Adelaide
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 12 2003The city of Adelaide is not well known outside the country of Australia. It is the provincial capital of the state of South Australia, in which is located …
The Miracle in Abingdon, U. K.
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 5 2003One of my favorite biblical characters is the disciple Andrew. I regard him as the patron saint of ordinary people, little people. It is his brother, Simon Peter, …
The Church and the Homosexuality Debate
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 29 2003It was Professor Sarah Coakley, an Anglican theologian at Harvard University, who described the church as being something like a swimming pool. “Most of the noise,” she said, ” …
The Church’s Irrational Debate over Homosexuality
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 22 2003As the issue of homosexuality takes center stage, some strangely irrational statements are emerging from the mouths of various religious leaders of the world. Sifting through the pious …
Alabama’s Roy Moore and the Ten Commandments – Part III
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 15 2003The battle between Judge Roy Moore and the Federal judiciary over the statue of the Ten Commandments in his Alabama Court House was not the first time Judge …
Alabama’s Roy Moore and the Ten Commandments – Part II
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 8 2003As a concept the Ten Commandments seem to appeal to Judge Roy Moore of Alabama as they do to many people. How impressive it would be if the …
Alabama’s Roy Moore and the Ten Commandments – Part I
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 1 2003Chief Justice Roy Moore, Alabama’s latest embarrassing public official, has recently lifted the Ten Commandments into a new prominence. As insensitive as Bull Connors’ fire hoses trained on …
The Terrible Texts: Be Fruitful and Multiply and Subdue the Earth
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 24 2003When I was a young theological student, I was assigned the task of reading a book entitled “Ideas have Consequences.” I do not recall the author but the …
Terrible Texts: Be Fruitful and Multiply and Subdue the World – Part IV
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 17 2003Is there something about Western religion itself that predisposes its adherents to environmental disaster? Do such texts as “Be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth” arise out …
The Terrible Texts: Be Fruitful and Multiply and Subdue the Earth – Part IV
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 10 2003Subdue the earth! It is an enemy to be conquered not a home to be treasured! Life is an eternal battle for survival between the human creature and …
The Terrible Texts: Be Fruitful and Multiply and Subdue the Earth – Part II
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 3 2003For most of Western history, our attention has been given primarily to the task of maintaining the growing human population. Only in relatively modern times, has our focus …
The Terrible Texts: Be Fruitful and Multiply and Subdue the Earth
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 27 2003Christians have never been significantly committed to the preservation of our common environment. Ecological concerns are present in Church life, but they never quite make it to the …
The Crisis Facing the United Methodist Church
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 20 2003Dear Friends:
Once a quarter while Bishop Spong is on vacation we have invited guest writers to bring their perspectives to this column. Today we welcome …
New Hampshire’s Bishop Confirmed: Pride in my Church Reborn!
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 13 2003I am proud of my Church! That is a new feeling. There were days during the Lambeth Conference in 1998 when I thought I would never utter these words …
Rethinking the Meaning of Prayer
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 6 2003Dear Friends,
Instead of a question and answer feature this week I want to start this column with a preface. As I read your letters and …
The Unity of the Church – A Pious Clich
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 30 2003In my column last week, I chronicled the sad and shameful saga of Canon Jeffrey John who was forced to withdraw from his appointment as the Bishop of …
The Unity of the Church – A Pious Clich
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 23 2003The cast of characters in the news story, playing across the front pages of the British press last month, was made up of only three persons. One was …
The Word of God?
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 16 2003“This is the word of the Lord”
That is the liturgical phrase used in Christian churches to mark the end of a reading from the Bible. …
The Supreme Court, Gay Rights and the Scalia Dissent
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 9 2003It had the quality of inevitability about it. The world is changing rapidly and not even conservative justices can fail to take notice of that fact. The recent 6 …
A Progressive Christianity Network Formed in the United Kingdom
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 2 2003First at St. James’ Church, Piccadilly, in the heart of London, then at the United Reformed Church in Kendal, in the center of England’s beautiful Lake District, I …
The Episcopal Church chooses a Gay Bishop
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 25 2003It was fascinating to see how this breaking news leaped off the wire services around the world to command front-page space, oft-times accompanied by a three-column picture. It …
If Christianity Relates to Life It Must Relate To Politics
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 18 2003“You are sounding more and more like a left wing politician. When will you get back to the premise that attracted me in the first place – that …
Insights from Finland
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 11 2003Finland is a beautiful country, bounded on the west by Scandinavia, the east by Russia, the north by the Arctic Circle and the south by the Baltic Sea. …
YOUR QUESTIONS: Visions, Resurrection, Church Growth, Adoption and Artificial Insemination
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 4 2003Dear Friends:
The volume of questions that this column elicits from its readers continues to amaze me. There is no doubt that this column connects with …
When Will We Ever Learn?
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 28 2003“These despicable acts were committed by killers, whose only faith is hate and the United States will find the killers and they will learn the meaning of American …