Priest Claims Hell Was Made Up By The Church To Control People

Bishop John Shelby Spong, Who Was Outspoken In His Desire For A Critical Deconstruction Of Traditional Religious Beliefs, Said That While Life After Death Is A Core Part Of His Faith, It Has Nothing To Do With The Pearly Streets Of Heaven Or The Flames Of Hell Because They Don’t Exist.

“Religion Is Always In The Control Business And That’s Something People Don’t Really Understand, It’s A Guilt-Producing Control Business,”

“If You Have Heaven As A Place Where You’re Rewarded For Your Goodness And Hell As A Place Where You’re Punished For Your Evil, Then You Sort Of Have Control Of The Population,”

“So, They Create This Fiery Place Which Has Quite Literally Scared The Hell Out Of A Lot Of People.”

“Yes, I Think The Church Fired Its Furnace Hotter Than Anybody Else.”

“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.”

“Every Church Claims We Are The True Church And We Have Some Ultimate Authority... The Idea That The Truth Of God Can Be Bound In Any Human System, By Any Human Creed, By Any Human Book Is Beyond Imagination For Me,”

“God Is Not A Christian Or A Jew Or A Hindu Or A Buddhist. All Of Those Are Human Systems That Human Beings Have Created.”