gads.async = true; Weve got to deal with the fact that the church has been violently prejudiced against gay people. }, John Shelby Spong 25. Jesus becomes the captive of the hysterically religious, the chronically fearful, the insecure and even the neurotic among us, or he becomes little more than a fading memory, the symbol of an age that is no more and a nostalgic reminder of our believing past. Theism is dead, I joyfully proclaim, but God is real. True religion is not about possessing the truth. It has not only to do with erasing human divisions, but about revitalizing our most cherished beliefs.. [7] Spong was the cousin of the United States Senator from Virginia William B. Spong Jr. It has nothing to do with resuscitated bodies that appear and disappear or that finally exit this world in a heavenly ascension. Most of the noise comes from the shallow end. 'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Copyright 2018 Chautauqua Institution I was taught that it was okay to hate other religions, and especially the Jews, and the Bible was quoted to prove it. Let me try to do just that. apstag.init({ //]]> note: he retired years after this article was first written]. I was taught that women were by nature in inferior to men, and the Bible was quoted to prove it. John Shelby Spong I Am 21st Century Child Am "I believe that God is very real. function q(c, r) { 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 . 23:17). As a leading spokesperson for an open, scholarly, and progressive Christianity, Bishop Spong has taught at Harvard and at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. 25:30)? That identification means . John Shelby Spong, whose books have sold more than a million copies, was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001. Next, was his belief that God is a source of life. All religion seems to need to prove that it's the only truth. At its very core the story of Easter has nothing to do with angelic announcements or empty tombs. }; }); He was 90. No religion does that. g.parentNode.insertBefore(A, g) John Shelby Spong 2 I think that anything that begins to give people a sense of their own worth and dignity is God. During Chautauquas nine-week summer season, the, Iconic Chita Rivera to provide Chautauquans with one of final Amp performances in 22, Incoming pastor Rt. But before he talked too much about the end, he went back to the Jewish roots of Matthews Gospel. //