John Shelby Spong (1931–2021)
Author of Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture
About the Author
Scholar, author and bishop, John Shelby Spong was born in 1931 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1952 and received his Master of Divinity degree in 1955 from the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia. That seminary and show more St. Paul's College have both conferred on him honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees. Ordained in 1955, he is now bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Newark, New Jersey. As the most-published member of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States, Spong is the author of 14 books and more than 90 articles, including Honest Prayer (1973), Dialogue ? In Search of Jewish-Christian Umderstanding (1975), The Living Commandments (1977), Into the Whirlwind: The Future of the Church (1983), Living in Sin? A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality (1988), Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture (1991), and Resurrection: Myth or Reality? (1994). With an active interest in football, basketball and baseball, Bishop Spong was at one time a play-by-play announcer for radio stations in Tarboro, North Carolina, and Lynchburg, Virginia. In addition, he served as sports editor for The Daily Southerner in Tarboro. Bishop Spong resides in Morristown, New Jersey. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Photo by Scott Griessel / Flickr.
Series
Works by John Shelby Spong
Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture (1991) 1,219 copies, 11 reviews
Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers in Exile: A New Reformation of the Church's Faith and… (1998) 1,194 copies, 15 reviews
A New Christianity for a New World: Why Traditional Faith is Dying & How a New Faith is Being Born (2001) 723 copies, 6 reviews
The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love (2005) — Author — 623 copies, 7 reviews
Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Virgin Birth and the Treatment of Women by a Male-Dominated Church (1992) 442 copies, 2 reviews
Here I Stand: My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity, Love, and Equality (2000) — Author — 411 copies
Resurrection: Myth or Reality? A Bishop's Search for the Origins of Christianity (1994) 395 copies, 3 reviews
Eternal Life: A New Vision: Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell (2009) — Author — 277 copies, 4 reviews
Unbelievable: Why Neither Ancient Creeds Nor the Reformation Can Produce a Living Faith Today (2018) 130 copies, 3 reviews
Consciousness and Survival: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry into the Possibility of Life Beyond Biological Death (1987) 5 copies
Un cristianesimo nuovo per un mondo nuovo. Perché muore la fede tradizionale e come ne nasce una nuova (2010) 3 copies
Perché il cristianesimo deve cambiare o morire. La nuova riforma della fede e della prassi della Chiesa (2019) 2 copies
Eternal Life: A New Vision 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Spong, John Shelby
- Birthdate
- 1931-06-16
- Date of death
- 2021-09-12
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Country (for map)
- USA
- Birthplace
- Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
- Place of death
- Richmond, Virginia, USA
- Places of residence
- Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Tarboro, North Carolina, USA
Richmond, Virginia, USA
Newark, New Jersey, USA - Education
- University of North Carolina (BA|1952)
Virginia Theological Seminary (M.Div|1955) - Occupations
- Episcopal Bishop of Newark
priest - Organizations
- Episcopal Church
Episcopal Diocese of Newark - Awards and honors
- ACLU of New Jersey Award (1988)
Members
Reviews
Resurrection: Myth or Reality? : A Bishop's Search… by John Shelby Spong
"The key to understanding [the Resurrection] . . . is recognizing that the Early Christians were Jewish by background and deeply shaped by their formative Jewish traditions. With a close comparison of the New Testament witness to antecedents in the Hebrew scriptures, Spong argues convincingly that many of the details of Jesus' life and his crucifixion are not historical, but derive instead from the Jewish tradition of Midrash, expository teachings that employ the retelling of sacred stories from the Jewish past in order to understand the powerful experience of God in the Jewish present." from book jacket… (more)
Lists
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 46
- Also by
- 3
- Members
- 8,076
- Popularity
- #3,000
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 77
- ISBNs
- 139
- Languages
- 7
- Favorited
- 16