Facing 2007 with Grave Apprehension
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 27 2006The year 2006 began with an unresolved war in Iraq. It ended with that war
not just unresolved, but obviously deteriorating into the unmanageable chaos
of civil war and tribal …
Watching Christmas being Celebrated in Europe
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 20 2006This year I watched Christmas dawn in Europe. It provided me
with new insights into this holy day and an understanding of the state of
Christianity on the …
Fred Kaan: Hymn Writer Par Excellence
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 13 2006If I were to mention the name of Frederik Herman Kaan, I doubt
if the faces of more than one or two of my readers would reveal even a
…
Miracles VI: Bartimaeus and the Healing of the Man Born Blind
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 6 2006In this continuing examination of the miracle stories found in
the gospels, I turn this week to the second “sight to the blind” narrative
in Mark (10: 46-52), the …
Miracles V: Did a Blind Man From Bethsaida Really Receive His Sight?
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 29 2006In the fourth installment of my fall series on the miracles of the New Testament, I suggested that the healing miracles attributed to Jesus in the gospels might have …
Debating a Fundamentalist in Orlando
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 22 2006Marcus Borg did it. John Dominic Crossan did it. The clear
implication of the person issuing this invitation was that I should do it
too. He wanted me to …
Miracles IV – Interpreting the Healing Miracles
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 15 2006I voted on Tuesday, November 7, and then, political enthusiast
that I am, I listened to the election results that night until it was clear
that the Democrats had won …
Miracles IV – Interpreting the Healing Miracles
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 8 2006When we begin to dissect the miracle stories of the gospels, it
is easy to notice some fascinating connections. The nature miracles, for
example, are clearly the retelling or …
Three Cheers for the New Jersey Supreme Court
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 1 2006The Supreme Court of my beloved state of New Jersey, in its
historic decision handed down on October 25, 2006, has defined the battle
over gay marriage for the entire nation. …
Sexual Hypocrisy in Church and State
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 25 2006It has long been observed in religious circles that the most
outspoken critics of homosexuality frequently turn out to be themselves
closeted homosexual people. Now we discover that among …
Dallas, Texas: A New Vision
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 18 2006Dallas, Texas, has never been one of my favorite cities. Its
image was firmly set for me during the course of a single month in 1963,
when two events occurred …
Questions and Answers
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 11 2006To My Readers:
The correspondence that this column engenders is both
appreciated and amazing. I feel the need to make sure that my readers know
that all of …
The Study of New Testament Miracles, Part III
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 4 2006In the opening column in this series on miracles in the Bible, I
noted two things. First, the accounts of miracles in the Bible are
generally limited to three …
Small Leaders in A New Dark Age
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 27 2006At the end of the first of the two debates that most recently
captured the attention of world opinion, a compromise was reached, but many
people voiced their belief …
Why Did They Do It? Crosswalk America Revisited
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 20 2006In early September, I looked out from the pulpit of the historic
Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., preparing to address a
group of foot-weary people who …
Crosswalk America Arrives in Washington, DC
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 13 2006It began on April 16, 2006, following a sunrise
service in Phoenix, Arizona. It ended on September 3, 2006, at a
celebration in the Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington,
DC. Between those …
Miracles in the Bible, Part II
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 6 2006There is a great desire among religious people for
quick answers to complex issues. “What is the meaning of prayer?
What do you believe about life after death? Do …
Did Jesus Really Perform Miracles?
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 30 2006For many people the title of this column represents a
silly question. The pages of the gospels are filled with stories
of supernatural happenings associated with Jesus. Most people,
…
Understanding Religious Anger
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 22 2006One of the things that always surprises me is the level of anger,
often expressed in acts of overt rudeness, which seems to mark
religious people. It appears so …
Questions and Answers
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 16 2006A note to my readers:
Dear Friends:
Your letters come in such numbers that if I responded to each one
I would need a …
The Ambivalent Church
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 9 2006There is something fundamentally flawed about
institutional Christianity today. I see it in two distinct
places. It was clearly present when I listened to ecclesiastical
figures talk about the …
Cowboy Diplomacy in a Frightening World
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 2 2006In one of its regular features The NewsHour with Jim
Lehrer on PBS recently showed the pictures of 16 more American
military personnel who had recently lost their lives in …
Emily Jane Failla: A Special Life
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 26 2006The community of St. Peter’s Church in Morristown,
New Jersey, where my wife and I worship, gathered this week to
celebrate the life of Emily Jane Failla and to …
Free to Believe: A Voice from the United Reformed Church of England
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 19 2006Recently, while on a lecture tour of England, I was the keynote
speaker at a national conference of the United Reformed Church of
England. This body, the result of …
On Dating the New Testament
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 12 2006A letter from one of my Internet readers, Max Rippeto, asked how
New Testament scholars went about the task of dating the books of
the New Testament. It was …