Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers In Exile

Rating:
Summary: An interesting title
Review: since Christianity has changed a multitude of times over the years. Bishop Spong is a deep thinker and I believe a man with a good heart. To me, that's saying a lot when you're speaking about Christians, just due to the fact that they seem to believe they have this exclusive religion and if you do not believe as they do you are not only condemned to hell, but must be feared, abused, even murdered (but prayed for!!!!). I wonder, do they pray for Osama?

My major problem with this book, as any book on such a topic, is God doesn't speak in "words" (despite the evangelical belief that the bible is the so-called "Word of God", even though the chapters are mostly titled after the MEN ... no WOMEN here ... who wrote them). God speaks in quiet moments in the soul that do not translate well to language; poets have sometimes captured it, although you must have the soul to "read between the lines"; musicians also, in their music, not often in their words. God speaks mostly in quiet, still, peaceful moments. We can feel something, then it wisps away.

Do I KNOW the TRUTH? No. I never will in this life. Neither will you. We seek, as seeking is the nature of life. But to FIND is only something we may feel in a moment, to be lost again the next. Yet scholars such as Bishop Spong with the courage to question are to be admired, not vilified (not even by God, in my opinion, and I "sense" (alas, the human lack of anything else) God agrees with me on this one).

Perhaps since I did not have the "luxury" of a right wing conservative upbringing I am not afraid to ask questions. I pity those who are. So my hat is off to Bishop Spong and all those not afraid to use the brain God gave them. Peace.

Rating:
Summary: Why the Episcopal Church must Change or Die.
Review: When it comes to religion, I have a prejudice. I like to read books by people who know something. I respect Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, or atheists who care about evidence, and go to the trouble of reading intelligent Christian writers before setting out to publicly refute our faith.

By that test, this book is an embarrassment.

The problem is clear in the end notes. Almost all of the books Spong refers to are by other critics of orthodox Christianity: Pagels, Armstrong, Tillich, Strauss, Campbell, Sagan. He does quote page one (did he get any further?) of a book by Richard Swinburne. He also lists Christian physicist, John Polkinghorne, in his bibliography, but makes no mention of his arguments.

The meat of the book consists of a long string of skeptical assertions, with little corroborating evidence, and no reference to responses by Christian or fair-minded secular scholars. "Almost every medical breakthrough has been opposed by Christian leaders." (What about the many medical breakthroughs made by dedicated Christian physicians? Or historians of science, non-Christians like Landes, Davies, and Whitehead among them, who relate the rise of Western science to elements of Christian teaching?) "The problem of evil simply cannot be solved." (What does Spong say to arguments by top-notch philosophers like Plantinga, Wolterstorf or Swinburne, to the contrary?) "The masculinity of the deity . . . has been used for thousands of years to justify the oppression of women . . . " (Has Spong heard of sociologist Rodney Stark, who shows that Christianity was popular among Roman women because it liberated women? Or historians Gu Weiming, J. N. Farquhar, or philosopher Vishal Mangalwadi, who show how Christianity freed Asian women from widow-burning, foot-binding, and other forms of social oppression?) The Gospels "Do not appear to be historical at all." (Can Spong refute N.T. Wright, Craig Blomberg, or John Polkinghorne, who defend the reliability of the Gospels on historical grounds? Does he even have good reason to challenge the skeptics in his own bibliography, who admit that much of the Gospels do appear historical?) "Nor does a cure result from prayers for God's intervention." (I have heard hundreds of stories to the contrary, many first-hand; has Spong refuted them too?) "The God I know can only be pointed to; this God can never be enclosed by propositional statements." (Uh -- isn't that itself a propositional statement about God?) Spong even spends four pages trying to resurrect Sigmund Freud's hoary old theory of the origin of religion.

Both the Spong books I have read so far have been an uncritical, ill-informed expurgation of the most unbalanced attacks on Christianity since the 19th Century, adopting the tone of that century, and making no allowance for Christian responses. Spong risks everything on the gamble that his readers are unaware of contrary arguments, as he himself appears to be. As you see below, even some non-Christians find this mode of argument embarrassing.

In Spong's view, Christians are not merely fools, we are victims of a "mental lobotomy."

Spong reminds me of the cleric on the bus-trip from hell to heaven in C. S. Lewis' The Great Divorce: "When the doctrine of the Resurrection ceased to commend itself to the critical faculties which God had given me, I openly rejected it. I preached my famous sermon. I defied the whole chapter. I took every risk." His friend responds: "What risk? What was at all likely to come of it except what actually came -- popularity, sales for your books, invitations, and finally a bishopric?"

I wish Bishop Spong well. I hope that some day, perhaps on a bus somewhere, we can talk about serious matters in a serious manner.

author, Jesus and the Religions of Man / [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Is Christianity Really Worth Saving?
Review: I read this book a number of years ago when I identified myself as one of Spong's "Believers in Exile." Excepting chapters 12 and 13, which to me are too utopian (much like the book of Revelation in the Bible), I found the book to be an engaging and thought-provoking study of the place of an archaic faith in a contemporary science-based world. Though after finishing the book, I was left with the realization that there really isn't anything in Christianity that is, in my opinion, worth saving.

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Summary: Throwing Out The Baby?
Review: John Spong, an Episcopal Bishop, has written an honest and intelligent examination of modern Christian faith. As controversial as ever, the bishop addresses "believers in exile", people whose deep spiritual longing cannot be satisfied with beliefs and rituals which arose early in the First Century. While the author has done a service to his faith, he may also have thrown a precious baby out with the 2000-year-old bathwater. "I could not make prayer, as it has been traditionally understood, have meaning for me." This quote, taken from page 137, might stand as a summary for this work. In addition to prayer, the author challenges and calls for a new understanding of the Nicene Creed, the Bible, judgment, the role of Jesus, and the existence of a theistic, personal God. The book's strengths are obvious. Using biblical scholarship that has largely been ignored by churches, the author causes his reader to examine and question her or his own faith. Spong also uses historical perspective to present fascinating discussions of such topics as belief during the Hebrew Exile and how the understanding of Jesus developed in the early church. Perhaps the book's greatest strength is that it takes on that ego-driven, anti-intellectual mindset that so often passes for Christianity today. A reading of the Sermon on the Mount should convince believers that Jesus of Nazareth condemned exclusive, anti-human attitudes. As the bishop relates, Jesus commanded an all-inclusive love, which he both lived out and died for. Weaknesses are also revealed in the above quote. When the author says that prayer has no meaning "for me", he assumes that prayer can no longer have meaning for anyone. This ignores recent scientific studies that indicate the efficacy of prayer in a hospital situation, where prayer aided recovery. His conclusion also flies in the faces of millions of people who have been sustained and satisfied by answered prayer. The bishop's conclusion about the existence of a personal God is also dubious. Jesus calls us to experience a transcendent, personal God who is both keenly aware of and deeply interested in our lives. By the logic of this book, anyone who seeks, or finds, such a God must be something of a superstitious fool. This conclusion is at odds with recent scientific findings. While various scientific disciplines are pointing to "something" beyond the realm of physical senses, this spiritual leader tells us that there is no "something". The baby that the bishop has torwn out is named hope. The ancient Greeks were well aware of the need for hope: after Pandora emptied her box of evils into the world, the only thing that remained was hope. In an age filled with despair and spiritual poverty, in an America where it seems we can't even elect a president anymore, the need for hope is as strong as ever. As insightful as this book is, it offers no hope. The bishop is correct: ancient, prescientific beliefs and rituals will never fulfill our deep spiritual longings. Only God can do that.

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Summary: One Man Re-Inventing God
Review: As an ex-Christian, but still a believer in God, I looked forward to reading Spong's work. I have digested much since leaving Christianity...from Neale Donald Walsch's Conversation with God books, to Krishnamurti. Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers In Exile by John Shelby Spong was one of the strangest books I've read yet.

It is Eastern Philosophy/religion disguised as Christianity. Spong follows Christ, but really nothing else about Christianity. His own words painted him as a cross between a 2nd century Gnostic-Taoist who believes the ultimate reality can be called God.

It is very much in vogue to invent a new god. Spong's god is vague, watered-down, and leaves you with little hope. Spong's god will forever be fringe because it offers the "every man" little to nothing. No answered prayers. No intelligent creator...nothing. God is life, much like Neale Donald Walsch. This is a new Age book, and has nothing to do with Christianity or God.

If you want good Eastern thought, I suggest Alan Watts or Krishnamurti.

Most modern religions fashioned god first and foremost after what their heart was telling them. While we may not know god completely, we can feel his presence. Spong systematically tears apart the god worshipped by billions (Islam/Christian/Hindu/etc.) and tells you the way religions must change is to pray to life.

Nice idea, but unrealistic, Mr. Spong. Liberal thinkers like to paint all religion as bad. But, all belief systems can be bad, religious or not, if they do not teach humility and service of others.

The belief system of Mr. Spong is a typically liberal work, filled with pages for the defense of gay rights and the right of women to do whatever they want with their bodies, and short on humility, the reduction of pride, hope, spirituality, and the joy that comes from serving others.

In Mr. Spong's world, Christmas will be gone because it is evil, but gay pride parades with half-naked humans flaunting their sexuality will be embraced.

No thanks, Mr. Spong.

If you are looking for some hope about God, and are an ex-Christian, read the Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and listen to the love in your hearts.

If you are looking for politics disguised as religion, and a dead god that encourages you to pray to yourself, read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Look Up Galatians 1:6-9
Review: In a postmodern era, where truth is relative and reality undefinable, this book provides quick and easy pain relief, kind of like taking morphine for cancer. For the most part, we all want to believe that there is a God or at least something out there; that way we don't feel like this life is such a waste. But if we believe in one system, especially one so "antiquated" as the Bible we will be mocked and ridiculed for being closed-minded and ignorant. But we grew up in Christian homes and are much more comfortable with "Christian" spirituality than, say, Eastern Transcendentalism. So what is the open-minded post modernist to do?

Enter John Shelby Spong (and others)...

Simple, by removing Christianity's belief that we are sinful, Christ no becomes pointless. By removing the parts of Christianity that cause so many people to stumble and which don't make sense in a world where everybody is equally right (see 1 Corinthians 1:18), now Christianity is poised to survive for millennia to come.

The problem is that the message of Christianity is the Gospel, the Good News. That Good News is that even though we have been found to be in rebellion to the Creator, Sustainer, and Judge over the universe, He made a way for us to be made right with Him: Christ. Christ came and died so that we would not be judged as the rebels that we are and cast out of His Presence and into eternal death. Sin is that rebellion; Christ is the only solution. Any religion, including a Savior-less Christianity that does not deal with our problem of sin will probably do quite a bit to make us feel better about our damned condition while we're here on earth, but we will still have to stand on our own merits before the Judge. It's like having cancer, ignoring the miracle cure, and taking morphine so that you can ignore the death that you are dying. Christ, rather, will remove your sin and your rebellion as far as the East is from the West. He will remove your death-bringing cancer of sin and give you the true relief of his grace, both now and for eternity.

Do not fall for Spong's appealing postmodern message. Realize that reality exists; if the God of the Bible is real, you must repent from your sins and place your only hope in Christ.

Rating:
Summary: Is Christianity Really Worth Saving?
Review: I read this book a number of years ago when I identified myself as one of Spong's "Believers in Exile." Excepting chapters 12 and 13, which to me are too utopian (much like the book of Revelation in the Bible), I found the book to be an engaging and thought-provoking study of the place of an archaic faith in a contemporary science-based world. Though after finishing the book, I was left with the realization that there really isn't anything in Christianity that is, in my opinion, worth saving.

Rating:
Summary: A rallying cry many should answer.
Review: Now-retired Episcopal bishop Shelby Spong has never shied away from contentious statements regarding his faith. For decades, Spong has made himself a target for conservative and fundamentalist Christians with his proclamations on prayer, the role of women and homosexuals in the church, and more. WHY CHRISTIANITY MUST CHANGE OR DIE is another step along this road. Between the book's covers, Spong tackles the wholesale reinvention of the Christian faith, from its methods of worship to the very substance of its belief. In a religious environment where some churches burn Harry Potter books for their supposedly irreligious content, Spong's treatise is certainly on an express lane to the bonfire.

Those who take the time to actually read Spong's words will find a thoughtful discussion of the changes Christianity needs to make in the face of a changing social and intellectual landscape. Spong himself struggles with the loss of the premodern innocence that gave rise to the Christian faith, acknowledging that the world as the first-century Christians understood it is not the world in which we live today. Advances in human understanding have fundamentally altered humankind's approach to everything from the weather to disease to the size and origin of the galaxies. Spong's work attempts to find a way for Christianity to remain relevant when its belief system can no longer be accepted literally.

WHY CHRISTIANITY MUST CHANGE OR DIE is not a huge book, despite its topic. While Spong has a tendency to run on when he has an idea in his teeth, his thoughts generally move quickly. He doesn't provide inflexible answers to the questions this reinvention raises, instead pointing out where adherence to a premodern understanding of God has crippled the development of Christianity, and then providing his ideas about how to improve matters. Spong, unsurprisingly, knows his stuff, and its likely many readers will learn things about the historical development of Christianity that they never knew before. All readers, however, will be challenged by Spong's proposed solutions to the question of literalist Christianity, defying as it does the vast body of received wisdom regarding God that form the faith basis of Christian-influenced cultures.

Spong's book is not for those who accept Christian doctrine wholeheartedly, but for those who cannot divorce reason and learning from their religious beliefs. Rather than lapse into a state of nihilism - nothing matters, least of all an imaginary super-being in the sky - as a result of this perspective, Spong instead strives to reclaim the beauty and fulfillment that comes from a new, contemporary understanding of Biblical writings, God-belief and the life of Jesus. Spong is a true believer who does not want to be robbed of the benefits of the Christian faith. As a result, his words can often be quite moving, even as they shake the pillars of literalist religion.

During the course of WHY CHRISTIANITY MUST CHANGE OR DIE, Spong repeatedly refers to himself and fellow travelers as "believers in exile". This is a vast group, and growing larger by the year. In the growing ranks of disaffected believers, Spong sees the coming irrelevance of his bedrock religion. Though some might see his work as a confrontation with the faith, Spong is instead throwing it a lifeline, and while he cannot single-handedly affect a new reformation, he wants to give it a go. WHY CHRISTIANITY MUST CHANGE OR DIE is a rallying cry many should answer.

Rating:
Summary: This book is absolutely blasphemous.
Review: The Bible says in the end times there will be false prophets... right here is one of them.

Rating:
Summary: Christianity is changing.
Review: Even if you do not agree with Spong's conclusions that he has reached only after a trip into heresy and madness, a critical look at Christianity shows that it is changing, and it matters not whether you're an evangelical reactionary or a liberal who doesn't mind a gay man leading the liturgy.

Conservatives might read this book with shock and horror--or perhaps with a smug, self-certainty that this is why the Episcopal Church is destroying itself from within. But a trip to a place like Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas shows you that change affects everyone. Evangelical denominations are growing because the most popular evangelical churches resemble rock concerts mixed in with a bunch of uncritical Bible-pounding and self-congratulation. Or if even that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, you can explore Mormonism or charismatic churches where the word "heresy" doesn't even begin to describe what's going on.

No, like it or not, Spong's right--Christianity must change or die. You can go to the rock concert, or you can think of a way to remain Christian in a way that affirms humanity and reworks the liturgy into something life-affirming and beautiful. Spong ultimately fails in this, because he goes too far--but his book remains useful because sooner or later all Christians much examine their faith critically, or they will become cynical and descend into self-rightenousness and Christian rock.