WILLIAM CONWELL SPONG: November 2, 1933 – February 4, 2004
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 18 2004Brotherly love is a strange concept. It is so often marked by intense rivalry and little affection. One thinks of biblical brothers – Cain who killed Abel, Jacob …
John Titaly – An Indonesian Hero
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 11 2004From time to time, one has the privilege of meeting a person who seems larger than life. That moment came for me recently when I journeyed into Indonesia …
The Terrible Texts: The Attitude of the Bible Toward Women Part VI
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 4 2004“In Christ Jesus…there is neither male nor female (Gal. 3:26,28).”
The apostle Paul was a man of great ability, passion, and energy and yet …
Terrible Texts: The Attitude of the Bible Toward Women — Part V
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 28 2004The women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate as even the Law says. If there …
Terrible Texts: The Attitude of the Bible Toward Women — Part IV
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 21 2004Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not …
Terrible Texts: The Attitude of the Bible Toward Women — Part III
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 14 2004“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Gen. 2:7)
An Open Letter to Political Columnist George F. Will of the Washington Post
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 7 2004Dear George:
You have a huge platform through television, Newsweek and the Washington Post to be a major influence in shaping public opinion. I find myself …
The Terrible Texts: The Attitude of the Bible Toward Women – Part II
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 31 2003“If a woman conceives and bears a male child then she shall be unclean seven days; as of the time of her menstruation she shall be unclean. …
A Christmas Meditation
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 24 2003Katharine from Richmond, Virginia asks: What is it about this Jesus that you find so compelling? When I hear the Christmas story from the Bible …
Luke’s Christmas Story: It is Not How He Was Born, But Who He Was that Matters
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 17 2003The Gospel we call Luke came into the life of the Christian community in the late 9th or early 10th decade of the Common Era, or some sixty …
The Common Roots of Hanukkah and Christmas- Dec 2003
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 10 2003Religious people frequently assert that they have received their truth by divine revelation. It is a strange assertion, leading almost inevitably to the power claim that there is …
The Terrible Texts: The Attitude of the Bible Toward Women – Part I
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 3 2003“For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman but the woman for the man.” …
America viewed from a New Zealand Perspective
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 26 2003My wife and I have just completed a 33.5-mile hike over three days in this beautiful part of the world. We dressed appropriately with proper boots and wind-breaking …
Christianity in Australia 2003
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 19 2003Last week in my tribute to the city of Adelaide, I suggested that there was something sick and bizarre about the state of Christianity in Australia. That sickness …
Adelaide
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 12 2003The city of Adelaide is not well known outside the country of Australia. It is the provincial capital of the state of South Australia, in which is located …
The Miracle in Abingdon, U. K.
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 5 2003One of my favorite biblical characters is the disciple Andrew. I regard him as the patron saint of ordinary people, little people. It is his brother, Simon Peter, …
The Church and the Homosexuality Debate
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 29 2003It was Professor Sarah Coakley, an Anglican theologian at Harvard University, who described the church as being something like a swimming pool. “Most of the noise,” she said, ” …
The Church’s Irrational Debate over Homosexuality
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 22 2003As the issue of homosexuality takes center stage, some strangely irrational statements are emerging from the mouths of various religious leaders of the world. Sifting through the pious …
Alabama’s Roy Moore and the Ten Commandments – Part III
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 15 2003The battle between Judge Roy Moore and the Federal judiciary over the statue of the Ten Commandments in his Alabama Court House was not the first time Judge …
Alabama’s Roy Moore and the Ten Commandments – Part II
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 8 2003Chief Justice Roy Moore, Alabama’s latest embarrassing public official, has recently lifted the Ten Commandments into a new prominence. As insensitive as Bull Connors’ fire hoses trained on peaceful …
Alabama’s Roy Moore and the Ten Commandments – Part I
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 1 2003Chief Justice Roy Moore, Alabama’s latest embarrassing public official, has recently lifted the Ten Commandments into a new prominence. As insensitive as Bull Connors’ fire hoses trained on …
The Terrible Texts: Be Fruitful and Multiply and Subdue the Earth
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 24 2003When I was a young theological student, I was assigned the task of reading a book entitled “Ideas have Consequences.” I do not recall the author but the …
Terrible Texts: Be Fruitful and Multiply and Subdue the World – Part IV
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 17 2003Is there something about Western religion itself that predisposes its adherents to environmental disaster? Do such texts as “Be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth” arise out of something far deeper and more basic in our faith tradition?
The Terrible Texts: Be Fruitful and Multiply and Subdue the Earth – Part III
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 10 2003Subdue the earth! It is an enemy to be conquered not a home to be treasured! Life is an eternal battle for survival between the human creature and the …
The Terrible Texts: Be Fruitful and Multiply and Subdue the Earth – Part II
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 3 2003For most of Western history, our attention has been given primarily to the task of maintaining the growing human population. Only in relatively modern times, has our focus …