Hitler in Heaven

During the summer when the weather is good, we attend an outdoor worship service held by a Congregational church in a neighboring town. In her sermon last Sunday the pastor talked about her ordination exam five years ago. In preparation for the ordination council she invited some clergy friends to send her the most challenging questions that might be asked during the oral examination. One asked, “Is Gandhi in heaven?” He followed up with the question, “Is Hitler in Heaven?” Finally he asked a third one: “How about child abusers? How about a person who abused your child?” The questions were designed to test the limits of salvation, grace and justice. The scripture text for her message was John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” The pastor did a very good job addressing the questions, coming down strongly on the grace of God and coming close to universalism. Throughout the sermon I kept thinking about how I would preach that sermon and approach those questions. This episode is how I would answer those questions.