Podcast appearances and mentions of bishop spong

In our service today, I reflect on the Legacy of Bishop John Shelby Spong, who died on the 12th September 2021 - a little over 12 months ago. It's a repeat of a service I first gave at our Shady Grove Church shortly after learning that Bishop Spong had died. His 12 theses for the reform of the Episcopal Church in the USA resonate with many Unitarians - and a growing cohort of Christians who believe that there is a need for a rational, intellectually credible definition of the nature and presence of God in our lives that reflects our Science and questions outworn dogma. What remains steadfast is agape Love: - that God is Love and Love is God; - that God is to be found in the Love we must give "wastefully" and - hopefully, receive. For this is where we see the living presence of God at work in the world - even in the hard times!

Hank Hanegraaff, the host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast and the Hank Unplugged podcast, reflects on the teachings and recent death of John Shelby Spong, who for many decades influenced a great number of people within the Episcopal Church. Spong was well known for rejecting essential doctrines of the historic Christian faith, including the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation, Virgin Birth, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. But consider the words of St. Paul, who asked, “If it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you [like Bishop Spong] say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised [as Bishop Spong preached], your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:12–20 NIV).

Remembering the late Bishop John Shelby Spong, who left us last Sunday at the age of 90. The author of over 25 books including Rescuing the Bible From Fundamentalism and Jesus for the Non-Religious, the bishop was a towering force for human rights and radical inclusivity way before his time. I'll talk with Bishop Gene Robinson, who knew Jack well. And you'll hear some highlights from Bishop Spong's appearances here on our program over the years. Be sure to visit us at stateofbelief.com - and be sure to tune in, for religion and radio done differently!

Greg Locke gets locked out of twitter, the CCP hates Christian Music, and Bishop Spong passes away. Later Pastor and I examine the a demonic possession. Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com Visit Our Youtube Page Risen Savior's Youtube Channel

In this episode, we talk about the recent passing of Bishop John Shelby Spong and review one of his sermons to explain his views of liberal/progressive Christianity.

GAFCON seems to be weakening after another Women Bishop was Consecrated in Kenya and Bishop Spong has died. This and much, much more on todays Anglican Unscripted.Torrance Report - https://anglican.ink/2021/09/11/torrance-review-of-the-diocese-of-aberdeen-orkney/

Dr. Craig debates John Shelby Spong on the nature and historicity of the resurrection of Jesus.

Bishop John Shelby Spong is a retired United States Episcopalian Bishop, equal rights activist and writer. This conversation was recorded in June 2001 before Sunday Service at Brisbane's Metropolitain Community Church. Bishop Spong had been banned by both Brisbane's Catholic and Anglican Archbishops from speaking for his message of acceptance and tolerance in churches. ©Queer Radio --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/working-for-our-wellbeing/message

Boy, was I ever excited with I pulled this baby out of the box. We recorded & aired this in 2007. Note the fun story I relate about my trip to India in the beginning of Part 1.Bishop Spong has been a lightning rod for the liberal wing of Christianity. He has many theological enemies, but continues to be a force.

Is the Talpiot Tomb in East Jerusalem the Tomb of Jesus Christ and His Family as well as His Parents and close relatives? Why do we not have a binity rather than a trinity? Where did the notion of the Holy Ghost come from? The noun ‘Elohim’ has three basic uses in the Hebrew scriptures: the One God, lesser deities, and very prominent saints, as with Abraham (Gen. 23:6) and Samuel (1 Samuel 28:13). Is the 3rd perhaps the root of an 'exaltation theology' that would later be applied to Jesus? In Exodus 4:21 and many times in Exodus 7-11, it is written that "Pharaoh's heart was hard" and that "Pharaoh's heart was hardened". The Hebrew word translated "hardened" can also mean “strengthened.” This is said in tandem with God promising great signs and wonders. Could this mean God would by this means encourage Pharaoh to yield, but that he still resisted? What is your estimation of Bishop Spong’s scholarly work? Do you think the Protestant emphasis on Sola Scriptura is actually making an idol of the Bible? Who are your favorite conservative NT scholars and why? Is the philosophy of history espoused by Fichte/Hegel integral to Tübingen scholarship (e.g., F.C. Baur)?

Bishop John Shelby Spong has been on the leading edge of progressive Christianity. Over the decades he has shared his own honest journey with faith, doubt, and social activism as an Episcopal priest, bishop, and author. Some of his many books include: Living in Sin? A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture, and Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers in Exile. He is the author of the newly released, Unbelievable: Why Neither Ancient Creeds Nor the Reformation Can Produce a Living Faith Today. This conversation with Bishop Spong is the fourth of five interviews in my series, Revisioning Christianity. Already we heard from John Dominic Crossan, Resurrecting Easter: How the West Lost and the East kept the Original Easter Vision, Bart Ehrman, author of The Triumph of Christianity: How A Forbidden Religion Swept the World, and David Skrbina: The Jesus Hoax: How St. Paul’s Cabal Fooled the World for Two Thousand Years. Next week, I speak with Angela Yarber about the Holy Women Icons Project. All of those interviews are available on podcast at Progressive Spirit.

We revisit a 2016 interview with Bishop Spong to mark the release of his new book, Unbelievable: Why Neither Ancient Creeds Nor the Reformation Can Produce a Living Faith Today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Shelby Spong, whose books have sold more than a million copies, was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, NJ for 24 years. Guest Biography John Shelby Spong, whose books have sold more than a million copies, was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001. Many of the views that once turned the former Episcopal bishop into a lightning rod are now regarded as so matter-of-fact that they barely garner much notice: ordaining gay clergy, blessing same-sex marriages, or having a female presiding bishop. His admirers acclaim him as a teaching bishop who makes contemporary theology accessible to the ordinary layperson — he’s considered the champion of an inclusive faith by many, both inside and outside the Christian church. In one of his recent books, The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible’s Texts of Hate to Discover the God of Love (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2005), this visionary thinker seeks to introduce readers to a proper way to engage the holy book of the Judeo-Christian tradition. A committed Christian who has spent a lifetime studying the Bible and whose life has been deeply shaped by it, Bishop Spong says he was not interested in Bible bashing. “I come to this interpretive task not as an enemy of Christianity,” he says. “I am not even a disillusioned former Christian, as some of my scholar-friends identify themselves. I am a believer who knows and loves the Bible deeply. But I also recognize that parts of it have been used to undergird prejudices and to mask violence.” A visiting lecturer at Harvard and at universities and churches worldwide, Bishop Spong delivers more than 200 public lectures each year to standing-room-only crowds. His bestselling books include Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, A New Christianity for a New World, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, and Here I Stand. Bishop Spong’s extensive media appearances include a profile segment on 60 Minutes as well as appearances on Good Morning America, Fox News Live, Politically Incorrect, Larry King Live, The O’Reilly Factor, William F. Buckley’s Firing Line, and Extra. Bishop Spong and his wife, Christine Mary Spong, have five children and six grandchildren. They live in New Jersey. Show notes: http://www.inspiredmoney.fm/012 Links www.johnshelbyspong.com Facebook Twitter Instagram In this episode, you will learn: How growing up poor in North Carolina shaped his views and compelled him to fight for what he believes. What the bible teaches us about money. How the Diocese of Newark grew its endowed funds from $4mm to $40mm during Jack Spong's term as Bishop. Thanks for Listening! To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Share this show on Twitter or Facebook. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes. Special thanks to Jim Kimo West for the music.

Thom Nickels interview. Rain storm. Northern Liberties in Philadelphia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Liberties,_Philadelphia “Gone are the days where you go to a bar and there’s just the sound of conversation.” What we were drinking: Thom had Coors Light, and plotting on French wine. Chunjay drinking PBR and bourbon, the Philadelphia “City Wide Special.”  https://billypenn.com/2016/01/20/the-philly-citywide-special-index-whose-combo-packs-the-most-punch/ Sharing a memory of a Russian New Year mishap. Thom’s faith past. Roman Catholicism, agnosticism-atheism, Orthodoxy. Walking out on Ash Wednesday. “My father tried to break down my door, because he wanted me to stop reading.” Discovering his sexuality, discovering gay bars. On 1969/1970: “To announce that you were gay to your family then, was really paramount to saying you had a mental illness. Nobody talked about it.”  Working in the hospital.  Falling in love with all the wrong people. One night stands. Collecting experiences. On marijuana and drugs. The Gay Liberation Movement. The Black Panthers. Homosexuality in black and Latino communities. His first partner was black. On pacifism. Bringing his partner home to his family. On wrestling with homosexuality and faith. “The whole concept of a gay emotional life, a gay person, didn’t exist then.” “Were we to be in an automobile accident, and were a priest to come to our bedside, we would confess our ‘gay sins,’ as it were.” “We are all slaves to our baptism. I can’t entirely liberate myself.” “Certainly promiscuity, wild ‘Don Juan’ promiscuity, whether you’re gay or straight, it may feel wonderful, you get a diverse hors dvours sense of tasting of the lights when the moon is full…. But falling in love changes the speedometer.” “I think that promiscuity whets your appetite for more promiscuity. Once you’ve opened those doors, really really wide, it’s really hard to go back and settle for one person.” St. Mary of Egypt and promiscuity. Visiting an older gay man in the hospital who was near death. Chunjay introduces "Bad Haircuts" and misremembers the age of a girl mentioned in the song.   “Bad Haircuts” Demo by Royal Ruckus from Seventeen Candles, free at http://noisetrade.com/royalruckus   Chunjay talks about Samson Society.  Straight men with same-sex attraction. Does bisexuality exist? “Situational homosexuality.” A band-aid. “Some straight men, let’s face it, are so tired of doing what society expects, worshiping and pleasing the woman.” “When you go to situations where there’s no emotional connection, that feeling of let down will easily turn into disgust, because there’s no real human connection. You’ve both used each other as a way to get off. That’s when our higher selves, our spiritual nature, reminds us that we’re not total machines, we’re not sexual robots.” How Thom found his way back to faith in Christ. Considered being a monk or a priest. An experience at a Benedictine monastery. His work as a writer, exploring reincarnation and New Age thinking. The death of a friend. On Western Rite Orthodoxy.   “The Lone Gunmen” by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas LP.   On being a newspaper writer. Being the first openly gay writer in the mainstream press? Death threats.  Should gay men grow beards? On transgender issues. On writing gay fiction. Chunjay’s experience in 2002 with a gay bookstore. The shifting culture. 50 Shades. My Father the Devil. Important people in Philadelphia. Biography of writer Dominic Dunn. Find Thom Nickels at Philadelphia Magazine online, HuffPost, Icon Magazine, and buy his books at Barnes and Noble or Amazon. On dancing to rap music. Disco dancing is great.   "Rhymer's Block" by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas double LP. Video available at http://summerofthecicadas.com/videos   Mentions: St. Michael the Archangel Russian Orthodox Church, James Joyce’s "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Elizabeth Taylor’s film Ash Wednesday, Janis Joplin, Woodstock, Macklemore, The Pirate Monk Podcast, Milo Yiannopoulos, Bill Clinton, Thom Nickels’s Walking on Water book, The 6000 Beards of Mt. Athos book, Allen Ginsberg, Joan Baez, Bishop Spong, The Get Down on Netflix, more.

Bishop John Shelby Spong has sold over a million books.  He has been an outspoken advocate for religious literacy and social change in regards to race, gender, and sexuality.   In 2013 he published his latest book , The Fourth Gospel:  Tales of a Jewish Mystic.    Bishop Spong found this gospel “almost repellent” because it has been used to foster an outdated pre-modern view of God, religious exclusivism, literalism, and anti-semitism.  But when it is seen through the eyes of Jewish mysticism, it comes alive in a relevant way for 21st century seekers.

Jesse Herriott is joined this week by special guest Bishop John Shelby Spong, retired Episcopal bishop, best-selling author, and the preeminent voice for liberal Christianity. Bishop Spong's latest book is The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic.

This week on Religion For Life I begin my four-part series on the historical Jesus, “Will the Real Jesus Please Rise?”  For four weeks, I will interview four of the most prolific and provocative scholars in the United States, Bishop John Shelby Spong, Dr. Bart Ehrman, Dr. Robert M. Price, and Dr. John Dominic Crossan. The series begins with Bishop John Shelby Spong.  The retired Episcopal Bishop who has written over twenty books on religion, with such titles as Why Christianity Must Change Or Die, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, and Jesus for the Non-Religious talks about his new book, Reclaiming the Bible for the Non-Religious World.  Bishop Spong explains the concept of midrash in understanding how the stories about Jesus came to be written.

Jesse Herriott is joined this week by special guest Bishop John Shelby Spong, retired Episcipal bishop, best-selling author and the preeminent voice for liberal Christianity. Bishop Spong's latest book is Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World. Bishop Spong is considered the champion of an inclusive faith by many, both inside and outside the Christian church. Bishop Spong delivers more than 200 public lectures each year to standing-room-only crowds and his extensive media appearances include a profile segment on 60 Minutes, as well as appearances on Good Morning America, Fox News Live, Politically Incorrect, Larry King Live, The O'Reilly Factor, William F. Buckley's Firing Line, and Extra. 

Bishop John Spong's provocative book is "The Sins of Scripture." In it, Bishop Spong deplores the way the bible has been used to justify most of the world's evils; from gender inequality, homosexuality and child abuse, to capital punishment, the environment, and birth control. In the interview, he discusses the rise of muslim fundamentalism and laments that congregations at mainstream churches are in freefall. (Originally aired May 2005)

Bishop John Spong's provocative book is "The Sins of Scripture." In it, Bishop Spong deplores the way the bible has been used to justify most of the world's evils; from gender inequality, homosexuality and child abuse, to capital punishment, the environment, and birth control. In the interview, he discusses the rise of muslim fundamentalism and laments that congregations at mainstream churches are in freefall. (Originally aired May 2005)

To recover means to get back something previously lost, to reclaim what is useful, to find the essence of who we are, and connect that with life around us. Bishop John Shelby Spong is a visionary thinker who articulates a spirituality of wholeness—one that engages life in ways that express integrity, love and equality. He opens doors to powerful new ways of understanding and relating with Spirit's presence—ways that deepen and broaden recovery. Bishop Spong, whose books have sold more than a million copies, was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001. He is a visiting lecturer at universities and churches and has made extensive media appearances. Bishop Spong also writes the weekly e-column “A New Christianity for a New World.“

Is there life after death? What about heaven and hell? Retired Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong has some provocative ideas that you probably won't hear in church on Sundays. In this 45-minute interview with Kevin Coughlin of MorristownGreen.com, Bishop Spong discusses his new book, "Eternal Life, A New Vision," which traces the origins of religion and its clash with science. You may be surprised by which side the Bishop takes. Link: http://bit.ly/baLDUq

I have been reading Brian D. McLaren's, a Generous Orthodoxy, and it has really been making me think a lot about my faith. At the end of each chapter, he asks numerous questions, and I have been learning a lot about the faith I actually believe.Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing with you my answers to his questions. I invite and encourage you to read the book and share your answers too. We discern the voice of the Spirit in the witness of the faithful.McLaren begins by talking about the Many Jesuses he has known in his life. I thought I should use his labels (and one of mine) and share my own story.The Conservative Protestant JesusI grew up in a Baptist home. My grandfather and great grandfather were both Baptist ministers. I used to go up to talk about the Bible with my great grandmother all the time. I would read the story and we would talk about the text. In many ways, some of my happiest and most disturbing memories of religion come from this period of my life.The happy memories are all with my family and Brother John. The disturbing ones are memories I don't like to dwell on for very long. I attended a Baptist school... the teachers prided themselves on scaring the children. They constantly threatened us with corporal punishment, and gruesome stories about the tortures of hell that awaited us if we did not behave exactly as we were told... The other more despicable things they did, I will not go into.The Pentecostal/Charismatic Jesus The next phase of my life started after we moved to Maryland and I saw Pat Robertson on the TV for the first time. I was young, and the God he talked about was God of Magic and Might. It was easy to how this cosmic Super Savior would appeal to a young kid. This Jesus is not only superheroic, but he will include you in his circle of super friends. It was like magic, and I wanted that magic so bad. There was only one problem: I am gay.I have known this since I was about 7 or 8, but I never new what the word for it was until Pat Robertson defined the word and said that all people like that were going to hell... Imagine my horror. The Baptist school I used to go to had burned images of hell into my mind.This initiated what was for me the worst period of self-loathing, an act I was assured made me pious. I often thought about killing myself. If God hated people like me, maybe God would reward me if I took myself out. It all seemed so natural.One night, I decided to do it. I went into the kitchen to get a knife to do the deed, but luckily I met:The Roman Catholic Jesus Over the silverware drawer, I found a copy of a book my cousin gave me, The Secret of the Rosary, by St Louis de Montfort. The preface of the Black Rose promised that even the darkest sorcerer with one foot in hell could be saved if they said the Rosary faithfully. So instead of killing myself, I prayed the Rosary for the first time in my life.It was amazing. I began to pray it everyday and read the other works by St Louis de Montfort. Soon I was asked to leave the small nondenominational church that I attended for wearing a crucifix. I started taking classes and walking to church every Sunday for Mass and Eucharistic Adoration.I would often go up to the Shrine of St Elizabeth Anne Seton to pray.The Charismatic Catholic JesusOne summer, I went to live with my sister in Pennsylvania to watch my niece. While I was there I encountered the Charismatic Catholic movement. It was amazing. I will never forget the profound experiences I had that summer.Imagine the ritualism of Catholicism and the exuberance of Pentecostalism mixed together into a single thing. This summer changed my life.The Eastern Orthodox Jesus By the end of the Summer I found the Philokalia and the Way of the Pilgrim. I began saying the Jesus Prayer in addition to the Rosary, and hunting down more books on the Eastern Orthodox faith.What impressed me the most was with the way one book answered the question: if Adam and Eve had never tasted the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, would Jesus have still been crucified?The answer was amazing to me. Yes, it is in the crucifixion that Christ was hung on the border of faith and doubt, hope and fear, life and death- at the very transit of every pair of opposites and points the way to God through it all. Wow! The Crucifixion as a love letter to humankind. How refreshing.The Liberal Protestant JesusAs was almost inevitable I began my own quest for the historical Jesus. I read everything I could get my hands on. The numerous gospels and works of the early church. I began studying the various expressions of the early church as it struggled to express their encounter with the Risen Christ.I was amazed that doctrine was regional. Creeds varied so much from place to place as did the books that were considered Scripture. I began to see these expressions as a mosaic. The more disillusioned I became with the church, the more attracted I was to the God of Paul Tillich, Bishop Spong, and Marcus Borg.The Jesus of the Oppressed Then I discovered Matthew Fox. His writings about the Cosmic Christ and Creation Spirituality completely transformed me and my faith. In his call for a new reformation, I found my spiritual home. This Jesus speaks with the same voice as the one I meet in the gospels, and helps me to Live God into the world every day.These are the Seven Jesuses I have known in my life. They are different from the ones McLaren met in his life, but the lessons that I took away are very similar. It left me looking for a relational Divinity who is truly present with me in my life. Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe