Joyce Pring Says All Non-Believers Are Going to Hell. What a Way to Speak for God's Love

Here we go again. We have another Christian conservative spouting some backhanded, backwards inflammatory declarations. This time, it's some influencer-celebrity type speaking for god and salvation. In Adulting With Joyce Pring, host Joyce Pring sat down with Wil Dasovich to unpack, of all things, Christianity. Of course, she just had to say that all non-believers go to hell.

On her Instagram, Pring said that she only gave the "honest" answer to an honest question. She invoked the Bible, specifically passages from John 14:6 and 1 Timothy 1:16. Dasovich played it cool and laughed it off because he's a good dude that way. Pring, on the other hand, doubled down even further.

“The gift is, we’re sinners and God is a Holy God. Let’s say, for example, we are in a courtroom and God is the judge, you’re the criminal. Would God be a good judge if he just said, ‘Okay, sige, ‘wag na. Like, you’re free. You killed someone’ and you’re like, ‘Okay, you’re free to go,'” she explained. “...But what Christianity says happens is, Jesus comes in and says, ‘Okay, Wil deserves to be in jail. But instead of Wil going to jail, I’ll be in jail. For his sake.’ That’s what Christ did on the cross."

What I can't believe is the fact that Christians still have these outdated and misguided concepts of faith. It's disappointing, but not at all surprising, to say the least. This is the Philippines, after all. In modern Christians' crusade of righteousness, they continuously prove how out of touch they are with the diversity of perspective and the relativism that have a right to exist in the real world.

It is cases like this that have led some people to dislike Christians. Some even go as far as saying that the religion has descended into a cult. In many ways, we may argue, with statements like these, it already has.

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>pThe main talking point that Pring, and a lot of other Christians who defend her, want to say is the idea of salvation through Jesus. Those who believe in Jesus get eternal life or whatever jewels that await them in heaven. Those who don't, well, they go to the boiler room, deep down. This seems to be the primary draw of this religion. Christians will brand themselves as champions of moral integrity in a world of sin. But this is moral ascendency, really. They use the moral integrity card to exploit people's fears and insecurities.>pMuch of the basis of this religion, or most other religions for that matter, is blind obedience. Hence, cases of brainwashing, it seems like. This, even if some teachings in the Bible are just plain bad. Christians tend to take the Bible as, well, gospel truth (see the word play?). But there are so many Bible verses they choose to ignore.>pIn 1 Timothy 2:12, for instance, its new revised standard version says: "Permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent." Meanwhile, Exodus 21:20-21 says that having slaves are okay. "When a slaveowner strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall be punished. But if the slave survives a day or two, there is no punishment; for the slave is the owner’s property," the new revised standard version says.>pSo slaves and women who talk over men go to hell now, too? These are just examples to illustrate why we shouldn't take everything we read in the Bible as the great truth of the universe. Because, quite frankly, the stuff there isn't. Some are hypocritical and others are just downright weird (like massacres, rapes, child sacrifices, and more).>pALSO READ:>pPlot Twist: Robin Padilla as an LGBTQIA+ Ally (for Now)>pOpinion: Agatha Uvero's Courage Extends Far Beyond Her Decision to Speak Up>pCircling back to Pring's "honest" answer, I see that a lot of people in the comments section, mostly Christians, were quick to support her on this. They say that this is the "cold truth" that most people don't want to hear. No, it's not. That's some high and mighty crap right there.>pThis school of thought reeks of 12th-century Anglo-Saxon-imperialist-colonizer vibes. Being an atheist doesn't mean one is immoral or impure. People are entitled to believe or not believe in a god. We all have varying concepts of the afterlife, as well. Each is welcome and valid. Christians need to move from a place of tolerance to acceptance. Being an atheist doesn't automatically mean that someone is bad. God, I'd like to think, would understand that.>pAs for the subject of goodness, these comments are not something a good Christian would say. Goodness is supposed to be universal. We should know a good deed when we see it, no matter if it comes from a believer or non-believer. If you're the kind of person who only does good for the promise of whatever is up in the sky, you're part of the problem. We must do good because it is the social contract that binds humanity together. Good deeds are the lifeblood of collective and personal empowerment, both in intentions and in actions. We don't need a god for this. We need each other.>pSalvation, as the Church's official stance, is for everybody. It does not discriminate. As long as good is done and the truth is said and evil is fought, people have a shot at it. For the record, even Pope Francis, in a letter written to the founder of La Repubblica newspaper, said that non-believers can go to heaven.>p

“You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don’t believe and who don’t seek the faith. I start by saying – and this is the fundamental thing – that God’s mercy has no limits if you go to Him with a sincere and contrite heart. The issue for those who do not believe in God is to obey their conscience... Sin, even for those who have no faith, exists when people disobey their conscience.”>p

There's also the case of Catholic atheism. This is a belief system that has followers who accept culture, traditions, and rituals of the faith, but choose to reject the existence of God. But that's another conversation. Although for Pring, and for her fellow Christian apologists, they're probably going to hell, too.>pAll this is not to say that being a Christian is a bad thing. It can be, after all, an instrument for actualization, much like other religions and practices. We should respect that, too. But it should never be used as a tool for terror or misplaced angst. That's propaganda. It should be used as a method for understanding, caring, and exemplifying the best of what humanity can be. No person of any religion should look down on their fellow man or their beliefs system. That's just not cool.>pIn a macro-sense, if Christianity hopes to find a way to survive in the modern world, its followers shouldn't say stuff like this. Conservatives often spew half-baked dogma and seek to divide. With a seemingly small "honest" issue such as this, Pring isn't converting anybody. This just shows why more people are turning away from Christianity and entering more spiritual realms.>pDid she say this because she actually believes this or is it simply for the clout? Who knows. It's a disservice to Christianity to say that. Pring is not practicing radical honesty here. She's just hella wrong. Nobody gets to gatekeep heaven, not even some annoying Christians.>p