Charting a New Reformation, Part XXIII – The Seventh Thesis, The Resurrection

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 26 2016

“The Easter event gave birth to the Christian Movement and continues to transform it. That does not mean, however, that Easter was the resuscitation of Jesus’ deceased body …

Re-Creating Easter VII: The Internal Process

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 5 2015

Peter had so clearly wanted to be loyal to Jesus following his arrest. The story is told that he tried to follow Jesus into the courtyard of the high …

Re-Creating Easter IV When? The Question of Time

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 15 2015

Life-changing “revelations” may well be timeless, but the one receiving these revelations is always bound in time. These insights invade time at a particular moment. We seek now to …

Re-Creating Easter III: Where? The Location in which Easter Dawned

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 8 2015

Revelation and insight do not occur in a vacuum. They always come through a person. They have the effect of expanding the being of the recipient by opening his …

Re-Creating Easter Part I: The Background

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 17 2015

It was the noted author Jim Bishop, more than a generation ago, who first created a series of books that chronicled the minute-by-minute narratives of what turned out to …

Resurrection: A Reality or a Pious Dream, Part VIII: Luke – Mystery Recedes – Literalism Grows

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 18 2015

When we come to Luke, the third gospel writer and, counting Paul, the fourth biblical witness to the meaning of Easter, we discover a dramatic shift in the language …

Resurrection: A Reality or A Pious Dream, Part VII: Matthew Interprets and Expands Mark

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 11 2015

Matthew is the first gospel writer to narrate an appearance of the risen Christ to anyone. This aspect of the developing Christian story does not begin until the middle …

Resurrection: A Reality or A Pious Dream? Part VI: Matthew’s Story of the Galilean Appearances

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 4 2015

Mark’s messenger of the resurrection, described in that gospel as “a young man in a white robe,” had promised a future appearance of the raised Christ to the …

Part XLVII Matthew: The Meaning of the Passion opens into the Meaning of Resurrection

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 9 2015

The drama of the cross races towards its conclusion. It is a story that runs counter to the cultural expectations. Shaped by the “Servant” figure, drawn from II Isaiah, …

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