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Gonsalves Chides Churches Over Heaven & Hell Teaching

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has chided religious organisations over their teaching about hell and going to heaven.

Gonsalves spoke at the recent Caribbean Community (CARICOM) crime symposium in Trinidad and Tobago.

He highlighted the need for a multi-faceted approach to addressing crime, including the family, schools, and churches.

“If they stop frightening us to go to heaven because of hell,” the Vincentian leader said to laughter from the audience.

“Every time I go to church, they want me to go to heaven by frightening me not to go to hell. They have to begin to preach better to get my attention,” Gonsalves asserted.

“And if they can’t get my attention in that way how are they going to get young people’s attention?” He stated.

In addition, he highlighted the role of community groups in the anti-crime battle.

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23 COMMENTS

  1. I agree. Enough with the fear mongering. The people know the fear is not working on abusive priests who preach about hell and hell. Preach about the principles by which we can live good lives.

  2. When I was a child I used to get scared when the preacher mentioned going to hell and having to be in an unconsuming burning fire.

  3. Ralph… Inside the church is hell outside is heaven because when you go to church these days you are sitting your ass down only to hear a pastor talk foolishness and more so reading from a tablet or some tech device. And you are right on point. Let’s keep it positive there was a time a child would raise up by a community and things used to be better but now a baby is ready to curse you only matter of time before they start stabbing their own mother

  4. Gonzales, Stop your Ridicule on religion. I partly agree to the approach on the young ppl when teaching but in No way the preachers will stop preaching heaven n hell. They are both real!!
    Last days indeed, when many won’t wanna hear sound doctrines. This is Bible Doc so you better Repent before death.

  5. Thegible did not speak only about heaven and hell and I agree that it evokes fear. The Bible is an instrumental tool created to help teach us about principles,morals and the way to leave life in harmony with ourselves and others. Most churches now have doctrines based on what their church believes is best for their organizations and I must say not all of it has s of the Bible but rather of their organization. Will the church can not evoke fear they must emphasize and let us all know that god is real and it’s a fact

  6. The headline is sensational!
    Make no mistake both heaven and hell are real.

    However, I agree with Dr. Gonsalves. Some churches focus too much on the fear mongering and not enough on the good news of Jesus Christ and of love and forgiveness.

    God is real. He is calling us to love him and to love each other. We cannot go wrong with the love of God. Society would be so much better if the reality of God’s love and prayer is taught more.

  7. It does not matter because he’ll is still real and so is Heaven, it all boils down to individual choices. I am seated at the entrance of Heaven with my bullpistle to welcome every true believer. Job well done! 😇😂

  8. Interesting to see people are waking up to the nonsense they call religion….it is nothing but a man made system of control…and therefore fear is used to persuade you to conform… Hell is no more real than heaven as it’s all cooked up nonsense of an archaic civilization that was majority illiterate, ignorant, backward, superstitious and who claimed to walk and talk with god…today if a man claims he heard the voice of god, I bet you would say this man is mad… schizophrenic even… I once ask a Christian this…I recalled for him the story of god asking Abraham that if you love me, sacrifice your son Issac to me, so Abraham takes Issac to the mountain and bound him and was about to sacrifice his son to god …but god stopped Isaac and sent him a lamb instead…so I ask the Christian, since u love god so much, if you heard a voice right now saying so and so, this is your god speaking, prove that u love me, take your son and sacrifice him to me…I ask him , would you do it…? He back tracked and was confounded…I said to him, u would end up in prison and sanctioned as mentally ill….it was no different in an archaic civilization who were more ignorant due to lack of knowledge…today we have answers to many unanswered questions… the stats show that the west is becoming less religious because people are no longer being convinced by the irrationality of pie in the sky nonsense…I live free without fear….

  9. You people need to go back and start praying to the sun and the moon and leave the white man’s religion to the white man.

  10. A word to the wise and follish!! Why do most of us bother prepare for the hurricane season when we do not know with 100% certainty that a hurricane will come. Because there is A CHANCE that at least one hurricame will come during any season. It is the same for heaven or hell. We do not know with 100% certainty that either heaven or hell exist because neither of us who are living have experienced either after death. So like the hurricane season, I prefer to be prepared for either when I die, and I certainly, like most will choose to prepare for heaven and not for hell. Because after I die, I certainly do not want to be surprised or disappointed to know that either of them exist….. and trust me no one wants to experience hell. You have been warned, AGAIN!!!

  11. @ Ray Parker…

    Live in fear then…your analogy is ridiculous. Yet you have suspended your reason and logic …to believe that a man died and rose from the dead after 3 days and night being dead… including those who rose from the dead with him during his resurrection…( I wonder did these people die a second death?)… you suspended you reason and logic to believe a man was swallowed by a whale and survived in its stomach for 3 days and 3 nights…you suspended your reason and logic to believe there is some heaven and hell somewhere….well keep living in fear…

  12. I BELIEVE THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD – THE GOD ALMIGHTY – SO LET US BE CAREFUL
    Some may find it funny with some stories in the Bible; in todays world it is indeed found to be funny, laugh if you may but that was yesterday. Today our intelligence teaches us differently. Man has been screwing up for a very long time. In India it is said that they have many Gods; Some in Buddhism to achieve ‘Nirvana’ to think not of self and the things of this world, not too different from what the Lord Jesus did preach, if we today stop being too worldly, not to envy the things of the guy next door, not to steal to get it, not to murder to obtain the golden materials of this world, but rather to help the poor person down the road; it is the same Jesus preached. I’ve said it would be just as helpful for Preachers, Pastors and Priests to come down from the Pulpit most times to meet the people at Street corners, the Highways and Byways like Jesus did, preach the word, not all will agree, but preach the good word of ‘love’ not of the flesh, certainly not of hate but that of community, to share Bread one to another – the ‘Village Community’ – is the place of friendship, help and love. Regrettably see how the so called Christian Church have splintered into so many denominations, each wanting a piece of the Pie, named greed.
    The God I serve is the God of one thing i.e. LOVE beside that there’s nothing else; you either believe or you don’t, its a free world for now, you’ll soon find out; we are living in the ‘END time’ and I don’t care whether you believe or not; I may not be here with you, but sooner or later all things will break loose.(Father in Jesus’s name I pray all will hear your Voice)

  13. @African Spirituality:- Stop preaching hate and racism; there’s too much of this in the World today. We have seen lately of the murder of white folks, some who have lived among us quietly for years.
    God is a Spirit – worship in Faith & Love – the other guy comes to “steal, kill & destroy”
    because we neither yet see or feel either, please make certain you meet the nice guy.
    He will not appear as a white, black, yellow or brown but indeed as a LIGHT – that light which once enlightened the world with His teaching. Do not regard what the Artist painted or the Sculptor created, they were payed handsomely to do what they were told to do. So I care to “Worship God in Spirit and in Truth.” In Spirit because He is a Spirit, in truth because He is the Truth. God is the God of the whole Universe, on only or Planets in our Galaxy, there are many Galaxies: Jesus said “In my Father’s house there are may mansions”. Do I understand by that, that one is suited for one of the mansions due to his liking here? read again the ‘ Ten commandments ‘ the greatest of these – is LOVE….God is Love.

  14. Can we switch Prime Ministers with St.Vincent? This man is talking too much sense lately to be a politician. Religion is a form of escapism and not taking accountability. Things going bad, it’s not the parents, lack of education or opportunities not it’s the devil that doing that. Let’s pray to white Jesus, he has ignored black people for 200 years but just one more Prayer and he will finally come through for us.we have to help ourselves white Jesus is not coming to the rescue. Live for today not for the afterlife.

  15. Gosh, when I thought I was through with one, up comes another. Who ever thought that that God was white or He was the God of the white man?( there is only one God, the God of the Whole Universe, of all the Galaxies and all the Planets in the Galaxies) he is not the God of one Race – He said “let’s make man” he is the Creator, He created oll things and nothing was created except my Him. The tempter has done a good job in putting into the minds of some to confuse them; that is where the too many fake denominations have failed, not understanding, refusing to understand and the evil one is laughing his axx out.
    You will never understand the dirty looks I got from some during a Funeral service I attended, because they knew that I had left, rather to attend at a different Church. What’s wrong with the understanding that “God is everywhere” He is the God of everyone, whether you accept Him or not. You and I; all have sin and come short of the glory of God, but thank be to Jesus who died on the Cross of Calvary, shedding His Blood – THAT BLOOD, THAT BLOOD, THAT BLOOD, when appropriated, when you ask that your sins be cleansed, by faith in that BLOOD during repentance, Your prayer is heard – black, white, yellow, gray or chabbin God hears all prayers, to the murderers, robbers of income and wages, Sodomites etc to them is a frightening rebuke. Let me just say: God the father of His sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ, is our father, the father of all mankind all nation, colour or creed. In you are in sin, pray and repent asking for forgiveness,when you stumble and fall like I did, pick yours self up and brush up and try to sin no more, it will be tough but go on. GOD LOVES YOU.

  16. @#The Fox

    What a load of codswallop you spew…to be honest nothing your say there makes any sense as you just repeat what you have been taught by rote….come with something original that makes sense rather than rehashing the same old tripe from the pulpit…it is beginning to appear that the religious suffer from some mental abnormality which enables them to suspend all powers of reason and logic…In any case, if you feel comforted by your devotion to some sky god, by all means carry on…I have debated many a so called Christians and Muslims and people of other faith’s and I find one common factor, they all move the goal post when I ask hard questions of their faiths…none of the mumbo.jumbo frightens me…but you can keep living in fear …I live free.

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