| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Retired Priest: ‘Hell’ Was Invented by the Church to Control People with Fear
This video is of an interview retired Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong did with Keith Morrison of Dateline NBC back in August of 2006.
Spong: I don’t think Hell exists. I happen to believe in life after death, but I don’t think it’s got a thing to do with reward and punishment. Religion is always in the control business, and that’s something people don’t really understand. It’s in a guilt-producing control business. And if you have Heaven as a place where you’re rewarded for you goodness, and Hell is a place where you’re punished for your evil, then you sort of have control of the population. And so they create this fiery place which has quite literally scared the Hell out of a lot of people, throughout Christian history. And it’s part of a control tactic.
Morrison: But wait a minute. You’re saying that Hell, the idea of a place under the earth or somewhere you’re tormented for an eternity – is actually an invention of the church?
Spong: I think the church fired its furnaces hotter than anybody else. But I think there’s a sense in most religious life of reward and punishment in some form. The church doesn’t like for people to grow up, because you can’t control grown-ups. That’s why we talk about being born again. When you’re born again, you’re still a child. People don’t need to be born again. They need to grow up. They need to accept their responsibility for themselves and the world.
Morrison: What do you make of the theology which is pretty quite prominent these days in America, which is there is one guaranteed way not to go to hell; And that is to accept Jesus as your personal savior.
Spong: Yeah, I grew up in that tradition. Every church I know claims that ‘we are the true church’ – that they have some ultimate authority, ‘We have the infallible Pope,’ We have the Bible.’… The idea that the truth of God can be bound in any human system, by any human creed, by any human book, is almost beyond imagination for me.
I mean, God is not a Christian. God is not a Jew or a Muslim or a Hindi or Buddhist. All of those are human systems, which human beings have created to try to help us walk into the mystery of God. I honor my tradition. I walk through my tradition. But I don’t think my tradition defines God. It only points me to God.
JEFFREY DAUGHERTY (www.jeffreydaugherty.com) submitted this news item. See site for more.
Thank you for stating the truth. NOT 1 in a million would agree with you because it would remove the power they think they have to condemn. Of course it was created, it was adopted from pagan myth. The word “hell” is the grave, same as “sheol”. Yet, most seem to love threatening others with this nonsense, as if God was some sort of monster. The truth is, many follow a tyrant that appears to desire to destroy those who will not submit to his will…yet they will say he ‘loves you’ and then threaten you.
Also notice Jeff…how few views you have received? Truth such as this will not be received because it takes away the only thing most christians think they have over others…the threat of ‘eternal torment’ which is the most sadistic belief I think ever was, and most actually think it is true. Just ask other posters here such as Lyn and Lisa and for that matter, most posters here who still believe in this monster doctrine. Modern christianity has been infiltrated with drama queens for the sake of making millions off the sheep. Sick is it not?
I second the motion, God is not out to zap everybody who does something wrong, we all would be dead, he is a loving and patient God, he created us and hopes all will come to repentance but alot wont. when you die you are either on one side of the gulf in paradise or the other. the lake of fire or hell if you will doesn’t happen until the white throne judgement
search ” my word” for starters. JOHN 6:6-8. MERCY, as I have forgiven you! Eternal life! A REAL PRIEST CAN NOT RETIRE! EVER, UNTIL HE IS RESTORED OR RETIRED BY THE JUDGEMENT THAT COMES ON ALL FLESH. WHERES THE FEAR OF THE LORD?
Reverence for the Lord is NEVER birthed out of FEAR. Reverence is understanding his nature and character of love and mercy, NOT being scared he will torture you! Love NEVER fails right? yet people teach that Gods love will indeed fail when they teach the lie of eternal torment. Jesus is NOT fire insurance as some think and teach. Modern christianity has been hijacked, and hatred and a vengeful creature has taken the throne of God over as if that could ever happen, yet 99% of christians refuse to accept the “hell” doctrine is a lie, why? Because that would mean they MUST re-evaluate their entire belief system instead of loving our creator, they only want to reinforce their own lies they believe.
Basic reality is, the Almighty is not the one putting anyone in hell. It is the devil and his angels that confuse the world into choosing hell over Heaven all on their own. The devil must make hell look like a VERY torturous place so that our view of God is altered into a view that make Him appear unmerciful. But looking to the Bible we see this is not the case. Hell is not as the devil proclaims. It is not a place where the devil rules. It is not a place of eternal torture. It is a place of eternal death however. And death is ETERNAL SEPARATION from God and all that is salvation and happiness because God is life eternal. Notice the following verses… Remembering all the while, that this is not God’s will for you or me or anyone to burn in hell.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Isaiah 28:21, “For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.”
Lamentations 3:32-33, “But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.”
Jesus wants all to see salvation. It even says in His Word that the Father considers this hellfire a “strange act” that must be performed. It’s strange because it is out of character for Him to do such a thing. It also states that if He has to cause grief, He does so with compassion. The Almighty wants us all to be saved from what hell is. In fact, it is written in Ezekiel 18:32, “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” It is also written in John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
And Hell is the basic definition of DEATH. Regardless of the fact that the Scriptures state that those that go to Hell “shall not see life,” the world calls hell “eternal life” IN FIRE doesn’t it? Yet the Bible says that the “wages of sin is death” in Romans 6:23. So I ask, how can this be eternal life in fire, if it says death? How can this mean eternal life anywhere? Do you recall this from your studies over the years or perhaps days? It says in Genesis 3:4, “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:”
The devil has been saying for 6000 years that WE WON’T DIE just as he said to Eve. He repeats this lie because it works so well. After all, Eve fell for it as did Adam! This life in fire doctrine is no different than the serpant in the tree. Both are openly declaring the Lord a liar! 2 Peter 2:9 says “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: ”
http://www.remnantofgod.org/Hellfire.htm
http://www.thetruthabouthell.net/
http://www.what-happens-when-we-die.com/
No LOVE was invented to control other people and ourselves.
Feudalistic MAGGOTS quite obviously object to this.