If you grew up going to church, then you’ll remember being taught that if you’re good and believe in God, you’ll go to heaven, and if you don’t, you’ll find yourself in Hell. According to this now-retired priest, however, that is not the case. Bishop John Shelby Spong says that Hell was invented by the church to control people and doesn’t actually exist at all. (1)
Retired Priest Says Hell Was Invented By The Church
The concept of Hell and who goes there varies slightly from church to church, denomination to denomination, and religion to religion. In general, however, they are all somewhat the same: Be good, go to heaven, be bad, go to hell. Former priest Bishop John Shelby Spong says that this idea of hell is man-made and doesn’t exist at all. According to him, religious leaders came up with the idea of hell and how you get there in order to scare people into obedience. (2)
“Religion is always in the control business and that’s something people don’t really understand, it’s a guilt-producing control business,” he said in an interview. “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.” (1)
The 89-year-old bishop retired in the year 2000 but still gets invited to give talks around the country. He also has written several books about many of his “controversial” ideas and interpretations of the Christian faith. (3)
Controversial Teachings
Spong worked as a priest in North Carolina for twenty years and a bishop in Virginia for another 24. Throughout his career, he fought for and pushed forward the rights of women, gay, and lesbian people in the church. He ordained gay clergy, blessed same-sex marriages, and promoted women in leadership and bishop positions. (3)
“I was simply interpreting a rising consciousness,” he said. “Whether it was race or women or homosexual people, the issue was always the same: fighting against anything that dehumanizes a child of God on the basis of an external characteristic.” (3)
He also says that the bible, unlike what many devout Christians believe, is not a literal retelling of Jesus’ life. Rather, he says the majority of the New Testament was written 40 to 70 years after the crucifixion by people who weren’t actually there and don’t even speak the same language that Jesus spoke. These beliefs get him in a lot of trouble with other priests, pastors, and firm believers. (3)
“A lot of people hear me attacking their certainty. I don’t have any interest in doing that. I’m interested in penetrating the meaning of certainty. We have to get beyond the symbols. And John’s Gospel does that for me.” (3)
Hell Was Invented: The Church Is About Control
The christian faith hinges on this idea that when you accept Christ into your heart as your savior, you are “born again”. Spong rejects this idea again because of the church’s desire to control its people. He says that being born again promotes this idea that you are once again a child and must be taught how to live properly. (1)
“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,” he explained. “People don’t need to be born again they need to grow up. They need to accept their responsibility for themselves and the world.” (2)
He believes that people should be encouraged to continue to grow as good, kind, and moral people. Accept past mistakes, learn from them, and become better.
The Only Way To Get To Heaven Is To Follow Jesus
Spong doesn’t believe that in order to avoid hell, you must follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. This is because he says that all religions were invented by people – they’re all just interpretations. On top of this, every religion or denomination says that their way is the “right way”, and that the rest are wrong. He says this just simply isn’t true. (1)
“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,” he explained. “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.” (1)
Spong doesn’t disclaim any one religion and instead likes to look at faith through various religions’ lenses. His faith personally, he says, points toward God rather than attempting to define the deity, as most religions have tried to do. His ideas have certainly sparked a lot of backlash over the years, however, he has been instrumental in pushing forward the rights of LGBTQ+ and women in faith. (1, 3)
Keep Reading: This Man Claims He’s The Reincarnation Of Jesus, And He Actually Has Over 5,000 Followers
Sources
- “Retired Priest Says Hell Was Invented By The Church To Control People.” Unilad. Saman Javed. March 30, 2021.
- “Retired Priest Says Church Just Invented Hell to Control People.”Elite Readers. Mark Andrew. April 5, 2021.
- “An aging maverick, Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong has no regrets.” NCR Online. David Gibson. October 12, 2013.