Part XIX Matthew – Did Jesus Really Do Miracles?

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 17 2014

Most people, who are related at least tangentially to the Christian faith, assume that Jesus was a miracle worker. By this they mean that he possessed the ability to …

Part XIII Matthew: “A Prophet like unto Moses” – Introducing the Sermon on the Mount

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 6 2014

It should not be surprising that a Jewish scribe in the first century, which is what the author of the gospel we call Matthew was, would make constant references …

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 …

SYRIA, POISON GAS, MISSILE STRIKES AND PEACE?

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 19 2013

It has been both an emotional and a political roller-coaster. The television newscasters and the print media informed us that a political debate was underway as to whether or …

The Birth of Jesus, Part X: Matthew Sources and the Hebrew Scriptures

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 21 2013

Reading the Bible with any real comprehension in the 21st century is not an easy task. The gospels are a product of the 1st century, a dramatically different time, …

The Presidential Campaign and the Book of Judges

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 11 2012

A major debate in this year’s presidential election eliciting great emotion and spirited rhetoric relates to “the size and role of the federal government.”  A study of American …

“Think Different–Accept Uncertainty” Part XVI: The Story of the Crucifixion, Part One

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 6 2012

Somewhere between a third and forty percent of each of the four gospels in the New Testament is concerned with the last week in the life of Jesus of …

Meditation on Turning 80 in London

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 25 2011

I marked the 80th anniversary of my birth in Green’s Restaurant, Duke Street in London this summer.  What I thought was to be a quiet, romantic …