Morality and the Social Security Debate
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 4 2005The Church is not the only place where Orwellian doubletalk occurs. The political scene is also rife with it. We name destructive missiles “peacekeepers.” We ‘preserve peace’ by …
Assessing the Pontificate of John Paul II
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 27 2005We have just witnessed a moving transition in the best-known, most powerful office in the Christian world. In many ways the final days before this transition were painful …
Whose Money Is It? A Meditation on April 15th
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 20 2005Dear Friends,
The College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church has made its decision in the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the See of Rome. …
An Author’s Postpartum
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 13 2005I have obviously never had a baby. However, as a pastor for almost fifty years I have walked with young mothers from the joy of conception to the …
The Anglican Communion’s Orwellian Odyssey
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 6 2005To my readers:
I want to express my condolences through this column, especially to my Roman Catholic friends, at the passing of their leader John Paul II. …
The Debate Rages: Do We Have a Right to Determine How We Die?
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 30 2005{To my readers: As the national debate continues over Terri Schiavo, I use this column to answer a question I received from a reader on this subject. Next …
A Time to Die?
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 23 2005(To my readers: Dear Friends, I have for some time been on the lookout for other progressive Christian voices that I can present to you through this …
The Connection between the Crucifixion and the Passover, Part VII
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 16 2005The plaintive cry of traditional believers when they actually begin to delve into the scriptures from a critical, academic perspective is, “What then is left?” This cry comes …
The Connection between the Crucifixion and the Passover, Part VI
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 9 2005Today, as a way to round out this series on the biblical accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, events which most scholars date around 30 CE, I …
The Connection between the Crucifixion and the Passover, Part V
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 2 2005Once the literal prison in which we have confined the Bible has been shattered then, far from being destroyed as traditional Christians seem to fear, our faith is …
The Connection between the Crucifixion and the Passover, Part IV
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 23 2005In this series of essays, I have tried to push our analysis of the Passover story that anchors the gospel accounts of Jesus, beyond that primitive literalism that …
The Influence of The Jewish Festival of Sukkoth on the Passion Narrative: Part III
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 16 2005Western Christians find it hard to understand that the gospel writers were not writing objective history. Yet nothing we know about the formation of the New Testament supports …
The Connection Between the Crucifixion and the Passover, Part II
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 9 2005Last week I began the analysis of the crucifixion of Jesus as it appears in all four gospels, examining in particular the claim that this founding moment in …
The Connection between the Crucifixion and the Passover, Part I
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 2 2005The symbols of Christmas have been stored away. In Christian churches we are in the poorly defined season of Epiphany, waiting for Lent to appear on the horizon. …
Leading a Conference for Black, Pentecostal, Gay Clergy
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 26 2005Sometimes, my wife Christine and I have the privilege of entering into an experience that is unexpected, but so moving and profound that it opens doors to new …
Re-Imaging God in a Post-Tsunami World
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 19 2005The final part of a three-part series about the Tsunami
“If God is God, he is not good! If God is good, …
Weeping Over The Grave of God
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 12 2005Part II of a series about the Tsunami
In a 20th century drama entitled, “Conversation at Midnight,” playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay …
The Theological Message in the Destructive Tsunami
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 5 2005The earthquake near Sumatra and the resulting tidal wave that have wreaked devastation in many nations on two separate continents was the final major event in the tumultuous …
The Shadows over Iraq Darken the New Year
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 29 2004When a new year arrives, there is normally a sense of hope that the future will be better. That, however, is not my feeling as New Year’s Day, 2005, …
The Meaning of the Christmas Myths
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 22 2004It is a beautiful time of the year. The celebration is in full swing. The symbols, some sacred, some quite secular, mingle in the market place: Bethlehem and …
Homophobia – No Compromise Possible
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 15 2004I recently listened to a series of insightful lectures on the American Civil War given by Dr. Gary Gallagher, a professor of History at the University of Virginia. …
International Anglicanism’s Flirtation with Ignorance!
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 8 2004The commission set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to determine how the Anglican Communion can maintain its unity while recognizing wide diversity of opinion about …
Election 2004 Part 4 – An Analysis of the Rise of Evangelical Religion
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 1 2004If religious fervor is a response to human insecurity as I have argued, and if it covers prejudices with God talk and piety, then what are the specific …
Election 2004 Part 3 – An Analysis of the Evangelical Vote in the 2004 Election
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 24 2004The rise of the evangelical, religious vote in the United States can be viewed externally and historically, my task this week; or internally and emotionally, my task next …
Election 2004 Part 2 – An Analysis of the Evangelical Vote in the Campaign of 2004
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 17 2004Last week I began an analysis of the rise in religious and evangelical fervor that was so powerfully displayed in the presidential election in November. For many it …