A New Dark Age Begins
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 27 2005Several years ago, in a column about the harassment, removal and silencing of Roman Catholic scholars like Hans Kung, Leonardo Boff, Charles Curran and Edward Schillebeeckx by that …
Political Fundamentalism
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 20 2005I listen to the rhetoric. It makes rational sense at first glance but the argument is circular and the feelings are hostile. Yet it has a familiar ring. …
Phyllis’ Garden — Finding Meaning in the Ordinary
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 13 2005The threat of meaninglessness and the specter of eternal anonymity are two forces that, far more than most of us realize, drive human behavior. The vast majority of …
Lessons Learned Walking 192 Miles Across England
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 29 2005It had its ups and downs, its heights and its depths. My wife, her daughter (my stepdaughter) and I set out on May 21st to walk the Coast-to-Coast …
Debating with Evangelicals
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 22 2005Twice recently, I have had the opportunity to engage in public debate two people who identify themselves as evangelicals, the Rev. Dr. Albert Mohler, the President of the …
Guest Column from the Reverend Gretta Vosper
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 22 2005Dear Friends,
This week I take great pleasure in introducing you to one of the most exciting voices in 21st century Christianity. The Reverend Gretta Vosper is …
Can One Be Christian Without Being a Theist?
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 15 2005As one who lectures extensively across this nation and the world, I have been asked questions by my audiences that have ranged from the naive to the profound, …
Robert R. Merhige, Jr., Modern Hero
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 8 2005Earlier this year, The New York Times carried an obituary notice for Robert R. Merhige, Jr., a retired Federal District Judge in Richmond, Virginia. The story opened a …
Walking Coast to Coast in England
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 1 2005When my wife first proposed it, I was sure she was kidding. She wasn’t, so now some three years later, and I might add three years older, I …
NBC’s Dateline, Miracles and the Virgin
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 25 2005The setting was surreal. We were in St. John’s Lutheran Church in Helsinki, Finland. It was 2 p.m. Finnish time, (7 a.m. EST) on a Friday afternoon in …
Guest Column: Brokering the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 18 2005This week, I continue a feature that I trust my readers will enjoy. I will seek out and present four guest columnists during the course of each year, …
Seven Minutes With Bill O’Reilly
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 11 2005I began my Harper-Collins book tour to introduce The Sins of Scripture on Fox News’ with Bill O’Reilly. It was my seventh appearance on the program and, I …
Morality and the Social Security Debate
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 4 2005The Church is not the only place where Orwellian doubletalk occurs. The political scene is also rife with it. We name destructive missiles “peacekeepers.” We ‘preserve peace’ by …
Assessing the Pontificate of John Paul II
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 27 2005We have just witnessed a moving transition in the best-known, most powerful office in the Christian world. In many ways the final days before this transition were painful …
Whose Money Is It? A Meditation on April 15th
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 20 2005Dear Friends,
The College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church has made its decision in the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the See of Rome. …
An Author’s Postpartum
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 13 2005I have obviously never had a baby. However, as a pastor for almost fifty years I have walked with young mothers from the joy of conception to the …
The Anglican Communion’s Orwellian Odyssey
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 6 2005To my readers:
I want to express my condolences through this column, especially to my Roman Catholic friends, at the passing of their leader John Paul II. …
The Debate Rages: Do We Have a Right to Determine How We Die?
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 30 2005{To my readers: As the national debate continues over Terri Schiavo, I use this column to answer a question I received from a reader on this subject. Next …
A Time to Die?
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 23 2005(To my readers: Dear Friends, I have for some time been on the lookout for other progressive Christian voices that I can present to you through this …
The Connection between the Crucifixion and the Passover, Part VII
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 16 2005The plaintive cry of traditional believers when they actually begin to delve into the scriptures from a critical, academic perspective is, “What then is left?” This cry comes …
The Connection between the Crucifixion and the Passover, Part VI
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 9 2005Today, as a way to round out this series on the biblical accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, events which most scholars date around 30 CE, I …
The Connection between the Crucifixion and the Passover, Part V
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 2 2005Once the literal prison in which we have confined the Bible has been shattered then, far from being destroyed as traditional Christians seem to fear, our faith is …
The Connection between the Crucifixion and the Passover, Part IV
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 23 2005In this series of essays, I have tried to push our analysis of the Passover story that anchors the gospel accounts of Jesus, beyond that primitive literalism that …
The Influence of The Jewish Festival of Sukkoth on the Passion Narrative: Part III
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 16 2005Western Christians find it hard to understand that the gospel writers were not writing objective history. Yet nothing we know about the formation of the New Testament supports …
The Connection Between the Crucifixion and the Passover, Part II
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 9 2005Last week I began the analysis of the crucifixion of Jesus as it appears in all four gospels, examining in particular the claim that this founding moment in …