Charting A New Reformation, Part XVII – The Fifth Thesis

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 14 2016

“The Miracles Stories of the Old Testament can no longer be interpreted in a post-Newtonian world as supernatural events performed by an Incarnate Deity.”

I wonder how …

Re-Creating Easter VIII: Conclusion – Easter Dawns

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 12 2015

Something happened! Lives were changed. God was redefined. Liturgies were reshaped. New holy days were born. Whatever Easter was, it constituted a transformative moment. It is easy to understand, …

Part XXXIII Matthew – Watching the Traditions of “Dedication/Hanukkah” Develop

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 30 2014

Last week we traced the origins of the Jewish festival known as “Dedication,” but in our day popularly called “Hanukkah.”. It celebrated the moment when a guerilla army of …

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 XXVII Matthew: Sukkoth, Jewish Thanksgiving Day

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 11 2014

Matthew Shifts the Emphasis from Crops to Converts; From Harvest to Judgment

Our study last week has helped to make it obvious, I hope, that Matthew borrowed …

Part XII Matthew: Matthew Introduces John the Baptist-The New Elijah

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 30 2014

Matthew has thus far mined the Hebrew Scriptures for texts that will advance his thesis that Jesus has fulfilled the Jewish messianic expectations. In the opening genealogy, he has …

Part XI Matthew: Proof Texting the Birth Narratives

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 16 2014

Matthew never allows us to forget that he is a learned scribe in charge of a synagogue made up of Jewish people who are the followers of Jesus. He …

Part IX Matthew. Matthew Introduces Joseph – The Earthly Father of Jesus

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 19 2013

Matthew’s opening genealogy of Jesus is now complete with the intriguing idea that the line which produced Jesus of Nazareth, traveled not only through the royal family of the …

Part V Matthew: Isolating This Gospel from All the Others

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 31 2013

Having now introduced you to a different way of reading the gospel of Matthew, and puncturing for you, I hope forever, the assumption that this book along with all …