The Final Days: Walking from Palm Sunday to Easter

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on 12 April 2006 0 Comments
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Question

I believe I have read all your books, and find your
philosophy and theology compatible with my own. In
fact, your books share "probable cause" for this, I
suspect. My question is this: Is there a Bible
concordance or reference work that you would term
"liberal" or "progressive"...one that comports favorably
with your current ideas about Christianity and its
necessary evolution?

Answer

I know of no such thing as a liberal or conservative
Bible concordance. Indeed I know of no such thing as
liberal or conservative biblical scholarship. There
is only a competent or an incompetent concordance and
only competent or incompetent biblical scholarship.
Competent insights can surely be used to buttress a
liberal or conservative perspective but the insight
itself can be neither. The test of the truth of any
new insight is whether or not it has the power to
develop and to engage a competent audience in debate.
The problem with all biblical reference material is
our need to determine and to identify the bias of the
author.

John Shelby Spong

 

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