What are your thoughts on Bishop John Shelby Spong, his books, and his theology?

Question

He is an extremely contraversial Episcopal Bishop who has written many books espousing a very liberal theology.

Here's a quote from one of his books called A New Christianity for a New World: Why Traditional Faith Is Dying and How a New Faith Is Being Born:

Martin Luther ignited the Reformation of the 16th century by nailing to the door of the church in Wittenberg in 1517 the 95 Theses that he wished to debate. I will publish this challenge to Christianity in The Voice. I will post my theses on the Internet and send copies with invitations to debate them to the recognized Christian leaders of the world. My theses are far smaller in number than were those of Martin Luther, but they are far more threatening theologically. The issues to which I now call the Christians of the world to debate are these:

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.

6. The view of the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world is a barbarian idea based on primitive concepts of God and must be dismissed.

7. Resurrection is an action of God. Jesus was raised into the meaning of God. It therefore cannot be a physical resuscitation occurring inside human history.

8. The story of the Ascension assumed a three-tiered universe and is therefore not capable of being translated into the concepts of a post-Copernican space age.

9. There is no external, objective, revealed standard writ in scripture or on tablets of stone that will govern our ethical behavior for all time.

10. Prayer cannot be a request made to a theistic deity to act in human history in a particular way.

11. The hope for life after death must be separated forever from the behavior control mentality of reward and punishment. The Church must abandon, therefore, its reliance on guilt as a motivator of behavior.

12. All human beings bear God's image and must be respected for what each person is. Therefore, no external description of one's being, whether based on race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, can properly be used as the basis for either rejection or discrimination.

I just bought a couple of his books. I have not read them yet so I cannot judge them, him, or his theology. But I am very curious.

Answer 1

I was saddened , but not surprised by the comments of the Archbishop of Canterbury regarding the Incarnation, and the Magi this past week. He is a heretic.

Spong, this man is an apostate. He is NO Christian. If the Anglican communion can not see it, they have their heads further up their backsides than I even imagined.

God help those who fall for the teachings of such a false prophet.

God help us all.

Mark.

Answer 2

Spong irritates me profoundly. He grew up a fundamentalist and in some ways is now just fundamentalistically liberal. Now, I am a liberal, and I agree with Spong on some things. For instance, Spong has been a tireless advocate for gays and lesbians in Anglicans. But I just don't think that it's kosher for a bishop, who is entrusted with safeguarding the Catholic Faith as it has been received by the Anglican Communion, to go around saying things like "the Resurrection didn't happen" or "Prayer doesn't work." Since the whole point of Christianity is the Resurrection, why doesn't he find a religion that's more congenial to him, rather than polluting the Church?

Answer 3

He is a heretic of the highest degree. Denial of the most cardinal doctrines of the Christian Faith by a "bishop" SHOULD be punishable by defrocking at the least or excommunication at the worst. But the Episcopal Church lost it's moral footing long ago and does not have the nads to do the right thing. His writings are an abomination and he makes me want to projectile-vomit whenever I see him.

Answer 4

That he is a retired bishop in good standing is not a good sign of health of the Christianiy of TEpiscopalC

He's not a profound thinker and is reacting to his Fundamentalist upbringing.

Ironically, the churches that reject the Christian theology and morality of Historic Christianity are the one that are shrinking the fastest

Answer 5

Spong is a bit out there, but I tend to agree with him. Free Will and pain/ suffering in the world -- they still make religious people uncomfortable. We don't want to blame God, we don't want to make it about good or bad luck... So, we needed a villain -- a specific scape-goat to house all our uncertainty/ anger/ pain/ fear/ and destructive nature. The idea of a devil of Satan fits that need pretty well.

Answer 6

I think most people will spend a great deal of effort to rationalize their adherence to even an entirely irrational idea if their income depends upon that idea.

Answer 7

Bishop Spong is a true breath of fresh air.

For further reading see below:

Answer 8

IMO, he is being led by something or someone other than God.

I wouldn't waste a dime on his trash.

Answer 9

boo