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Rating: 
Summary: a sin to live?
Review: A God that we can love today is a God that asks us to embrace and celebrate - not just tolerate - difference.
John Shelby Spong makes it clear that Christianity's ideas of morality must be brought up to date. In many ways the teachings of Jesus, and the portrayal of him in the gospels, have never (or rarely) been taken by modern orthodox believers to their logical, radical conclusion.
The early Christians took Jesus to heart and followed his precepts according to their own pre-scientific view of the world. They celebrated 'difference' as long as it did not threaten their male-dominated, female-subordinated view of the world. We now know this is wrong. Today everyone is free to be who they really are, and all sexual behaviour is recognised as equally valid provided no harm is done.
The modern Christian, if he is taking the teachings of Jesus to heart, as the early Christians did, is honour-bound to live in the radical life-affirming way exemplified by the founder of his faith. There is no excuse anymore. Either God loves everyone, and we do mean everyone - not just believers - or he is not a loving God. Everyone is a beloved child of God - no favourites - or God is not a good father.
The Christian of today has to be leading the cause of sexual liberation for all. He has to be fighting for the sexually, socially, religiously, and economically marginalised. John Shelby Spong has taken to heart what Jesus meant when he said: "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." - Matthew 25:40
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Summary: When absolutes of right and wrong are eliminated
Review: As a non-Christian lesbian, who has had some run-ins with fundamentalist Christians, this book has been a great help to me, both in terms of constructing arguments and showing me that not all Christians are hardliners.
I only very recently discovered Spong, and "Living In Sin?" was my first experience of his work and I found him to be an excellent eye opener in regards to the variance of opinions inside the Christian faith. John, thank you.
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Summary: celebration of common sense
Review: Bishop Spong writes with clarity and common sense-without the hindrance of the chains of prejudice and narrow mind. Would that more people would pay him heed-
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Summary: Hope and Understanding
Review: I purchased this book as a 40 year old woman facing divorce. The book helped me wrestle with the most fundamental beliefs held for many Christians. The text allowed me to re-think my life adventure and begin with the freedom that the creator intended. Spong, in this book, delivers a magnificent apology of hope and unending possibilities in life and love.
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Summary: Does Truth Exist?
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.
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Summary: Spong is unworthy of his collar
Review: Spong refuses to realize that God doesn't change, Scripture doesn't change, and therefore the Church shouldn't change. To call the Church "anachronistic" for its attitudes on sexuality is to punt away the truth. Granted, there have been abuses fo power by the church in many instances in areas such as these, and these are to be addressed and fixed, but to completely reevaluate, as Spong endorses, the Church's approach to how it stands in the face of modernity is to bow down to modernity as to an idol. I hope and pray that Spong comes to a saving knowlege of Jesus Christ someday, and abandons the liberal nonsense that he worships in the place of the God he claims to serve.
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Summary: Common sense and thoughtful
Review: While I certainly believe that married couples should be given all the help and support when they have trouble in their marriage, so that hopefully the marriage survives, I also believe the author raises some interesting questions. He shows how over the centuries views on marriage have evolved. That marriage just isn't for everyone. Should gays and lesbians be welcomed into the church? Of course. But I also think the author ignores the covenant with God aspect of marriage and sex. I personally believe that society is to sex focused and that maybe encouraging people to appreciate not being sexual outside of marriage should be tried. And the number of people who are celibate and happy and single is much larger than the media would have us believe.
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Summary: Writing in Sin
Review: Wow. Let me say that again: wow. I grew up Christian, and I know lots of people who fall under that designation. Some of them are judgemental and intolerant, many of them are compassionate, loving people -- and almost all of them fall short of the kind of tolerance and love for humanity that the bishop John Shelby Spong obviously possesses. I left the Christian church for many reasons, one of which was the outdated dogma attached to moral behavior. Bishop Spong in LIVING IN SIN addresses issues of sexual morality (pre-marital sex, homosexuality, post-married sex) with a voice that is open, unafraid, and firmly based in Christian teachings. His Biblical scholarship is very good, and his message opened my eyes and gave me hope for the future of Christianity, faith in general, and the place of organized faith systems in our society.
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Summary: One of Spong's best
Review: Written in 1988, way ahead of its time, "Living in Sin?" continues to ask tough questions about sexual ethics in what is now the 21st century. Spong, clearly fed up with the church's naive view of human sexuality, proposes some ideas to the church that are not all that radical in today's changing society. Pointing out the flaws of the bias towards patriarchy shown in the Bible and the church's ongoing reluctance to accept new ideas, Spong calls on the church to bless same-sex relationships and permit sex outside of marriage in some instances. He also petitions the church to permit divorce and encourage divorced persons to worship in full communion with the church. In the book, Spong also asserts that the Bible is not a valid "textbook" for sexual ethics in today's society. He says that what was considered moral in the first century is not necessarily moral today and vice versa. He calls on church leaders to "wake up and smell the coffee" - the church cannot continue to proclaim outdated sexual ethics into the 21st century without losing it's authority. Although a great deal of controversy surrounds John Shelby Spong, this book demands the reader's attention as we are forced to question what we believe is sexually moral and why we believe it. If we believe something just because "the Bible says so," Spong asserts that we are in for a rude awakening. "Living in Sin?" is book that will change the way you think about the relationship between morality and sexuality, as it will certainly help to permeate new doctrines in the church over the coming years as they begin to realize that maybe, just maybe, they had it wrong about sex.
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