Part XL Matthew – The Passion Narrative Begins

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 12 2015

It is a familiar story. It has been burned into the collective consciousness of the Christian world over the centuries. Many of its elements have long since left their …

The School of Theology at Drew University Installs Javier Viera as its New Dean

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 20 2014

From time to time, I have an experience inside organized Christianity that is filled with such excitement that it creates in me the hope that there might be a …

Part XXXIV Matthew – The Transfiguration of Jesus, Part III

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 6 2014

A Dedication-Hanukkah Story

How many of you have ever connected the story of Jesus’ transfiguration with the Jewish celebration of Dedication/Hanukkah? We may well have imagined …

Part XXXII Matthew – Dedication and Transfiguration, Part I

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 23 2014

Matthew, having provided Jesus stories for the Sabbaths between Sukkoth and the final major Jewish festival of the liturgical year, is now ready to relate Jesus to this last …

Part XXXI Matthew – Peter: A Symbol – The Wobbling Rock at Caesarea Philippi

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 9 2014

In this episode Jesus asks: “Can one read the signs correctly? Does a clear sunset today anticipate fair weather tomorrow? Do dark clouds announce the presence of a storm? …

Part XXVIII Matthew: The Parable of the Loaves and the Fish

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 18 2014

Sukkoth is complete. There will be six to eight Sabbaths to engage the synagogue before the next celebration, the festival called Dedication, arrives. In Aramaic the word for “Dedication” …

Virginia Politics and the Trial of Governor Robert McDonnell

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 28 2014

On Monday, August 14, 2014, beginning at 9:30 a.m., my wife Christine and I were seated in the Federal District Courtroom in Richmond, Virginia, preparing to listen to the testimony in …

On Teaching at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 21 2014

They came mostly from the West Coast, although one was a Methodist minister from Chesterfield, Virginia. They represented the vast array of the traditions in American Christianity. Two were …

A Meditation on Patriotism in a Changing World

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 7 2014

Patriotism is a powerful force that manifests itself in a variety of ways. One is extreme nationalism. We see that in the behavior of President Vladimir Putin of Russia, …

Introducing Jesus for the Non-Religious to France

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 24 2014

(The following is the speech delivered in Paris at the launching of the French Translation of Jesus for the Non-Religious.)

How can those of us living in …