Responding to Bishop Spong’s 12 Principles and the Future of Religion

Column by Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox on October, 6 2016

Responding to Bishop Spong’s 12 Principles and the Future of Religion
Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong on 6 October 2016 18 Comments
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Dear Faithful Readers: Bishop Spong is now home in New Jersey and continues to recuperate from his stroke. Until he is back to his writing we will continue to publish Weekly Essays, some from his treasure trove of past essays and some from guest authors. This week we are pleased to offer you this article from the Rev. Matthew Fox. Responding to Bishop Spong’s 12 Principles and the Future of Religion

Charting a New Reformation, Part XXVII – The Eighth Thesis, The Ascension of Jesus (continued)

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 7 2016

The gospels of Mark and Matthew were composed while the Christian movement was still part of the synagogue. The gospel of Luke may well have been written after the …

Charting a New Reformation, Part XXVI – The Eighth Thesis, The Ascension of Jesus

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 30 2016

“The Biblical story of Jesus’ ascension assumes a three-tiered universe, which was dismissed in intellectual circles some 500 years ago. If Jesus’ ascension must be regarded as a literal …

Charting the New Reformation, Part III – The Twelve Theses

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 17 2015

“Time makes ancient good uncouth.” The poet, James Russell Lowell, who wrote these words, understood the difference between an experience and the way that experience is explained. So important …

Resurrection: A Reality or a Pious Dream? Part X The Story of the Ascension

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 9 2015

“Ideas Have Consequences.” That was the title of a book that I was required to read early in my theological education. It was not a profound book, but its …

Resurrection: A Reality or a Pious Dream, Part IX Luke: Physical, Non-Physical or Both?

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 25 2015

Today, I want to focus on the ambiguity found in the conflicting aspects of Luke’s two resurrection stories in more detail and in more depth. It will help …

“Resurrection” A Reality or a Pious Dream? Part I

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 23 2015

On Easter Sunday, a couple of weeks ago now, I was in my parish church, St. Peter’s in Morristown, New Jersey. I was not alone. Into that church, at …

“Think Different–Accept Uncertainty” Part XVIII: The Resurrection of Jesus

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 4 2012

The literal details are familiar: the third day, the empty tomb, the experience of seeing the risen Christ.  These details stand at the heart of the Christian story, forming …

My Way into an Interfaith Future

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 28 2012

Last week I introduced you, my readers, to an interfaith “think tank” in which I shared recently at a conference center known as the Chautauqua Institution in Western New …

Why I Wrote “Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World”

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 27 2011

Several years ago, while in England, I was invited to participate on a two-hour television program hosted by Melvin Bragg, now Sir Melvin Bragg, on the UK’s ITV channel. …

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