SYRIA, POISON GAS, MISSILE STRIKES AND PEACE?
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 19 2013It has been both an emotional and a political roller-coaster. The television newscasters and the print media informed us that a political debate was underway as to whether or …
Part II: The Gospel of Matthew. Exploring the Shadow of Moses in Matthew’s Portrait of Jesus
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 12 2013I return to Matthew’s gospel today to lay out the case for its basic Jewishness. As I suggested in the opening column in this series last week, we must …
Introducing the Gospel of Matthew. Part I: The Gospels are Jewish Books
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 5 2013The Bible is the Christian Church’s sacred text. We read from it at every worship service in almost every Christian tradition. It is apparently a rather popular volume for …
On the Importance of Being Ordinary
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 29 2013Over 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 …
The Need for the Christian to Journey Beyond Scripture, Creed and Church
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 22 2013Theology is a rational, deeply human, attempt to explain our experience with God. Theology is, therefore, never primary; it is always secondary to experience. Theological explanations can thus never …
On Building a Christianity without Security or Creeds
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 15 2013One of my readers, Henry Gael Michaels, has shared with me an anonymous story on the meaning of God with which I open this column. It also reveals, I …
On Parting – Never to Meet Again – An Experience of Timelessness
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 12 2013There are some moments in life when the transcendent is expressed inside the mundane; where the eternal seems to enter the passage of time. They are moments, usually unexpected, …
The Chalice Abbey: A Unique Ministry in Amarillo, Texas
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 1 2013The largest city in the Texas Panhandle is Amarillo, which has a population somewhere between 200,000 and 250,000 people. Amarillo had its beginning as a result of being a midpoint on …
On Teaching at Drew University’s Theological School
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 25 2013Drew University is my neighborhood institution of higher learning. It offers to Morris County, New Jersey, the enrichment that only a university can bring. There is a magnificent library …
Scandal in the Roman Catholic Church: The Charade Goes On!
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 18 2013The Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney, Australia, is the Most Reverend George Pell. He is a tall, impressive-looking man, whose career in his church has followed the traditional …
A Meditation on the State of America on its 237th Birthday
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 11 2013The United States celebrated its 237th birthday this past week. It seems, therefore, a fitting time for some moments of national reflection. In today’s column I seek to …
JUNE 26, 2013, A GREAT DAY FOR AMERICA
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 4 2013I was surprised at how elated I felt on June 26 when the Supreme Court handed down its two historic decisions affecting gay and lesbian people. The first decision mandated …
My Mentors, Part 5 – Richard Henry Baker
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 27 2013He may have had fewer obvious gifts than any person I ever watched in a position of significant power and authority. He was not an impressive personality. One would …
The Birth of Jesus, Conclusions: Part XVI
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 20 2013Luke concludes his birth story with a series of episodes designed to point to the story of the adult Jesus. First, in Luke’s story, the shepherds depart, while …
The Birth of Jesus, Part XV. The Journey to Bethlehem
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 13 2013The creators of the birth narratives, Matthew and Luke, used two motifs in interpreting the life of Jesus of Nazareth. First, each was historically aware that Jesus hailed from …
Part II Introducing The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 6 2013When writing the opening chapter of my soon-to-be released book, The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic, I felt the need to issue a warning to …
Part I: The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 30 2013The publication date is June 11, 2013. The books will actually be shipped to bookstores across the nation in the last week of May. The rights to publish this in Italian …
Lectureship that Challenges What is, in the Name of What Can Be
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 23 2013The Third Annual John Shelby Spong Lecture was held at St. Peter’s Church, Morristown, New Jersey, near the end of April. A crowd of people, numbering around 400, according …
Birth of Jesus, Part XIV. The Old Testament Antecedents in Luke’s Story of Jesus’ Birth
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 16 2013In order to understand the birth narratives found in Matthew and Luke, we need to embrace the fact that there is no way these stories were intended to be …
The Birth of Jesus, Part XIII. Introducing the Lucan Story
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 9 2013Somewhere six to ten years after the Gospel of Matthew was written, another gospel, the one we call Luke, makes its appearance. Both Matthew and Luke had Mark as …
The Birth of Jesus, Part XII. Making Sense of the Wise Men
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 2 2013Having now described the miraculous birth of Jesus in chapter one of his gospel, Matthew turns next to his account of how the birth of Jesus was divinely “rolled …
Making Sense of Violence and Terror in Boston
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 25 2013On Monday, April 15, Patriot’s Day in Boston, Massachusetts, the bomb blasts that occurred near the finish line of the Boston Marathon brought death, mutilation and injury to more than 200 …
What the Gun Debate Reveals about the Republican Party and Political Leadership
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 18 2013+A message to my readers: After the deadline for the publication of this column the terrorist …
The Birth of Jesus, Part XI. Matthew Weaves Together Proof Texts from Isaiah, Micah, Hosea and from an Unknown Source
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 11 2013Christianity was born in the synagogue and the original followers of Jesus were primarily observant Jews. They gathered in the synagogue regularly on the Sabbath for worship. A major …
Re-Living Holy Week and Easter as Part of a Community of Faith
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 4 2013Holy Week, including Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday were especially meaningful to me this year. So was the celebration of Easter. In this column today I would …