The Boil Has Been Lanced. A New Consciousness Has Arrived

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 22 2012

The votes have been cast, counted and the results have been made known.  Radio and television stations are no longer relentlessly broadcasting anti-Obama and anti-Romney ads.  The emotions of …

You Are Profoundly Wrong! A Response to the Archbishop of Newark and Other Catholic Leaders

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 25 2012

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Newark, the Most Reverend John J. Myers, has recently issued “A Pastoral Teaching on the Definition, Purpose and Sanctity of Marriage.”  In this document, …

The Race is On: The Theological and Human Issues in the 2012 Election

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 13 2012

The nominating conventions for both parties are visible now only through the rearview window. The banners have been taken down, the balloons have fallen, the local bars are back …

A Salute to the United Church of Christ

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 26 2012

Sometimes, as one goes about the normal duties of one’s professional life, a pattern of activity slowly becomes visible until one wonders why this had not been seen before.  …

The Penn State Tragedy Highlights the Catholic Church’s Failure

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 19 2012

At first the details sounded painfully familiar.  It was, the defendants said, a matter of misplaced loyalties, of valuing the reputation of the institution above all other considerations.  This …

My Way into an Interfaith Future

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 28 2012

Last week I introduced you, my readers, to an interfaith “think tank” in which I shared recently at a conference center known as the Chautauqua Institution in Western New …

Is an Interfaith Future a Possibility in Our World?

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 21 2012

Recently I was part of an intensive two-day “think tank” experience on “The Future of Interfaith Cooperation,” which asked the question as to whether the religious violence that marks …

Conflicting Emotion: Pride in the President, Shame at the Response of Many Church Leaders

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 17 2012

When the President of the United States, announced his support for gay marriage, the political landscape began to roil and I was filled with two quite opposite sets of …

The Vatican vs. the Nuns

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 3 2012

Perhaps it takes a political campaign to reveal the fault lines in both our nation and in institutional religion.  At least that is what appears to be happening in …

The Retirement of Rowan Williams – The Archbishop of Canterbury

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 19 2012

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend and Right Honorable Dr. Rowan Williams, has recently announced his plans to retire at year’s end. This announcement was greeted with …