John Shelby Spong

<p ><b>John Shelby</b> "<b>Jack</b>" <b>Spong</b> (born June 16, 1931) is a retired American <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop" title="Bishop" >bishop</a> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episcopal_Church(United_States)" title="Episcopal Church (United States)" >Episcopal Church</a>. From 1979 to 2000 he was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episcopal_Diocese_of_Newark" title="Episcopal Diocese of Newark" >Bishop of Newark</a> (based in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newark,New_Jersey" title="Newark, New Jersey" >Newark</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey" title="New Jersey" >New Jersey</a>). He is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Christian" title="Liberal Christian" class="mw-redirect" >liberal Christian</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology" title="Theology" >theologian</a>, religion commentator and author. He calls for a fundamental rethinking of Christian belief away from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theism" title="Theism" >theism</a> and traditional doctrines.<sup id="cite_ref-ABC1_1-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-ABC1-1" >[1]</a></sup>

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<h2 >Contents</h2>

  [<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#" id="togglelink" >hide</a>] </div>

<ul >

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#Background" >1 Background</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#Writings" >2 Writings</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#Criticism" >3 Criticism</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#Points_for_reform_of_Christianity" >4 Points for reform of Christianity</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#Publications" >5 Publications</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#References" >6 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#External_links" >7 External links</a>

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<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#Criticism_2" >7.1 Criticism</a></li>

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<h2 >Background[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Shelby_Spong&action=edit&section=1&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Background" >edit</a>]</h2>

<p >Spong was born in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte,North_Carolina" title="Charlotte, North Carolina" >Charlotte</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina" title="North Carolina" >North Carolina</a> and educated in Charlotte public schools. He was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_Beta_Kappa" title="Phi Beta Kappa" class="mw-redirect" >Phi Beta Kappa</a> graduate of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill" title="University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill" >University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</a> in 1952, and received his Master of Divinity degree in 1955 from the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Theological_Seminary" title="Virginia Theological Seminary" >Episcopal Theological Seminary</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria,Virginia" title="Alexandria, Virginia" >Alexandria, Virginia</a>. (That seminary and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul%27s_College,_Virginia" title="Saint Paul's College, Virginia" class="mw-redirect" >Saint Paul's College</a> have both conferred on him honorary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Divinity" title="Doctor of Divinity" >Doctor of Divinity</a> degrees.) He wrote: "[I have] immerse[d] myself in contemporary Biblical scholarship at such places as Union Theological Seminary in New York City, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_Divinity_School" title="Yale Divinity School" >Yale Divinity School</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Divinity_School" title="Harvard Divinity School" >Harvard Divinity School</a> and the storied universities in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_University" title="Edinburgh University" class="mw-redirect" >Edinburgh</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_University" title="Oxford University" class="mw-redirect" >Oxford</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_University" title="Cambridge University" class="mw-redirect" >Cambridge</a>."<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-2" >[2]</a></sup>

Spong served as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rector(ecclesiastical)" title="Rector (ecclesiastical)" >rector</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.Joseph%27s_Episcopal_Church(Durham,North_Carolina)" title="St. Joseph's Episcopal Church (Durham, North Carolina)" >St. Joseph's Church</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham,North_Carolina" title="Durham, North Carolina" >Durham, North Carolina</a> from 1955 to 1957; rector of Calvary Parish,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarboro,North_Carolina" title="Tarboro, North Carolina" >Tarboro, North Carolina</a> from 1957 to 1965; rector of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=St.John%27s_Episcopal_Church,Lynchburg&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="St. John's Episcopal Church, Lynchburg (page does not exist)" >St. John's Church</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynchburg,Virginia" title="Lynchburg, Virginia" >Lynchburg, Virginia</a> from 1965 to 1969; and rector of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.Paul%27s_Episcopal_Church_of_Richmond,Virginia" title="St. Paul's Episcopal Church of Richmond, Virginia" class="mw-redirect" >St. Paul's Church</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond,Virginia" title="Richmond, Virginia" >Richmond, Virginia</a> from 1969 to 1976. He has held visiting positions and given lectures at major American theological institutions, most prominently at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Divinity_School" title="Harvard Divinity School" >Harvard Divinity School</a>. He retired in 2000.

Spong describes his own life as a journey from the literalism and conservative theology of his childhood to an expansive view of Christianity. In a 2013 interview, Spong credits the late Anglican bishop <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Robinson_(bishop_of_Woolwich)" title="John Robinson (bishop of Woolwich)" >John Robinson</a> as his mentor in this journey and says that reading Robinson's controversial writings in the 1960s led to a friendship and mentoring relationship with him over many years.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-3" >[3]</a></sup> Spong also honors Robinson as a mentor in the opening pages of his 2002 book <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_New_Christianity_for_a_New_World" title="A New Christianity for a New World" >A New Christianity for a New World</a></i>.</p>

Spong during <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CrossWalk_America&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="CrossWalk America (page does not exist)" >CrossWalk America</a>, 2006</div>

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<p >Recipient of many awards, including 1999 Humanist of the Year,<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-4" >[4]</a></sup> Spong is a contributor to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_the_Questions" title="Living the Questions" >Living the Questions</a> DVD program and has been a guest on numerous national television broadcasts (including <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Today_(NBC_program)" title="Today (NBC program)" class="mw-redirect" >The Today Show</a></i>, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politically_Incorrect" title="Politically Incorrect" >Politically Incorrect</a></i> with Bill Maher,<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dateline_NBC" title="Dateline NBC" >Dateline</a></i>, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/60_Minutes" title="60 Minutes" >60 Minutes</a></i>, and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_King_Live" title="Larry King Live" >Larry King Live</a></i>). Spong's calendar has him lecturing around the world.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-5" >[5]</a></sup>

Spong is the cousin of former Virginia Democratic Senator <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_B.Spong,Jr." title="William B. Spong, Jr." >William B. Spong, Jr.</a> who defeated the incumbent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absalom_Willis_Robertson" title="Absalom Willis Robertson" >Absalom Willis Robertson</a>, the father of television evangelist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Robertson" title="Pat Robertson" >Pat Robertson</a>.

A play about the life of Spong, called <i>A Pebble In My Shoe</i>, has been written by Colin Cox and produced by Will & Company. Spong has seen the play at least a half dozen times at different places in the United States.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" >citation needed</a></i>]</sup></p>

<h2 >Writings[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Shelby_Spong&action=edit&section=2&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Writings" >edit</a>]</h2>

<p >Spong's writings rely on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible" title="Bible" >Biblical</a> and non-Biblical sources and are influenced by modern critical analysis of these sources (see especially Spong, 1991). He is representative of a stream of thought with roots in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval" title="Medieval" class="mw-redirect" >medieval</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universalism" title="Universalism" >universalism</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Abelard" title="Peter Abelard" >Peter Abelard</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism" title="Existentialism" >existentialism</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tillich" title="Paul Tillich" >Paul Tillich</a>, whom he has called his favorite theologian.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-6" >[6]</a></sup>

A prominent theme in Spong's writing is that the popular and literal interpretations of Christian scripture are not sustainable and do not speak honestly to the situation of modern Christian communities. He believes in a more nuanced approach to scripture, informed by scholarship and compassion, which can be consistent with both Christian tradition and contemporary understandings of the universe. He believes that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theism" title="Theism" >theism</a> has lost credibility as a valid conception of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God" title="God" >God</a>'s nature. He states that he is a Christian because he believes that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus" title="Jesus" >Jesus</a> Christ fully expressed the presence of a God of compassion and selfless love and that this is the meaning of the early Christian proclamation, "Jesus is Lord" (Spong, 1994 and Spong, 1991). Elaborating on this last idea he affirms that Jesus was adopted by God as his son, (Born of a Woman 1992), and he says that this would be the way God was fully incarnated in Jesus Christ.<sup id="cite_ref-ABC1_1-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-ABC1-1" >[1]</a></sup> He rejects the historical truth claims of some Christian doctrines, such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_birth_of_Jesus" title="Virgin birth of Jesus" >Virgin Birth</a> (Spong, 1992) and the bodily <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_of_Jesus" title="Resurrection of Jesus" >resurrection of Jesus</a> (Spong, 1994). In 2000, Spong was a critic of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_for_the_Doctrine_of_the_Faith" title="Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith" >Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith</a>of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church" title="Roman Catholic Church" class="mw-redirect" >Roman Catholic Church</a>'s declaration <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominus_Iesus" title="Dominus Iesus" >Dominus Iesus</a></i>, because it reaffirmed the Catholic doctrine that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church" title="Roman Catholic Church" class="mw-redirect" >Roman Catholic Church</a> is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_true_faith" title="One true faith" class="mw-redirect" >one true Church</a> and, perhaps even more importantly, that Jesus Christ is the one and only <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation" title="Salvation" >savior</a> for humanity.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-7" >[7]</a></sup>

Spong has also been a strong proponent of the church reflecting the changes in society at large.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-8" >[8]</a></sup> Towards these ends, he calls for a new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformation" title="Protestant Reformation" >Reformation</a>, in which many of Christianity's basic doctrines should be reformulated.<sup id="cite_ref-ABC1_1-2" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-ABC1-1" >[1]</a></sup>

His views on the future of Christianity are, "...that we have to start where we are. As I look at the history of religion, I observe that new religious insights always and only emerge out of the old traditions as they begin to die. It is not by pitching the old insights out but by journeying deeply through them into new visions that we are able to change religion’s direction. The creeds were 3rd and 4th century love songs that people composed to sing to their understanding of God. We do not have to literalize their words to perceive their meaning or their intention to join in the singing of their creedal song. I think religion in general and Christianity in particular must always be evolving. Forcing the evolution is the dialogue between yesterday’s words and today’s knowledge. The sin of Christianity is that any of us ever claimed that we had somehow captured eternal truth in the forms we had created."<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-9" >[9]</a></sup>

Spong has debated Christian philosopher and apologist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lane_Craig" title="William Lane Craig" >William Lane Craig</a> on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_of_Jesus" title="Resurrection of Jesus" >resurrection of Jesus</a>.</p>

<h2 >Criticism[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Shelby_Spong&action=edit&section=3&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Criticism" >edit</a>]</h2>

<p >Spong's ideas have been criticised by some other theologians, notably the former <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archbishop_of_Canterbury" title="Archbishop of Canterbury" >Archbishop of Canterbury</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_Williams" title="Rowan Williams" >Rowan Williams</a> (when Williams was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_of_Monmouth" title="Bishop of Monmouth" >Bishop of Monmouth</a>), describing his <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_New_Christianity_for_a_New_World#Twelve_points_for_Reform" title="A New Christianity for a New World" >twelve theses</a></i> as embodying "confusion and misinterpretation".<sup id="cite_ref-Williams_10-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-Williams-10" >[10]</a></sup> His writings evoke great support and great condemnation simultaneously from differing segments of the Christian church.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-11" >[11]</a></sup>

There has also been criticism from other Christian denominations.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-12" >[12]</a></sup> Some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholics" title="Roman Catholics" class="mw-redirect" >Roman Catholics</a> have criticized him, seeing him as an embodiment of liberal Christianity.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-13" >[13]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_note-14" >[14]</a></sup></p>

<h2 >Points for reform of Christianity[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Shelby_Spong&action=edit&section=4&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Points for reform of Christianity" >edit</a>]</h2>

<p >These "Twelve Points for Reform" come from Spong's book <i>A New Christianity for a New World:</i></p>

<ol >

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theism" title="Theism" >Theism</a>, as a way of defining God, is dead. So most theological God-talk is today meaningless. A new way to speak of God must be found.</li>

<li >Since God can no longer be conceived in theistic terms, it becomes nonsensical to seek to understand Jesus as the incarnation of the theistic deity. So the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christology" title="Christology" >Christology</a> of the ages is bankrupt.</li>

<li >The Biblical story of the perfect and finished creation from which human beings fell into sin is pre-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin" title="Charles Darwin" >Darwinian</a> mythology and post-Darwinian nonsense.</li>

<li >The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_birth_of_Jesus" title="Virgin birth of Jesus" >virgin birth</a>, understood as literal biology, makes Christ's divinity, as traditionally understood, impossible.</li>

<li >The miracle stories of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testament" title="New Testament" >New Testament</a> can no longer be interpreted in a post-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton" title="Isaac Newton" >Newtonian</a> world as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural" title="Supernatural" >supernatural</a> events performed by an incarnate deity.</li>

<li >The view of the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world is a barbarian idea based on primitive concepts of God and must be dismissed.</li>

<li >Resurrection is an action of God. Jesus was raised into the meaning of God. It therefore cannot be a physical resuscitation occurring inside human history.</li>

<li >The story of the Ascension assumed a three-tiered universe and is therefore not capable of being translated into the concepts of a post-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copernicus" title="Copernicus" class="mw-redirect" >Copernican</a> space age.</li>

<li >There is no external, objective, revealed standard written in scripture or on tablets of stone that will govern our ethical behavior for all time.</li>

<li >Prayer cannot be a request made to a theistic deity to act in human history in a particular way.</li>

<li >The hope for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterlife" title="Afterlife" >life after death</a> must be separated forever from the behavior control mentality of reward and punishment. The Church must abandon, therefore, its reliance on guilt as a motivator of behavior.</li>

<li >All human beings bear God's image and must be respected for what each person is. Therefore, no external description of one's being, whether based on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_(classification_of_human_beings)" title="Race (classification of human beings)" class="mw-redirect" >race</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnicity" title="Ethnicity" class="mw-redirect" >ethnicity</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender" title="Gender" >gender</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_orientation" title="Sexual orientation" >sexual orientation</a>, can properly be used as the basis for either rejection or discrimination.</li>

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<h2 >Publications[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Shelby_Spong&action=edit&section=5&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Publications" >edit</a>]</h2>

<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Anglicanism" title="Portal:Anglicanism" >Anglicanism portal</a></td>

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<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Biography" title="Portal:Biography" >Biography portal</a></td>

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<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:North_Carolina" title="Portal:North Carolina" >North Carolina portal</a></td>

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<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Religion" title="Portal:Religion" >Religion portal</a></td>

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<ul >

<li >1973 – <i>Honest Prayer</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1878282182" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 1-878282-18-2</a></li>

<li >1974 – <i>This Hebrew Lord</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060675209" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-06-067520-9</a></li>

<li >1975 – <i>Christpower</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1878282115" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 1-878282-11-5</a></li>

<li >1975 – <i>Dialogue: In Search of Jewish-Christian Understanding</i> (co-authored with Rabbi Jack Daniel Spiro), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1878282166" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 1-878282-16-6</a></li>

<li >1976 – <i>Life Approaches Death: A Dialogue on Ethics in Medicine</i></li>

<li >1977 – <i>The Living Commandments</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1878282174" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 1-878282-17-4</a></li>

<li >1980 – <i>The Easter Moment</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1878282158" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 1-878282-15-8</a></li>

<li >1983 – <i>Into the Whirlwind: The Future of the Church</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1878282131" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 1-878282-13-1</a></li>

<li >1986 – <i>Beyond Moralism: A Contemporary View of the Ten Commandments</i> (co-authored with Denise G. Haines, Archdeacon), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/187828214X" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 1-878282-14-X</a></li>

<li >1987 – <i>Consciousness and Survival: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry into the possibility of Life Beyond Biological Death</i> (edited by John S. Spong, introduction by<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claiborne_Pell" title="Claiborne Pell" >Claiborne Pell</a>), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0943951003" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-943951-00-3</a></li>

<li >1988 – <i>Living in Sin? A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060675071" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-06-067507-1</a></li>

<li >1991 – <i>Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060675187" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-06-067518-7</a></li>

<li >1992 – <i>Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Birth of Jesus</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060675233" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-06-067523-3</a></li>

<li >1994 – <i>Resurrection: Myth or Reality? A Bishop's Search for the Origins of Christianity</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060675462" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-06-067546-2</a></li>

<li >1996 – <i>Liberating the Gospels: Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060675578" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-06-067557-8</a></li>

<li >1999 – <i>Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers In Exile</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060675365" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-06-067536-5</a></li>

<li >2001 – <i>Here I Stand: My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity, Love and Equality</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/006067539X" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-06-067539-X</a></li>

<li >2002 – <i>God in Us: A Case for Christian Humanism</i> (with Anthony Freeman), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780907845171" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 978-0907845171</a></li>

<li >2002 – <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_New_Christianity_for_a_New_World" title="A New Christianity for a New World" >A New Christianity for a New World: Why Traditional Faith Is Dying and How a New Faith Is Being Born</a></i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060670630" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-06-067063-0</a></li>

<li >2005 – <i>The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060762055" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-06-076205-5</a></li>

<li >2007 – <i>Jesus for the Non-Religious</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060762071" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-06-076207-1</a></li>

<li >2009 – <i>Eternal Life: A New Vision: Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060762063" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-06-076206-3</a></li>

<li >2011 – <i>Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780062011282" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 978-0-06-201128-2</a></li>

<li >2013 – <i>The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic</i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780062011305" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 978-0-06-201130-5</a></li>

</ul>

<h2 >References[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Shelby_Spong&action=edit&section=6&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: References" >edit</a>]</h2>

<li id="cite_note-ABC1-1" >^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-ABC1_1-0" >Jump up to:<sup ><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-ABC1_1-1" ><sup ><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-ABC1_1-2" ><sup ><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.abc.net.au/sundaynights/stories/s1238959.htm" >Interview.</a> ABC Radio Australia, June 17, 2001</li>

<li id="cite_note-2" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-2" >Jump up^{</a></b>&nbsp};John Shelby Spong, <i>The Sins of Scripture</i>, HarperCollins 2005, page xi</li>

<li id="cite_note-3" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-3" >Jump up^{</a></b> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.readthespirit.com/explore/the-retired-bishop-john-shelby-spong-interview-on-one-of-the-worlds-most-loved-and-feared-books-the-bibles-gospel-of-john/" >"The retired Bishop John Shelby Spong interview"</a>, Read the Spirit website, 23 June 2013.</li>

<li id="cite_note-4" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-4" >Jump up^{</a></b> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://churchofhumanism.org/en/content/section/8/30/" >"The Humanist Foundation"</a>. Churchofhumanism.org. Retrieved 2011-05-23.</li>

<li id="cite_note-5" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-5" >Jump up^{</a></b> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/calendar/" >Speaking calendar</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-6" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-6" >Jump up^{</a></b> "}<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,153507,00.html" >Challenging the 'Sins of Scripture'</a>". Interview with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_O%27Reilly_(commentator)" title="Bill O'Reilly (commentator)" class="mw-redirect" >Bill O'Reilly</a>. April 14, 2005.</li>

<li id="cite_note-7" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-7" >Jump up^{</a></b> Shelby}, John (2010-11-05). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2000/11/Dominus-Iesus-The-Voice-Of-Rigor-Mortis.aspx" >"Dominus Iesus: The Voice of Rigor Mortis"</a>. Beliefnet.com. Retrieved 2011-05-23.</li>

<li id="cite_note-8" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-8" >Jump up^{</a></b> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/opinion/15kristof.html" >Liberal Bible-Thumping</a> The New York Times, May 15, 2005</li>

<li id="cite_note-9" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-9" >Jump up^{</a></b>&nbsp};Q & A for 2-14-2013 - electronic newsletter, A New Christianity For a New World, <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/" >http://johnshelbyspong.com/</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-Williams-10" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-Williams_10-0" >Jump up^{</a></b> Williams}, Rowan (1998-07-17). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://anglicanecumenicalsociety.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/bishop-spong-and-archbishop-williamss-response/" >"No life, here - no joy, terror or tears"</a>. <i>Church Times</i> (Anglican Ecumenical Society).</li>

<li id="cite_note-11" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-11" >Jump up^{</a></b> Spong}, John Shelby (2000)" Here I Stand: My struggle for a Christianity of integrity, love and equality" (Harper Collins), pp.1-2</li>

<li id="cite_note-12" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-12" >Jump up^{</a></b> Jackson}, Wayne. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/735-john-shelby-spong-anglican-nightmare" >"John Shelby Spong: Anglican Nightmare"</a>. <i>www.christiancourier.com</i>. www.christiancourier.com. Retrieved 23 Aug 2014.</li>

<li id="cite_note-13" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-13" >Jump up^{</a></b> Tooley}, Mark (March 25, 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/tooley/07870.html" >"My Evening with Bishop John Shelby Spong"</a>. <i>www.catholicity.com</i>. InsideCatholic.com. Retrieved 23 Aug 2014.</li>

<li id="cite_note-14" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong#cite_ref-14" >Jump up^{</a></b> Gullotta}, Daniel (2009). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.catholica.com.au/gc1/dg/034_dg_050609.php" >"A Critique of Bishop John Shelby Spong"</a>. <i>www.catholica.com.au</i>. www.catholica.com.au. Retrieved 23 Aug 2014.</li>

</ol>

</div>

<h2 >External links[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Shelby_Spong&action=edit&section=7&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: External links" >edit</a>]</h2>

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</td>

<td class="mbox-text" >This article's <b>use of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links" title="Wikipedia:External links" >external links</a> may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines</b>. Please <a class="external text" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Shelby_Spong&action=edit" >improve this article</a> by removing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not#Wikipedia_is_not_a_mirror_or_a_repository_of_links.2C_images.2C_or_media_files" title="Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not" >excessive</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links" title="Wikipedia:External links" >inappropriate</a> external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources" >footnote references</a>. <small><i>(October 2010)</i></small></td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

<ul >

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.johnshelbyspong.com/" >Spong's official website</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/conversations/stories/s2020226.htm?brisbane" >ABC Radio audio interview with Spong</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/vox20598.html" >"A Call for a New Reformation" by Spong</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.abc.net.au/compass/intervs/spong2001.htm" ><i>Compass</i> interview with Spong</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.mpr.org/programs/midmorning/rafiles/2002/02/28_midmorning1.ram" >Minnesota Public Radio interview with Bishop Spong</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://faith-theology.blogspot.com/2007/09/interview-with-john-shelby-spong-i-am.html" >Scott Stephens' interview with Spong: "I am very orthodox after all!"</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJICIGQl0JU" >The Call of Jesus, an excerpt from Spong's lecture "Jesus for the Non-Religious"</a> on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube" title="YouTube" >YouTube</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XL8LvaJ9Rc" >Beyond Theism, an excerpt from Spong's lecture "Jesus for the Non-Religious"</a> on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube" title="YouTube" >YouTube</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.readthespirit.com/explore/the-retired-bishop-john-shelby-spong-interview-on-one-of-the-worlds-most-loved-and-feared-books-the-bibles-gospel-of-john/" >2013 Interview with Spong on his 2013 book about the Gospel of John and other issues</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsXzu4tcOTI" >The Great Resurrection Debate</a> on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube" title="YouTube" >YouTube</a> with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lane_Craig" title="William Lane Craig" >William Lane Craig</a> at Bethel College (2005).</li>

</ul>

<h3 >Criticism[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Shelby_Spong&action=edit&section=8&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Criticism" >edit</a>]</h3>

<ul >

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://faith-theology.blogspot.com/2007/08/john-shelby-spong-jesus-for-non.html" >Critical review of <i>Jesus for the Non-Religious</i></a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/culture/reading/jesus_for_the_non_religious/" >Jesus for the Non-Religious (review) - Sydney Anglicans website</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://au.christiantoday.com/article/jesus-for-the-non-religious-described-as-gutting-the-christian-faith/3114.htm" >‘Jesus For The Non-Religious’ Described As Gutting The Christian Faith</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/2882/" >What’s Wrong With Bishop Spong? Laymen Rethink the Scholarship of John Shelby Spong</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.publicchristianity.org/spongreview1.html" >Review of Bishop Spong’s <i>Jesus for the Non Religious</i>:An Historical Approach</a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dickson_(author)" title="John Dickson (author)" >John Dickson (author)</a></li>

</ul>

<p>

 </p>

John Shelby Spong

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