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.