John Shelby Spong, anything in what he says?

Question

I don't agree with a great deal of his ideas, but alas he does have a few good points. What do people think of him? He is the American liberal theologian who says the church in its current form is ridiculous, and if it keeps up what it preaches, they will disappear.

Answer 1

I am an avowed Atheist; one could almost say I'm a militant Atheist but John Shelby Spong is in a class of his own when it comes to being a Christian.
Most of the others are Fundies, fundies, Xians or xians.
John Spong and Desmond Tutu are about the only two Christians I'd listen to - maybe it's cos they have conned me into believing that they not only Talk the Talk but they also Walk the Walk.
Neither come over as pretentious, sanctimonious or judgmental wowsers.
They both come across as thoughtfully kind and gentle wise men.

On his website at: http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/jsspong/reform.html he has points up for discussion. The first five of twelve points follow:
1. Theism, as a way of defining God, is dead. So most theological God-talk is today meaningless. A new way to speak of God must be found.
2. Since God can no longer be conceived in theistic terms, it becomes nonsensical to seek to understand Jesus as the incarnation of the theistic deity. So the Christology of the ages is bankrupt.
3. The biblical story of the perfect and finished creation from which human beings fell into sin is pre-Darwinian mythology and post-Darwinian nonsense.
4. The virgin birth, understood as literal biology, makes Christ's divinity, as traditionally understood, impossible.
5. The miracle stories of the New Testament can no longer be interpreted in a post-Newtonian world as supernatural events performed by an incarnate deity.

This will piss-off the insecure cos they want the Goat Herders’ Guide to the Galaxy to be taken literally.
John Spong wants people to think – Fundies think that thinking is akin to blasphemy.

Answer 2

The problem I always had with John Spong was that his presentation of religion completely evaporated faith and the poetic spirit. Part of religion's magic is that it allows us to explore the heights of passion and imagination, but alas, not in the mind of John Shelby Spong.

Answer 3

I disagree with Spong on a number of theological points (he denies the resurrection of Christ), but I do agree with him that Christians must start treating marginalized members of society better. I also applaud him for getting out the word that all Christians aren't Fundamentalists.

Answer 4

According to Spong's standards, he should have disappeared long ago.

What a wacko!

Answer 5

HI