |
HarperCollins / San Francisco |
2004 |
Paperback |
0-06-251705-8 |
Inspirational/Non-fiction |
More
at Amazon.com |
Excerpt
|
NOTE:
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The
Reviewer |
Nancy Williams |
Reviewed
2005 |
NOTE:
Reviewer, Nancy Williams is the author of the inspirational
romances "Coming Home to Mercy Street," "In
the Company of Angels," "In The Shadow of the Cherubim."
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