Popular radio host Ira Glass is the producer of the faith-themed movie "Come Sunday," which launched on Netflix this April. Prior to doing the project, Glass had a different notion of evangelicals but that changed when he personally met Bishop Carlton Pearson.
Glass first met Pearson, the subject of "Come Sunday," for his "This American Life" radio series in the mid-2000s. A former pastor in one of Tulsa's biggest churches, Pearson controversially denounced the existence of Hell, which caused his peers and other faith leaders to brand him as a heretic. It also led to the foreclosure of the Higher Dimensions Evangelistic Center after his congregants abandoned his church.
In discussing the controversy with Pearson, Glass learned that some evangelicals "had much more complicated, interesting views of the world." He told The Christian Post that this sparked his interest in doing stories on these Christian personalities, particularly Pearson.
Glass, who considers himself an atheist despite his Jewish roots, said that he relates to the conflict that Pearson experienced when the pastor's closest friends questioned his notion of Hell. He also has Christian friends who talked to him about having a relationship with God while still remaining respectful towards what he believes.
"People are doing this out of love," Glass said. "They're essentially saying, 'I don't want to see you go to Hell,'" he added.
In 2013, Glass said in an interview that he wanted to feature Christian personalities and news stories in his radio programs because the Christians he had met in life, including the fundamentalists, were far from the "hot-headed, crazy people" portrayed in the media.
"The Christians in my life were, are, incredibly wonderful and thoughtful, " Glass said. "They had very ambiguous, complicated feelings in their beliefs, and seemed to be totally generous-hearted and totally open to a lot of different kinds of people in their lives."
Glass also clarified that "Come Sunday," which stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Pearson, isn't about changing people's beliefs in the Bible. Rather, it is the story of a man grappling with his faith.
Joshua Marston directed "Come Sunday" from a script written by Marcus Hinchey. The film also stars Martin Sheen, Danny Glover, Condola Rashad and Jason Segel. Aside from Glass, Julie Goldstein, Alissa Shipp and James D. Stern also produced the movie, which can now be streamed via Netflix.
