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'''John Shelby "Jack" Spong''' (born June 16, 1931) is a retired [[Episcopal Church]] [[bishop]], having served the [[Newark]] [[diocese]] for 21 years, from 1979 to 2000. Despite spending a career in [[clergy]], Spong is a long time [[atheist]] and [[critic]] of [[Christianity]], even to the point of writing numerous books critical of traditional Christian belief while serving as a bishop. He holds [[liberal]] views in regard to the [[homosexual agenda]], [[feminism]], and Christian church history. <ref>https://www.cbsnews.com/news/liberal-bishop-questions-literal-reading-of-bible-in-brown-u-speech/</ref>

'''John Shelby "Jack" Spong''' (born June 16, 1931) is a retired [[Episcopal Church]] [[bishop]], having served the [[Newark, New Jersey]] [[diocese]] for 21 years, from 1979 to 2000. Despite spending a career in [[clergy]], Spong is a long time [[atheist]] and [[critic]] of [[Christianity]], even to the point of writing numerous books critical of traditional Christian belief while serving as a bishop. He holds [[liberal]] views in regard to the [[homosexual agenda]], [[feminism]], and Christian church history. <ref>https://www.cbsnews.com/news/liberal-bishop-questions-literal-reading-of-bible-in-brown-u-speech/</ref>

Spong advocates a non-[[theistic]] view of [[God]]<ref>https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-067084-9</ref>, declaring theism to be "dead" and choosing to define God as a mere metaphor for humanity and existence rather than the literal creator of the universe. He calls for a "new [[reformation]]" that will eliminate theism from Christianity (essentially reframing it as a form of [[humanism]]). He has embraced a tradition of [[secular]] [[Biblical]] scholarship that is largely based on [[anti-Christian]] speculation and to date has failed to present anything of worth or provability. Among Spong's favorite theories is that of [[Judas Iscariot]] being an [[anti-semitic]] invention<ref>https://chqdaily.com/2016/07/john-shelby-spong-argues-character-of-judas-was-created-to-implicate-jews/</ref>, a theory rejected even by most secular scholars.  

Spong advocates a non-[[theistic]] view of [[God]]<ref>https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-067084-9</ref>, declaring theism to be "dead" and choosing to define God as a mere metaphor for humanity and existence rather than the literal creator of the universe. He calls for a "new [[reformation]]" that will eliminate theism from Christianity (essentially reframing it as a form of [[humanism]]). He has embraced a tradition of [[secular]] [[Biblical]] scholarship that is largely based on [[anti-Christian]] speculation and to date has failed to present anything of worth or provability. Among Spong's favorite theories is that of [[Judas Iscariot]] being an [[anti-semitic]] invention<ref>https://chqdaily.com/2016/07/john-shelby-spong-argues-character-of-judas-was-created-to-implicate-jews/</ref>, a theory rejected even by most secular scholars.