Spong warns not to take Bible too literally

Charlotte Observer ^ | Monday March 25 07:20 AM EST | MICHELLE CROUCH

[US admirer]

Spong warns not to take Bible too literally

Controversial religious figure John Shelby Spong took the pulpit at Dilworth United Methodist Sunday and urged more than 600 worshippers not to believe everything they read in the Bible.

The retired Episcopal bishop, who was born and raised in Dilworth, is best known for questioning Christian tenets such as Jesus' virgin birth and his physical resurrection. Spong's Palm Sunday sermon focused on challenging those who believe the Bible is the literal word of God.

"The book we see as the book of life has for years been used as a weapon of oppression, and it's still being used to justify hatred and oppression," Spong said... (see URL for full article)

[US admirer]

Makes me feel better about all that requisite incest that would have had to be going on between the original parents and their kids, to move the species along. I have to say that I find Spong quite intelligent and thoughtful.

For anyone who is interested, several of his writings can be found here:

http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/vox.html#spong

[Orual]

Mary Cohen of Huntersville, who was raised Roman Catholic, said Spong's views make Christianity easier to swallow.

"For years, I haven't participated in organized religion because I was struggling with the conflict between what the church taught and what I learned in the real world," she says. "This has given me a new hope for Christianity. He's framed it in a different light and in a way that I can accept."

Hooray!! A way out. Now she can do what SHE thinks is right, and not have to be bothered with those darn old rules.

[DoughtyOne]

The retired Episcopal bishop, who was born and raised in Dilworth, is best known for questioning Christian tenets such as Jesus' virgin birth

Sorry friend.  If this man actually believes this then he's no Christian.  This simple concept is the core of Christianity.

There is nothing else I need to hear from or about this individual.

[ihavetheanswer]

The artical tells us where and when he was born, but doesn't mention if he was "Born Again";
Because he wasn't!
Note; It is imposible to be truly born again, and reject the deity of The Lord!

[detsaoT]

As if I need more proof as to the indifference the United (or is that Untied?) Methodist Church and the Episcopal Church have to the truths of Christianity. Is there any hope left for either church? Do they really wonder why their membership is dwindling?

As I see it, both churches, as a whole, are populated with people whose entire purpose in seeking positions in the ministry was to duck out of the Vietnam war. As a whole, this population sees no truths to be self-evident, and as a whole, the teachings of both of these churches SHOULD NOT be confused with TRUE Christianity, as the teachers and the shepherds are more lost than the parishoners.

It's truly sad that such a reputable church as the UMC has fallen this far.

:( ttt

[babyface00]

Huh?

[Rodm]

Amazing, Spong uses the same lie as Satan used to tempt Eve. "Yea, hath God said......?" In other words 'you can't believe everything God tells you'. This lie ends in eternal death.

[Maceman]

I always understood that the virgin birth was not taken as absolute fact by Christians until the Catholic church made it part of their doctrine in the 1800s.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, as I am not a Christian, but would be very interested in knowing whether I am correct or not.

[weikel]

The Episcopalians are basically Catholics with no pope right Im not religious just curious?

[Semper Paratus]

Bible warns not to take Spong too literally.

[dighton]

The bishop ... is a notoriously unorthodox figure even by the standards of American Anglicanism.

-- Jonathan Petre, in the Telegraph.

[chance33_98]

Why bother believing any of it then? Pick what you like, toss out what you think is bad, and make up your own faith based on Human experience. After all, we know better then God what works for us.

To me, you either take it as a matter of faith or you don't. There will be differences in what things mean of course, just like there is with the Constitution. But those who have a core belief will live by it, those who don't will only wish to attack it and change the meanings. What has happend to our country is happening to the bible as well - distort the founding documents and make up things as you go along.

[plain talk]

So under pressure from each of these four serious compromising objections, the concept of life after death has entered a theological limbo. The Church will not abandon it officially; but few theologians seek to engage this profound issue, because it makes little sense inside the box of traditional theistic thinking and no one has proposed a new context in which it can be examined. So in both conservative and liberal Christian circles, a conspiracy of silence has fallen on the subject.

and

Is stealing a loaf of bread, when that is the only way one's family might escape starvation, to be judged on the same basis as one who stole as a way of life?

Wow. I got the above quotes from http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/vox31199.html I read most of it. It's hard to believe a so-called minister wrote it. It represents some of the most naive and ignorant views of Christianity I have ever read. A sovereign God knows our situation far better than we and does judge us based on our heart. This guy needs to go all the way back to square one and read Mere Christianity . I hope he submits to Christ some day. And let us pray for his flock.

[homeschool mama]

**Sorry friend. If this man actually believes this then he's no Christian. This simple concept is the core of Christianity. There is nothing else I need to hear from or about this individual. **

bump

[william clark]

"The book we see as the book of life has for years been used as a weapon of oppression, and it's still being used to justify hatred and oppression"

Well then, I guess we can also scrap that nasty U.S. Constitution, right? After all, more than a few misdeeds have been committed by our government over the last couple of hundred years, so clearly its founding documents are to blame.

[Romulus]

You are mistaken. The Catholic church has always taught the doctrine of the virgin birth.

[Restorer]

I always understood that the virgin birth was not taken as absolute fact by Christians until the Catholic church made it part of their doctrine in the 1800s.

I suspect you're confusing the dogma of Immaculate Conception (made official in 1854) with that of virgin birth. Immaculate Conception is the dogma that Mary was unstained by Original Sin.

The virgin birth of Christ has been a central teaching of all barieties of Christianity for not quite 2,000 years. As far as I know, the Roman Catholic is the only church that accepts the doctrine of immaculate conception.

[Windsong]

"It is imposible to be truly born again, and reject the deity of The Lord!"

As well as for being baptized into the church, for that matter.

[patent]

No kidding. When all you have is a hammer all theology looks like a nail, or something like that.

patent