Citing religious textbooks like the Holy Bible, spiritualists strongly argue that the afterlife is real, and humans continue their life in the form of souls after death. According to these spiritualists, people who did good deeds in their physical life will reach heaven, while evil ones will rot in hell. And now, contradicting these popular beliefs, a retired bishop has claimed that the Medieval-era representations of the afterlife could not be accurate.
The church created hell and heaven to control the masses
John Shelby Spong, a retired bishop of the Episcopal Church in the US believes that hell and heaven were intentionally created by the Church to control the masses. In a recently unearthed interview from 2006, Spong claims that the concept of hell and heaven were created by the Church to control the masses.
"I don't think hell exists. I happen to believe in life after death, but I don't think it's got anything 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 the guilt-producing, control business and 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," said Spong, Express.co.uk reports.
It should be noted that Spong was the Bishop of Newark in New Jersey, between 1979 and 2000, and he is a staunch believer in reforming Christian dogma. He had several times pointed out the outdated practices and beliefs that still persist, and he strongly believes that reformation is needed.
Is there a life after death?
Even though medical experts consider death as the end of everything, spiritualists strongly believe that human life will reach a different realm after taking the last breath. A few days back, Dr. Bruce Greyson, professor emeritus in psychiatry at the University of Virginia had claimed that human life is not confined to the physical body.
"I am convinced now, after doing this for 40, 50 years, that there is more to life than just our physical bodies. I recognize that there is a non-physical part of us. Is that spiritual? I'm not sure. Spirituality usually involves a search for something greater than yourself, for meaning and purpose in the universe. Well, I certainly have that," said Greyson.
