View source for John Shelby Spong

'''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 has made numerous assertions regarding perceived textual and logical issues in the [[New Testament]] in an attempt to debunk traditional Christian concepts (such as the bodily [[Resurrection of Jesus]]), with some of his textual criticisms attacking Christianity based on "key" Greek words that weren't even in the cited Biblical passage to begin with. <ref>https://creation.com/whats-wrong-with-bishop-spong#9</ref>

Spong has attacked early Christianity and the actions of previous Christians, declaring the church [[sexist]] and attempting to argue that [[Biblical literalism]] in terms of the Hebrew scriptures is a Christian invention<ref>https://www.amazon.com/Biblical-Literalism-Gentile-Christianity-Matthews/dp/0062362313</ref> (the implication being that ancient [[Israelites]] before Christ were also atheistic). He still wears his collar in spite of no longer being affiliated with the Episcopal Church. 

==Criticism==
Spong's assertions have garnered criticism from Gerald O'Collins, a [[Jesuit]] [[Priest]] and Professor of Fundamental Theology at [[Rome]]'s Gregorian University, as well as former [[Anglican]] Archbishop Rowan Williams. O'Collins referred to Spong's work as "simply not belonging in the world of international scholarship" and criticized Spong's apparent lack of understanding in his own arguments regarding the [[Greek language]]<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20071013035538/http://www.christian-apologetics.org/pdf/SpongRev20Web.pdf</ref>, while Williams discussed why Spong's points are "invalid" in his opinion and fail to present a compelling alternative for traditional, theistic Christian belief. <ref>https://anglicanecumenicalsociety.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/bishop-spong-and-archbishop-williamss-response/</ref>

==References==
[[Category:Anglicans]]
[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:Atheist Authors]]