Teaching at Drew Theological Seminary in 2008
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 7 2008I have just completed teaching a course at the
Theological School of Drew University. The creative faculty at
this respected institution has developed special opportunities in
the month …
Heresy on the BBC
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 30 2008Recently I had the privilege of doing an
interview with BBC World Service from its studio in New York
City. The program was entitled “Free to Speak” and …
Governor Huckabee: A Second Generation Evangelical Politician
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 23 2008In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson managed to get through the Congress of the United States a national Voting Rights Act. It was not an easy task since Johnson had …
Reflections on our Final Days in South Africa
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 16 2008On our last few days in South Africa, we tasted the
land in several ways. With Professor Izak Spangenberg as our
guide, we went on a four day, …
Iowa’s Vote – National and International Scandals
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 9 2008In the Iowa caucuses last Thursday a mighty tide
of frustration was released in both of America’s political
parties. Establishment candidates, well financed, were overturned
by newcomers. Political …
South Africa’s “New Reformation Network”
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 2 2008It is a relatively new organization. They call it
“The New Reformation Network.” Its primary leaders are three
Afrikaans professors. Two of them, Dr. Izak Spangenberg,
Professor of …
My Return to South Africa
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 26 2007For years I have yearned to return to South Africa. I have not
been there since 1976 when apartheid was still fully enforced.
Nelson Mandela was in jail on …
Christpower
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 19 2007Dear Friends,
On December 24th, 1974 I delivered in my Church in Richmond, Virginia, a sermon, which sought to put the Christmas story into a modern context through …
Submission to the Church of England’s Listening Exercise on Human Sexuality
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 12 2007Dear Friends,
From time to time a report comes across my desk
that is so important that I want to share it with my readers.
That …
A Voice Within the Catholic Hierarchy Finally Speaks Out
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 5 2007“The Pope has too much power. The Pope is finally answerable
to the Church.”“The Catholic Church has a problem with credibility.”
“The Church’s teaching on …
An Anglican Priest and an Anglican Church in New Zealand: Sources of a New Hope
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 28 2007It was a very different kind of liturgy. The opening hymn
was by New Zealand hymn writer Shirley Murray, exhorting the
community of Christ to cry out for …
A Conversation on Death in New Zealand
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 21 2007“There were two ways that people seemed to relate to the
death of my wife. Those who perceive death as the opposite of
life tended to look at …
Lecturing in Central Otago, New Zealand
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 14 2007Most of my readers will not have heard of Central Otago. Otago
is the name of a Southern Province in New Zealand stretching
roughly from Dunedin on the …
The Five Fundamentals: A Conclusion
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 7 2007If the “Five Fundamentals” articulated by traditional
Christians in the early years of the 20th century represent the
essence of Christianity then the time has come to acknowledge
…
The Fifth Fundamental The Second Coming
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 31 2007The last of the Five Fundamentals claimed by American
Protestant Traditionalists as the irreducible essence of
Christianity has to do with the second coming of Jesus. To
modern …
The Fourth Fundamental: Miracles and the Resurrection, Part V
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 24 2007Something clearly happened to the band of Jesus’
disciples at some point following his crucifixion that was
profound, life changing and deeply real. We have no written
records …
The Fourth Fundamental:The Historicity and meaning of the Resurrection Experience, Part VI
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 24 2007Something clearly happened to the band of Jesus’
disciples at some point following his crucifixion that was
profound, life changing and deeply real. We have no written
records …
The Fourth Fundamental: Miracles and the Resurrection, Part V
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 10 2007Did Jesus literally and physically walk out of
his grave, restored to life, on the third day following his
crucifixion? Those who drafted the Five Fundamentals thought so
…
Unexpected Serendipities from Australia
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 3 2007My lecture tour of Australia apparently tapped
into a spiritual hunger that seems to be omni-present in that
land. Book store lecture events in Sydney, Melbourne, Malvern,
Frankston …
Pitt Street Uniting Church, Sydney, Australia The Face of Tomorrow’s Congregation
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 26 2007Some twenty years or so ago the leaders of Australia’s
Uniting Church, a body that came into being in 1979 as a merger
of Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists, with
samplings …
Common Dreams, Sydney, Australia, 2007
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 19 2007It was the best conference I have attended in my
entire career. Entitled “Common Dreams” and attracting 1500
plus people to Sydney, it was the brainchild of a committee of
…
If Christianity Cannot Change, It Will Die.
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 12 2007Author’s note: While in Australia, the Sydney Morning
Herald invited me to write an op-ed piece on the future of
Christianity. I found that a particularly interesting …
A Public Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Rowan Williams
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 5 2007Dear Rowan,
I am delighted that you have agreed to meet with the House
of Bishops of the American Episcopal Church in September, even
if you appear …
Why Should People Pay Any Attention to the Christian Church on Sexual Matters?
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 29 2007In recent decades the primary battles that have been fought
in the Christian Church have not been about theology, but about
issues of human sexuality. Huge debates polarize …
The Fourth Fundamental: Miracles and the Resurrection, Part IV
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 22 2007The idea that one can raise a deceased person to
life entered the biblical story in two narratives from the
Elijah-Elisha cycle of stories. It is then picked …