Part XLII Matthew – Identifying the Sources of the Passion Narrative

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 26 2015

If we can demonstrate that Jesus never spoke the words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” from the cross, but that rather the earliest gospel writers, …

Part XLI Matthew – Entering the Passion Narratives

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 19 2015

We looked last week at the passion narratives in the New Testament. We noted the additions, the deletions and the contradictions found in these central stories of our faith …

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 …

Part XXXIX Matthew – The Apocalypse and the End of the World

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 5 2015

In Matthew’s narrative, the Jewish year came to an end with the month of Adar. The Passover would be the first celebration of the New Year which began …

Part XXXVII Matthew – The Impact of Deuteronomy on the Journey of Jesus to Jerusalem

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 15 2015

When the Transfiguration experience was over, Matthew tells us that Jesus and his disciples came down from that mountain. It had been a transformative experience for the disciples, Matthew …

A Letter to my Community of Readers

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 24 2014

Dear Friends:

As the calendar in the year 2014 dictates this column should arrive at your email address at about 2:00 o’clock A.M. Eastern Standard Time on December 25th. …

Do Our Seminaries Prepare Clergy for Today’s World?

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 27 2014

Writing about the Theological School at Drew University this past week caused me to think about theological education in general and my own theological education in particular. I loved …

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 …