Carrying My Understanding of Christianity to France

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 31 2014

In two lectures in Paris, France, this summer and through various other media, I sought to place into the religious conversation of that nation a new way of looking …

Introducing Jesus for the Non-Religious to France

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 24 2014

(The following is the speech delivered in Paris at the launching of the French Translation of Jesus for the Non-Religious.)

How can those of us living in …

On Launching a Book in Paris

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 17 2014

There is nothing quite like Paris in the springtime. The flowers of the season are in full bloom. The sidewalk cafes are filled with people drinking wine, sipping café …

Part XXV Matthew – Atonement Theology, Conclusion: Seeking New Possibilities

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 10 2014

Have you ever wondered why the work of Charles Darwin has been so threatening to traditional Christians and to institutional Christianity? In fundamentalist and Bible belt regions of the …

Part XXIV Matthew – Interpreting Atonement Theology, Part II

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 3 2014

“Atonement Theology” assumes that human life, though created in the image of God, is now both fallen and evil. It assumes that God is a being who can be “ …

Part XXII Matthew – Jesus through the Lens of Yom Kippur

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 19 2014

Matthew observes Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, with a flashback story in which John the Baptist, the quintessential Rosh Hashanah figure, although in prison, sends messengers to Jesus …

Jewish Symbols of the Lamb Applied to Jesus- Part III

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 8 2014

The Lamb Before Its Accusers

In addition to the Passover lamb and the lamb of Yom Kippur, there is a third lamb of God in the Jewish …

Jewish Symbols of the Lamb Applied to Jesus

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 24 2014

Part I: The Lamb of Passover

I want to interrupt our study of Matthew for a few weeks in order to turn our attention to the great …

Part XIX Matthew – Did Jesus Really Do Miracles?

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 17 2014

Most people, who are related at least tangentially to the Christian faith, assume that Jesus was a miracle worker. By this they mean that he possessed the ability to …

Part XVIII Matthew – Matthew’s Flashback to John the Baptist

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 3 2014

We suggested last week that Mark, the author of the first gospel to be written, introduced his story of Jesus with a narrative appropriate to the Jewish New Year …

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