The Birth of Jesus, Part XIII. Introducing the Lucan Story

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on May, 9 2013

Somewhere six to ten years after the Gospel of Matthew was written, another gospel, the one we call Luke, makes its appearance. Both Matthew and Luke had Mark as …

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 XI. Matthew Weaves Together Proof Texts from Isaiah, Micah, Hosea and from an Unknown Source

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 11 2013

Christianity was born in the synagogue and the original followers of Jesus were primarily observant Jews. They gathered in the synagogue regularly on the Sabbath for worship. A major …

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 Birth of Jesus, Part VII. The Role of Ruth: The Seductress

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 10 2013

The third woman mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus is also unique in a number of ways. Her name is Ruth and she, like Rahab, is a foreigner. …

The Birth of Jesus, Part V. Matthew’s Original Story. The Prologue and Tamar, the Incestuous One

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 13 2012

Matthew is the gospel writer (82-85) who first introduced the story of Jesus’ miraculous or virgin birth into the tradition. He did so with the seventeen most boring verses …

“Think Different–Accept Uncertainty” Part XVII: The Story of the Crucifixion, Part Two

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 20 2012

It is certainly a fact of history that a man named Jesus of Nazareth was crucified by the Romans somewhere around the year 30 CE.  This crucifixion came during the …

My Fourth Great Mentor: Edwin Anderson Penick, VI Bishop of North Carolina

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 30 2012

All of us are mentored in life by other people.  Sometime this mentoring is done by example, sometimes by words.  An essential aspect of maturity is to recognize those …

“Think Different—Accept Uncertainty” Part XIV: Analyzing the Miracles Attributed to Jesus

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 2 2012

When most people think of the miracles included in the gospels, they usually think of a broad series of apparently supernatural acts. They tend not to be familiar with …