Part XLV Matthew - Judas Iscariot Person or Myth? Part II

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on 26 March 2015 1 Comments
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Question

Years ago your book, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, changed the way I think about this man we call our Savior and Lord. I'm a 90 year old homemaker and I can no longer bear to watch the evening news. We are all children of God. Why isn't this present generation being told the gospel truth?

I listened to the Nicene Creed being broadcast in our Lutheran worship service last Sunday-centered on "People of the Second Century" and thought about how the world has changed since that creed was written! How can anyone say "we believe" when we don't even know our own beliefs? I couldn't help but wonder what you'd think of my own version of the Nicene Creed. It might go like this:

I believe in one almighty God, maker of heaven and earth and all that is seen and unseen.

I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who, for our salvation, was born of Mary and Joseph and was truly man, was crucified, died and rose to life and will come again and his kingdom shall have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son and who has spoken through God's person on earth since time began.

I believe in the international Israel of God and look for the resurrection of the living dead and an everlasting life to come. Amen.

As I wrote to you with regard to your essay “Two Popes Made Saints,” dare we hope that by placing Pope John XXIII together with Pope John Paul II in sainthood we can now bring unity to the Catholic world? Don’t you think a revision of the Nicene Creed might help? All people are colored - only the dead are white.

 

Answer

Dear Joanna,

First, let me congratulate you on entering the tenth decade of life. That is quite an achievement, for which you deserve some credit!

Second, I loved your letter, and the fact that you at the age of 90 are still wrestling with how you can state what you believe in a way that will make sense to people living in the 21st century, is a remarkable testimony to your youthful brain. Thank you for sharing with me your version of the creed. I was intrigued by two of your phrases: “I believe in the international Israel of God” was one. That language raises lots of political concerns, but if you mean by those words that everyone is part of God’s chosen people, then I agree with you completely. Your second phrase: “All people are colored, only the dead are white.” was also memorable. I guess living Caucasians are pink, if we wish to be literal, or tan if they have spent time at the beach recently. Once again your words drive or even sock us to a new awareness. Thank you for that.

Keep living with vitality and charm. The world needs voices like yours.

John Shelby Spong

 

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