Charting a New Reformation, Part X – The Second Thesis: Jesus the Christ

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 18 2016

“If God can no longer be thought of in theistic terms, then conceiving of Jesus as ‘the incarnation of the theistic deity’ has also become a bankrupt concept.”

The Anglican Communion R.I.P.

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 11 2016

It was an historical illusion anyway, a cherished and romantic notion practiced in all kinds of theoretical venues. The idea that the lands that once constituted the British Empire …

Charting a New Reformation, Part IX – An Evolving God inside an Evolving Christianity

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 28 2016

Today, I conclude the discussion of the first of my twelve theses posted on the internet in my hope to “Chart a New Reformation.” I began with the crucial …

Charting a New Reformation, Part VIII – God –“Not a Being but Being Itself” (Cont.)

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 21 2016

It was a 6th century Greek philosopher named Xenophanes who wrote: “If horses had gods, they would look like horses.” Xenophanes was pointing to the reality, which all of …

Charting the New Reformation, Part VII – Re-Imagining God: Not a being, but Being-A Place to Begin

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 14 2016

In the light of our expanded knowledge, God, understood theistically, turned out to be our own creation in which we human beings tried to fit God into words that …

Charting the New Reformation, Part VI – Building the Case for the Death of Theism: The Impact of Freud

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 7 2016

First there was the revolution in astrophysics led by Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. In that revolution, the comfortable assumption that God lived just above the sky, watching over us, …

Charting the New Reformation, Part IV – Building the Case for the Death of Theism: The Copernican Revolution

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 24 2015

The laws by which the world operates have not changed since the dawn of time, but the way human beings explain and understand those laws has changed dramatically over …

On the Separation of Church and State

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 26 2015

(Publisher’s note: On November 9th 2015, in Washington, D. C. the national organization known as Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, held …

Re-Creating Easter VIII: Conclusion – Easter Dawns

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 12 2015

Something happened! Lives were changed. God was redefined. Liturgies were reshaped. New holy days were born. Whatever Easter was, it constituted a transformative moment. It is easy to understand, …

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 …