The Ultimate Source of Anti-Semitism – The Circumstances That Brought Judas Into the Jesus Story

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on January, 5 2017

I return today to a subject that I have covered before. It is essential however, to this series on the sources of anti-Semitism, so I ask my reader’s …

Re-Creating Easter VI: The Dawning of the Resurrection

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 29 2015

We have now explored our sources, looking where we could beneath the literal words of the biblical texts. We have come to four conclusions. First, whatever the Easter moment …

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 XXXIII Matthew – Watching the Traditions of “Dedication/Hanukkah” Develop

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 30 2014

Last week we traced the origins of the Jewish festival known as “Dedication,” but in our day popularly called “Hanukkah.”. It celebrated the moment when a guerilla army of …

“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 …

Studying Christian Art in Florence Italy

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 17 2011

The Florence Museum, known in Italy as the Musei Firenze, is best known for the massive marble statue of the youthful King David sculpted by Michelangelo.  Housed in the …