The Bible, Corporal Punishment and Human Guilt – Part 5
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 14 2004“Those whom I love, I will reprove and chasten so be zealous and repent (Rev.3: 19).”
Can you imagine that something as life denying as …
The Bible, Corporal Punishment and Human Guilt – Part 4
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 7 2004Is it accident, coincidence or strange fate that Christianity has managed to preside over centuries of history in which physical punishment has been the primary means of discipline …
The Bible, Corporal Punishment and Human Guilt – Part 3
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 30 2004In the most deeply patriarchal part of our male-dominant Western history, women were also considered to be fit subjects for corporal punishment at the hands of their husbands. …
The Bible, Corporal Punishment and Human Guilt – Part 2
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 23 2004The physical abuse of children under the guise of “proper discipline” has been practiced in western history so frequently as to be thought of as normative. It has …
The Bible, Corporal Punishment and Human Guilt – Part 1
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 16 2004“He who spares the rod, hates his son; but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. (Prov. 13:24).”
“Do not withhold …
The Ultimate Source of Anti-Semitism – The Circumstances That Brought Judas Into the Jesus Story
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 9 2004I return today to a subject that I have covered before. It is essential however, to this series on the sources of anti-Semitism, so I ask my reader’s …
Questions from the Readers: The War in Iraq
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 2 2004Dear Friends,
Recent columns on the Iraq war have elicited great volumes of mail. I have picked representative samples of that mail and my response to them …
Unmasking the Source of Christian Anti-Semitism – Part III
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 26 2004When I was a child attending an Evangelical Episcopal (Anglican) Sunday school in North Carolina, I was taught that it was OK to hate Jews. If I questioned …
The Yankees, Iraq and Patriotism
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 19 2004Bob Shepherd is the resonant Voice of the New York Yankees, heard over the public address system welcoming fans to Yankee Stations and to the YES Network. He exhorts …
Unmasking the Sources of Christian Anti-Semitism – Part 2
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 12 2004Intolerance and bigotry seem to be written into the very fabric of religious life, causing people to act in ways that are diametrically opposed to what they say they …
The Disaster of Iraq – Enough is Enough!
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 5 2004I have reached the point when I can no longer tolerate the Iraqi War. The final straw was the abuse of Iraqis in the prison camp at Abu …
Unmasking the Sources of Christian Anti-Semitism – Part 1
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 28 2004“His blood be upon us and upon our children (Mt.27: 25).”
The darkest, most disillusioning side of Christianity is revealed in the way that Christians …
Questions from the Readers: Passion of the Christ, Christian Reformation
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 21 2004Dear Readers,
This week I want to get to your questions for a change. I had so many questions on the series on The Passion of the Christ …
The Bible and Homosexuality – The Church’s Dance in the 21st Century – Part 3
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 14 2004“They glorified God not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened (Romans 1:21 KJV).”
“For this …
The Bible and Homosexuality – The Church’s Dance in the 21st Century – Part 2
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 7 2004“The men of the city — of Sodom, compassed the town round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter; And they called unto Lot …
The Bible and Homosexuality – The Church’s Dance in the 21st Century – Part 1
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 31 2004“Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: It is an abomination (Lev.18: 22 KJV).”
“If a man also lie with mankind as …
What Mel Gibson Does Not Understand About Biblical History
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 24 2004In the year 66 C.E. guerilla activities that had been festering in Galilee for more than 40 years broke out in a full-scale war. While that war was engaged in …
“The Passion of the Christ” — Mel Gibson’s Film and Biblical Scholarship – Part 4
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 17 2004Last week I examined the connection between Psalm 22 and the earlier gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion. This week I turn to Isaiah 40-55, which was the other primary …
“The Passion of the Christ” — Mel Gibson’s Film and Biblical Scholarship – Part 3
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 10 2004There are some aspects of the gospels’ passion narratives that Mel Gibson seems not to know. That is surprising since they are commonplace in the world of New …
“The Passion of the Christ” — Mel Gibson’s Film and Biblical Scholarship – Part 2
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 3 2004Mel Gibson claims that in his film, “The Passion of the Christ,” he has “followed faithfully the texts of the Gospels.” That is demonstrably not so, as I …
“The Passion of the Christ” — Mel Gibson’s Film and Biblical Scholarship
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 25 2004Mel Gibson’s motion picture, “The Passion of the Christ,” goes public on Ash Wednesday, February 25, the day this column comes out. Then people can see for themselves a …
WILLIAM CONWELL SPONG: November 2, 1933 – February 4, 2004
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 18 2004Brotherly love is a strange concept. It is so often marked by intense rivalry and little affection. One thinks of biblical brothers – Cain who killed Abel, Jacob …
John Titaly – An Indonesian Hero
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 11 2004From time to time, one has the privilege of meeting a person who seems larger than life. That moment came for me recently when I journeyed into Indonesia …
The Terrible Texts: The Attitude of the Bible Toward Women Part VI
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 4 2004“In Christ Jesus…there is neither male nor female (Gal. 3:26,28).”
The apostle Paul was a man of great ability, passion, and energy and yet …
Terrible Texts: The Attitude of the Bible Toward Women — Part V
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 28 2004The women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate as even the Law says. If there …