Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Insight from Bishop John Shelby Spong
This week's Q and A from Bishop Spong:
Bob Waldo from the Internet writes:
"Why not refer readers both Christian/Church alumni/and non-Christian readers to the recent publication of James Robinson's "The Gospel of Jesus." It is a very well written account of how the New Testament came to be but is most effective in isolating the meat of the coco, his account of Jesus' own gospel as opposed to that of Paul and Rome. He paints a picture of what I truly believe the man Jesus was about that can only be described as "awesome!" But mostly he points me, a retired minister, to the tremendously exciting truth I could have been preaching...but sadly, I just didn't know."
Dear Bob,
I am happy to recommend James Robinson's book along with many others. Marcus Borg's "The Heart of Christianity" and "Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time." Robert Fink's "Honest to Jesus," perhaps even my own book, "This Hebrew Lord" may be helpful to others.
The sad truth is that the scholarship present in the Christian Academy for at least 200 years has not been shared with the people sitting in the pews. This conspiracy of silence has been carried out quite consciously for fear that these biblical insights might destroy the faith of lay people and make the minister's task more difficult. I have always believed that any god who can be destroyed ought to be destroyed. If one's faith has to be protected from truth, it has already died.
If the clergy would accept the fact that lay people are not dumb sheep who cannot learn and stop insulting their intelligence with the theological drivel, masquerading as a sermon, and would take their educational task seriously, there might be some excitement in the Christian Church.
Instead we are offered a choice between hysterical fundamentalism and vapid liberalism. In my opinion both are dead end streets. There is a hunger in the church for truth, not illusion; for education, not propaganda; for the honoring of our questions rather than the pretense that the clergy have all the answers; for a journey into the mystery of God, not the memorization of creedal formulas.
Across America and Canada and perhaps the world, there are some local churches awakening to these possibilities and the response is heartening.
It takes courage to risk. However, the alternative is to die or to try to put a face-lift on the corpse of yesterday's religious system.
For you to recognize this, even in retirement, is a beautiful thing.
-- John Shelby Spong
Bob Waldo from the Internet writes:
"Why not refer readers both Christian/Church alumni/and non-Christian readers to the recent publication of James Robinson's "The Gospel of Jesus." It is a very well written account of how the New Testament came to be but is most effective in isolating the meat of the coco, his account of Jesus' own gospel as opposed to that of Paul and Rome. He paints a picture of what I truly believe the man Jesus was about that can only be described as "awesome!" But mostly he points me, a retired minister, to the tremendously exciting truth I could have been preaching...but sadly, I just didn't know."
Dear Bob,
I am happy to recommend James Robinson's book along with many others. Marcus Borg's "The Heart of Christianity" and "Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time." Robert Fink's "Honest to Jesus," perhaps even my own book, "This Hebrew Lord" may be helpful to others.
The sad truth is that the scholarship present in the Christian Academy for at least 200 years has not been shared with the people sitting in the pews. This conspiracy of silence has been carried out quite consciously for fear that these biblical insights might destroy the faith of lay people and make the minister's task more difficult. I have always believed that any god who can be destroyed ought to be destroyed. If one's faith has to be protected from truth, it has already died.
If the clergy would accept the fact that lay people are not dumb sheep who cannot learn and stop insulting their intelligence with the theological drivel, masquerading as a sermon, and would take their educational task seriously, there might be some excitement in the Christian Church.
Instead we are offered a choice between hysterical fundamentalism and vapid liberalism. In my opinion both are dead end streets. There is a hunger in the church for truth, not illusion; for education, not propaganda; for the honoring of our questions rather than the pretense that the clergy have all the answers; for a journey into the mystery of God, not the memorization of creedal formulas.
Across America and Canada and perhaps the world, there are some local churches awakening to these possibilities and the response is heartening.
It takes courage to risk. However, the alternative is to die or to try to put a face-lift on the corpse of yesterday's religious system.
For you to recognize this, even in retirement, is a beautiful thing.
-- John Shelby Spong
