UMC pastor, Democratic nominee for Senate says atheists, non-Christians ‘going to be in Heaven’ in 2022 sermon

A Kansas pastor and Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate told his church in a newly resurfaced sermon that he believes people from all religions will inherit eternal life apart from the saving work of Jesus Christ.

The Rev. Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of the multi-campus United Methodist Church (UMC) of the Resurrection in Leawood, won the Kansas Democratic Party nomination for the Senate on Aug. 4 amid a crowded field of 11 Democratic candidates.  

Hamilton, 62, will challenge Republican incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall in November.

In a 2022 clip titled “Who goes to Heaven? Who goes to Hell?” Hamilton asked his congregation, “Does everybody else who doesn’t see through your same lens as clearly as you do, is everyone else going to burn forever in Hell because they don’t?”

He cited 1 Timothy 2:3–6, noting God’s desire that all people be saved, and explained that Jesus “has already paid whatever price needs to be paid for the sins of the world.” Hamilton continued, “Many of us believe that God can give the saving work of Jesus, God can take that payment Jesus has made and apply it to anyone he chooses based upon what he sees of their own hearts.”

Hamilton then compared this to the salvation of young children or those unable to comprehend the faith, and asked whether God is able to apply this same grace to those who haven’t believed in Jesus.

“Is it not possible that there are people who love God with all their heart and love their neighbors as they love themselves, just like Jesus said with the great commandments, and God sees that and realizes that they were yearning for him even if they didn’t know it?” he said. “And so the saving grace of God through Jesus is applied to them.”

Hamilton said he believes “there’s going to be a whole lot of people you’d be surprised are going to be in Heaven because of the grace of God. And when it comes to other faiths, I believe as a Christian that they are going to, when they get to Heaven, they’re going to see Jesus and they’re going to say, ‘Oh, it was you all along that I was searching for.’ But I don’t fear that those folks will spend eternity in Hell.”

He further characterized his position as the official stance of the Catholic Church and the view held by some mainline Protestant theologians. Hamilton also said Christians are still called to love neighbors of every faith as “God’s offspring” and “siblings” of every Christian.

“Here’s one thing I’m certain of: Jesus calls us to love our neighbors and even our enemies. We’re to practice love that includes our neighbors who are Muslim, our neighbors who are Jewish, our neighbors who are Hindu, our neighbors who are Buddhist, or atheists, or agnostic,” said Hamilton. “There’s just no question that we’re called to love, and we’re called to see them as God’s offspring.”

“They are our siblings, even if we don’t share the same faith,” he added.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was among the critics of the newly resurfaced Hamilton sermon, taking to his X account to label it “heretical.” Cruz’s post also referenced Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico of Texas, who has separately faced criticism over past comments on gender, Jesus and God.

“Why do Democrats keep nominating ‘preachers’ who reject the central tenets of Christianity?” he tweeted. 

“This heretical ‘sermon’ directly contradicts the Bible,” he added, quoting John 14:6, which reads “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'” That verse had been read earlier in the same worship service ahead of Hamilton’s sermon. 

A graduate of Oral Roberts University in 1985, Hamilton holds a Master of Divinity from Southern Methodist University. He’s married to LaVon Hamilton and has two children and a grandchild, and is the author of more than 30 books. 

A theological liberal who long advocated for the UMC to change its long-held opposition to same-sex marriage, he served during former President Barack Obama’s second term on a faith-based advisory council and delivered the sermon at Obama’s second inaugural prayer service.