Part X Matthew: The Story of the Magi and Their Gifts

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 25 2013

The wise men from Matthew’s birth story have been deeply attached to our Christmas celebration, stretching all the way back to the time that Matthew introduced them in the …

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 VII Matthew: The Shady Ladies of Matthew’s Genealogy

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 14 2013

The audience for which Matthew wrote was conversant with the Jewish Scriptures, so when he mentions Tamar in the genealogy, they would know her story. The Torah (Genesis, Exodus, …

The Need for the Christian to Journey Beyond Scripture, Creed and Church

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 22 2013

Theology is a rational, deeply human, attempt to explain our experience with God. Theology is, therefore, never primary; it is always secondary to experience. Theological explanations can thus never …

The Birth of Jesus, Conclusions: Part XVI

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 20 2013

Luke concludes his birth story with a series of episodes designed to point to the story of the adult Jesus. First, in Luke’s story, the shepherds depart, while …

The Birth of Jesus, Part XII. Making Sense of the Wise Men

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 2 2013

Having now described the miraculous birth of Jesus in chapter one of his gospel, Matthew turns next to his account of how the birth of Jesus was divinely “rolled …

The Birth of Jesus, Part III. The Testimony of Mark, the Earliest Gospel

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 29 2012

The first gospel to be written, the one we call Mark, was composed in the early years of the 8th decade (70-72). It contains no story of and no …

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