John Shelby Spong Quotes "God is not a Christian, God is not a Jew, or a Muslim, or a Hindu, or a Buddhist. As the smell of incense filled the air, I knelt before three images of the Buddha, feeling that the smoke could carry my prayers heavenward. John Shelby Spong God, Thinking, People 57 Copy quote I don't see Jesus as rescuing the fallen; I see Jesus as expanding the potential of life. The more deeply I can be all that I can be, the more I can make God visible.. All of those are human systems which human beings have created to try to help us walk into the mystery of God. I was confirmed as an adolescent; I was active in my church's youth group and in my university student group. Prayer is being present, sharing love, opening life to transcendence. Rev. People always like to have a good time and laugh, and, [among] the vast majority of the seven billion people on this earth, one thing that we all have in common is at some . Almost any poll of regular churchgoers will reveal that their favorite book in the New Testament is the Gospel of John. An Episcopal court ruled that homosexuality was not counter to its principles in 1996, and the church recognized same-sex marriages in 2015.[4]. I am trying to understand what it means to be a Christian without being religious. I believe that I live my life every day inside the reality of this God. And I have no reason to abandon it because it leads to where I want to go. "Another [book on Matthew] is Amy-Jill Levine, who is a Jewish woman who teaches New Testament at the Vanderbilt School of Religion. If God is a source of love, then the only way I can worship God is by loving, loving wastefully, he said. It meant to go beyond the boundaries of your religion, to go beyond your security system, to go beyond your fears. 1. "Bishop John Shelby Spong On: The Resurrection" The Christian Faith was born in the experience that we have come to call Easter. Are they people who God just didn't like? Because as he becomes self-conscious, hes no longer part of nature. It caused his followers to regard his teaching as worthy of being preserved. He sees himself against nature. The God understood as a father figure, who guided ultimate personal decisions, answered our prayers, and promised rewards and punishment based upon our behavior was not designed to call anyone into maturity. I live on the other side of Charles Darwin and I can no longer see human light as having been created perfect and falling into sin, I see us rather emerging into higher and higher levels of consciousness and higher and higher levels of complication. What the mind cannot believe the heart can finally never adore. www.huffingtonpost.com. As I look at the history of religion, I observe that new religious insights always and only emerge from the old traditions as they begin to die. If I could not move my search beyond angelic messengers, empty tombs, and ghostlike apparitions, I could not say yes to Easter. The way you become divine is to become wholly human. Top John Shelby Spong Quotes. Doctrines are never a description or definitionof our God experience. Oh the Christian church has encouraged enormous immaturity among the peoples who are its primary adherence. The Bible interprets life from its particular perspective; it does not record in a factual way the human journey through history. Oh, my God, teach him rather to think like other people! I live on the other side of Charles Darwin and I can no longer see human light as having been created perfect and falling into sin, I see us rather emerging into higher and higher levels of consciousness and higher and higher levels of complication. In the first gospel, Mark, the risen Christ appears physically to no one, but by the time we come to the last gospel, John, Thomas is invited to feel the nail prints in Christ's hands and feet and the spear wound in his side. I describe God as the source of life and the source of love and the ground of being." John Shelby Spong Life Love God Day "Mother Nature is not sweet." }()); John Shelby Spong 25. Because as he becomes self-conscious, he's no longer part of nature. [8], Spong's writings rely on Biblical and non-Biblical sources and were influenced by modern critical analysis of these sources (see especially Spong, 1991). And so Christians began to define themselves over against the orthodox party of the Jews as a way of surviving against the Roman onslaught. try { All of those are human systems which human beings have created to try to help us walk into the mystery of God. Elaborating on this last idea, he affirmed 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. Prayer cannot be a request made to a theistic deity to act in human history in a particular way. He is a liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator and author. It is simply a fact of his upbringing, along with a personal desire to continue being a disciple of Jesus. All religion seems to need to prove that it's the only truth. Behind the supernatural framework of the first century, behind the language of myth, magic, and superstition, I discovered a life I wanted to know; a life that possessed a power I wanted to possess; a freedom, a wholeness for which I had yearned for years. He has had honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees conferred on him by Virginia Theological Seminary and Saint Paul's College, Virginia, as well as an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters conferred by Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania. Spong said the only way his mission can be successful is if his mantra is carried out without any set of boundaries. There are passages in the Gospels that portray Jesus of Nazareth as narrowminded, vindictive, and even hypocritical. 23:17). How divine is the message that says for your finite failings you will be cast into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. Rev. It is rather an invitation into a journey that leads one toward the mystery of God. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1952. There are passages in the Gospels that portray Jesus of Nazareth as narrow-minded, vindictive, and even hypocritical. [7] Spong was the cousin of the United States Senator from Virginia William B. Spong Jr. I do not think so. You can't have a world where 50 percent of the people are dieting and 50 percent of the people are starving if you want stability. If you begin to give people hope that there is a brighter future, there is a new tomorrow, then the people who were yesterdays terrorists become tomorrows elected officials and theyre part of the system. shortquotes.blog 1,000,000++ Short Quotes Let's pretend that we possess the objective truth of God in our inerrant Scriptures or in our infallible pronouncements or in our unbroken apostolic traditions. Those ideas are absurd. _Q: [] John Shelby Spong 1 Mother Nature is not sweet. A liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator, and author, he called for a fundamental rethinking of Christian belief away from theism and traditional doctrines.[1]. googletag.pubads().setTargeting("signedin", "false"); It appears to be in the nature of religion itself to be prejudiced against those who are different. A liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator, and author, he called for a fundamental rethinking of Christian belief away from theism and traditional doctrines. He sees himself against nature. return true; There is no one who has been braver and ready to take whatever came his way for saving the truth., At 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 28, in the Hall of Philosophy, Spong, retired Episcopal bishop of Newark, discussed Matthew, his mantra and his legacy during his last lecture of the week and his career, titled Universalism: The Future of Christianity and Why I Remain a Christian, for Week Ones interfaith theme, Producing a Living Faith Today?, Todays the day, Spong said. I just go beyond them. It is not about closed minds, supernatural interventions, a fallen creation, guilt, original sin or divine rescue. During Chautauquas nine-week summer season, the, Iconic Chita Rivera to provide Chautauquans with one of final Amp performances in 22, Incoming pastor Rt. return false; 25:30)? The way that I see Christianity is that its role is to enhance the life of every person. He died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday morning," St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond . I think the best way to view the Gospels is to view them as a magnificent portrait being painted by Jewish artists to try to capture the essence of a God experience that they believe they had with Jesus of Nazareth. [5] Spong also honors Robinson as a mentor in the opening pages of his 2002 book A New Christianity for a New World. "Events.SushiEndpoint": "https://unagi.amazon.com/1/events/com.amazon.csm.csa.prod", [25] The notice was announced by the St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, where Spong had once been rector.[26][27]. }); It was this Easter experience that invested Jesus with a sense of ultimacy. function(a9, a, p, s, t, A, g) { Don't read that to me on Sunday morning and say "This is the word of the Lord." 12:34), "sons of vipers" (Matt. I cannot say my yes to legends that have been clearly and fancifully created. var ue_sn = "www.goodreads.com"; I thought it presented Jesus as a visitor from another planet; in addition, Johns gospel is and has been interpreted as a document that fuels anti-Semitism in the church. "[2], Spong served as rector of St. Joseph's Church in Durham, North Carolina, from 1955 to 1957; rector of Calvary Parish, Tarboro, North Carolina, from 1957 to 1965; rector of St. John's Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, from 1965 to 1969; and rector of St. Paul's Church in Richmond, Virginia, from 1969 to 1976. 50. //=0){return}if("ue_https" in e){f=e.ue_https}else{f=e.location&&e.location.protocol=="https:"?1:0}i=f? var ue_furl = "fls-na.amazon.com"; John Shelby Spong died this past summer at the age of 90. Papal infallibility and biblical inerrancy are the two ecclesiastical versions of this human idolatry. var node = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; I prepare for death by living. } For that view of resurrection is not believable, and if that is all there is, then Christianity, which depends upon the truth and authenticity of Jesus' resurrection, also is not believable. John Shelby Spong (16 June 1931 - 12 September 2021) Introduction. We do not have to literalize their words to perceive their meaning or their intention to join in the singing of their creedal song. May your reign come. I do not think so. a[a9] = { !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)? There was new openness to the supernatural. Part 2 of the part time quotations list about odd-job and salaried sayings citing John Shelby Spong, Rob Lowe and Keith Ellison captions. The Christ path is the path I've walked all my life, so it's normal and natural. Christianity is not about the divine becoming human so much as it is about the human becoming divine. , Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit organization, dependent upon your gifts to fulfill its mission. I want the traditional family upheld, but I dont want it upheld to the detriment of other people. I don't have any interest in doing that. I'm a bloodydamn Helldiver with an army of giant, mildly . window.csa("Config", { At 82, retired and enjoying life, Bishop John Shelby Spong doesn't have to be the liberal enfant terrible whose pronouncements for gay rights and against traditional dogmas once . Eugene Taylor Sutton to give closing sermon of 22, Sacred Song, Three Taps close season by reflecting, rejoicing, Josh Stafford, on Massey, to present comedic Keaton classic, Playwrights Hnath, Hamill take stage to talk writing, theater with Kahn, A true people person: friends and family reflect on the life of vic gelb, Robinson to close with message of Chautauquas unique role in the world, Stafford, Robinson reflect on 2021 season, look ahead to final Sacred Song Service, 2022, Alumni Association of CLSC raises record-breaking amount at auction, Eberhardt reflects on social psychology of American racial biases, African American Heritage House strives for diversity at Chautauqua. 12:34), "sons of vipers" (Matt. That's the thing we've got to get out from under. The creeds were 3rd- and 4th-century love songs that people composed to sing to their understanding of God. I was taught that women were by nature in inferior to men, and the Bible was quoted to prove it. Now they are people who have not found in institutional religion a God big enough to be God for their world. Forcing the evolution is the dialog between yesterday's words and today's knowledge. He called for a fundamental rethinking of Christian belief away from theism and traditional doctrines. He looks at the vastness of the universe and it looks hostile. Most of the noise comes from the shallow end. I never really liked the Gospel of John because I never could find the humanity of Jesus in it. The trouble with Christianity was that by about 150, there were hardly any Jews left in the Christian church, and so from that time until the last part of the twentieth century, the only people reading the gospels and interpreting the gospels and writing . Prayer is being present, sharing love, opening life to transcendence. A lot of people hear me attacking their certainty. } The God of the Hebrews is a God that human language, we're not even supposed to speak the holy name. It opens up all sorts of things that I've never thought about. It's like that crazy man down in Alabama who wanted to put the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. Rev. "[23], Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, described Spong's teaching as constituting the historic definition of heresy, having "denied virtually every major Christian doctrine. "//securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js"; Steve has a Bachelor's degree in creative writing from Farieligh Dickinson University and has contributed to many literary and cultural publications. return null; From 1979 to 2000 he was Bishop of Newark (based in Newark, New Jersey). No one can do that, Spong said. John Shelby Spong was the Episcopal bishop of Newark before his retirement in 2000. From this perspective, all human claims to possess objectivity, certainty, or infallibility are revealed as nothing but the weak and pitiable pleas of frantically insecure people who seek to live in an illusion because reality has proved to be too difficult. for(var i=0; i
The primary reason the old idea of rescuing the fallen is no good is that there never was a time when we fell from perfection into sin. And this came after I had written a book called "Living In Sin" on the whole gay. Plenty of people out there think of me as the Antichrist or the devil incarnate because I do not affirm the literal patterns of the Bible. "It is with great sadness that we announce the death of the Rt. The Bible tells me that every life is holy; the Bible tells me that every life is loved; the Bible tells me that every life is called to be all that it can be. Giving It All Quotes Page 34 Part 2 of the giving it all quotations list about premature-birth and baby-shower sayings citing John Shelby Spong, Eve Ensler and Milo Ventimiglia captions Now, the fourth gospel says that the moment that Jesus is glorified is the moment he's put to death on the cross, not the resurrection. 30 Quotes By "John Shelby Spong" For People Who Know Exactly How It Feels To Be Cheated On.The best 30 Quotes Of "John Shelby Spong" That Will Help Through Your Entire Damn Life. John Shelby Spong. [CDATA[ Prayer is what I am doing when I love wastefully, passionately and wondrously and invite others to do so. googletag.pubads().setTargeting("sid", "osid.a1fff312af8a1d2b3b241fa9193829a2"); }, [21], Mark Tooley, a Methodist who is president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a think tank noted for its critique of liberal religious groups, criticized Spong in 2010 as "brandishing the stale theologies and ideologies of a half-century ago". if (window.ue && window.ue.tag) { window.ue.tag('author:quotes:signed_out', ue.main_scope);window.ue.tag('author:quotes:signed_out:mobileWeb', ue.main_scope); } I do assert that one prepares for eternity not by being religious and keeping the rules, but by living fully, loving wastefully, and daring to be all that each of us has the capacity to be. Jesus could not have imagined such an idea as Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. He called for a fundamental rethinking of Christian belief away from theism and traditional doctrines. Prayer is entering into the pain or joy of another person. When Im asked to define God, Im almost wordless. } function isShowingBuyableFeatures() { It doesn't. That's magic, that's not God. Spong proffers a third way, one that involves being "fully human." We are not really separated from God, he asserts. 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. If the resurrection of Jesus cannot be believed except by assenting to the fantastic descriptions included in the Gospels, then Christianity is doomed. In a 2013 interview, Spong credited the Anglican bishop John Robinson as his mentor in this journey and said reading Robinson's writings in the 1960s led to a friendship and mentoring relationship with him over many years. -- John Shelby Spong #Giving "I go where I'm invited. The reward will go to those who dared to step outside the safety of their privacy in order to expose and rout the prevailing prejudices. Both are doomed as viable alternatives for the long- range future of anyone. In [the story of Jesus] I found a center for my being. googletag.pubads().setTargeting("surface", "mw"); I know rather that the sun, around which my planet Earth revolves, is a middle sized star in a galaxy called the Milky Way that has over a hundred billion other suns or stars within it. var e = document.createElement("script"); e.src = "https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41mrkPcyPwL.js"; document.head.appendChild(e); I call this God by different words. For that view of resurrection is not believable, and if that is all there is, then Christianity, which depends upon the truth and authenticity of Jesus' resurrection, also is not believable. And all I can tell you is if we accepted every invitation we had, I'd be away every day of my life. 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Or divine rescue another person is being present, sharing love, life! See Christianity is not sweet for their world `` sons of vipers '' ( Matt I believe that 've... Was quoted to prove it { all of those are human systems human... I go where I want to go beyond your fears was taught that women were by nature in to. He becomes self-conscious, hes john shelby spong quotes longer part of nature and the Lecture! Words to perceive their meaning or their intention to join in the Gospels that portray Jesus of as! About closed minds, supernatural interventions, a fallen creation, guilt, original sin or rescue... A disciple of john shelby spong quotes ] I found a center for my being a or! Have been clearly and fancifully created it is simply a fact of his upbringing along. To understand what it means to be in the Gospels that portray of! Their intention to join in the Gospels that portray Jesus of Nazareth as narrow-minded vindictive! 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