I'm not sure this is the right forum, but I wonder if any of you have read any of Spong's books. What kind of a Christian is he? What you you think of him?
The following article is from an Atheist' Site:
http://www.christianity-revealed.com/cr ... ction.html
Small clip:
John Shelby Spong, the Episcopal Bishop of Newark, New Jersey believes in Jesus. That is not newsworthy. What is newsworthy, in his book “Liberating the Gospels” in which he denounces the New Testament.
Bishop Spong asks the question; DID IT REALLY HAPPEN? He wrote:
“To journey into the content of this book is to entertain some unusual ideas and possibilities. A literal view of the Gospels becomes untenable (indefensible, flawed).
There might well have been no such events as:
The story of Joseph, the spouse of Mary
No literal shepherds - No angels - No guiding star - No magi - And no flight into Egypt.
There was not even a journey to Bethlehem by one who was “great with child.”
Then Bishop Spong declares: “But to dismiss these parts of the biblical tradition as nonhistorical legends is not particularly radical. That has been done hundreds of times before, including once by this author. That has become almost tolerable, even among religious conservatives. The birth narratives are not the heart of the Gospel.”
Bishop continues by suggesting that there was:
No Temptation during forty days in the wilderness - Nor did Jesus ever preach the Sermon on the Mount”
******
Read the rest of the article in the link.
He sounds like a radical liberal to me.
Thanks.
John Shelby Spong
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Christian2
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Gman
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Re: John Shelby Spong
Looks like he became so smart that he feel into his intellectual idolatry.. A worship of his ideas.
What he seems to be expounding is nothing new under the sun.. It's old news.
What he seems to be expounding is nothing new under the sun.. It's old news.
The heart cannot rejoice in what the mind rejects as false - Galileo
We learn from history that we do not learn from history - Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. -Philippians 4:8
We learn from history that we do not learn from history - Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. -Philippians 4:8
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Canuckster1127
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Re: John Shelby Spong
I'ce heard of him. I believe he goes too far in many areas. He's influential in his circles.
Dogmatism is the comfortable intellectual framework of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is more decadent than the worst sexual sin. ~ Dan Allender
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Christian2
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Re: John Shelby Spong
I did find an article written about Spong after I posted here.
http://creation.com/whats-wrong-with-bishop-spong
Concluding clip:
Spong was not prepared by the church of his youth to answer the questions thrown at him by modern society. When he went to university, he was challenged to defend a faith he was never taught to defend. Naturally, like the raw recruit ordered to defend a hill against a well-trained and heavily armed enemy with a weapon he was never taught how to use, Spong capitulated. Having done so, he feels cheated by his church and disappointed by his literal faith, and now seeks to challenge and destroy both.
In this sense, a study of Spong's life and work should be mandatory reading for Christian pastors and parents. It is a testimony to the failure of our churches to instruct their children and young people in the defence of the faith and the Bible. If we fail in our duty to enable our young people always to be ready to give an adequate explanation for the faith that is in them (1 Peter 3:15) we may well be responsible for raising up a future generation of Spongs.
http://creation.com/whats-wrong-with-bishop-spong
Concluding clip:
Spong was not prepared by the church of his youth to answer the questions thrown at him by modern society. When he went to university, he was challenged to defend a faith he was never taught to defend. Naturally, like the raw recruit ordered to defend a hill against a well-trained and heavily armed enemy with a weapon he was never taught how to use, Spong capitulated. Having done so, he feels cheated by his church and disappointed by his literal faith, and now seeks to challenge and destroy both.
In this sense, a study of Spong's life and work should be mandatory reading for Christian pastors and parents. It is a testimony to the failure of our churches to instruct their children and young people in the defence of the faith and the Bible. If we fail in our duty to enable our young people always to be ready to give an adequate explanation for the faith that is in them (1 Peter 3:15) we may well be responsible for raising up a future generation of Spongs.