Part VII Matthew: The Shady Ladies of Matthew’s Genealogy

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 14 2013

The audience for which Matthew wrote was conversant with the Jewish Scriptures, so when he mentions Tamar in the genealogy, they would know her story. The Torah (Genesis, Exodus, …

Part VI Matthew: The Genealogy (1:1-17)

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 7 2013

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” — that is how the gospel of Matthew begins. The word “ …

Part IV Matthew – The Sermon on the Mount

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 24 2013

Jesus never preached the Sermon on the Mount! Some of the content recorded in that well-known part of Matthew’s gospel may well stretch back to the literal words of …

On the Importance of Being Ordinary

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 29 2013

Over the past few years, while working on my recent book, The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic, I became fascinated with how the author of …

New Jersey Will Be the Third State in America to Legalize Gay Marriage

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 12 2009

It surprises me only that it was not first. New Jersey has a long history of supporting civil rights and equal rights of all its citizens, as well as …

Titles, Paradigm Shifts and New Consciousness

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 5 2009

Paul Tillich referred to it as “The Creativity of the Demonic.” It has long been my experience that conflict does not have to be destructive; it sometimes leads to …

The Politics of Greed: A Response to a Theological Vacuum

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 26 2009

There is much acrimony abroad today in the economic recession that has embraced our nation. The political landscape is filled with “victims” and “victimizers.” Some are overt, like Bernard …

The Rhetoric of the Stimulus Package

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 19 2009

It has been fascinating watching our legislators in Washington debating the stimulus bill and seeking to reform the way stimulus monies have been spent thus far. My conclusion is …

Eternal Life: Pious Dream or Realistic Hope?

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 29 2009

Do modern men and women, even those who still attend church, really believe in life after death? Or do they, as I suspect, only believe in believing in life …

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