[9], A prominent theme in Spong's writing was that the popular and literal interpretations of Christian scripture are not sustainable and do not speak honestly to the situation of modern Christian communities. var cookies = document.cookie.split('; '); Is there a different Bible? God is a presence that I can never define but I could never deny. window.Mobvious = {}; 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. "Christ must be served in every person," he said. [18], During a speaking tour in Australia in 2001, Spong was banned by Peter Hollingworth, the Archbishop of Brisbane, from speaking at churches in the diocese. I never really liked the Gospel of John because I never could find the humanity of Jesus in it. Improve yourself, find your inspiration, share with friends. 12:34), "sons of vipers" (Matt. I rather experience God as the source of life willing me to live fully, the source of love calling me to love wastefully and to borrow a phrase from the theologian, Paul Tillich, as the Ground of being, calling me to be all that I can be. I don't think so. Death is ultimately a dimension of life through which we journey into timelessness. The Christ path is the path I've walked all my life, so it's normal and natural. True religion is not about possessing the truth. //]]> John Shelby Spong I think that anything that begins to give people a sense of their own worth and dignity is God. It was never, even in the New Testament, a finished story. if (window.csa) { He believed 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. Jesus could not have imagined such an idea as Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. Now they are people who have not found in institutional religion a God big enough to be God for their world. When Im asked to define God, Im almost wordless. fetchBids: function() { ", Follow AzQuotes on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. John Shelby Spong 25. gads.src = (useSSL ? He sees himself against nature. I don't think that's the case. try { My experience is my ability to perceive God, but the nature of God is beyond my ability to describe., The same thing is true of Christianitys fundamental doctrine, known as the Incarnation., That doctrine makes Jesus not unlike the comic strip character Clark Kent who turned out to be Superman in the skies, he said. I describe God as the source of life and the source of love and the ground of being. I cannot say my yes to legends that have been clearly and fancifully created. He looks at the vastness of the universe and it looks hostile. John Shelby Spong Quotes. In the way Jesus, whether being praised with flattery or diminished by the threat of death, remained unchanged, Spong was moved to affirm his faith. John Shelby Spong has long been known as the "nightmare" of the more conservative element of the Anglican Church in America. I believe that God is very real. If you look at history, every nation that has operated as if it spoke for God has become violently destructive. If God is the ground of being, then the only way I can worship God is by having the courage to be all that I can be, Spong said. From 1979 to 2000 he was Bishop of Newark. It is not necessarily words addressed heavenward. return false; Praying and living deeply, richly and fully have become for me almost indistinguishab le. "It is with great sadness that we announce the death of the Rt. John Shelby Spong (born November 29, 1935) is an American Episcopal priest and author. 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. Now they are people who have not found in institutional religion a God big enough to be God for their world. But I'm not fighting as the man he knew today, as a Gold. " John Shelby Spong 83. 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 . session: { id: "242-2972433-4130551" }, Because as he becomes self-conscious, hes no longer part of nature. John Shelby Spong. for(var i=0; i
