Prayer cannot be a request made to a theistic deity to act in human history in a particular way. — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The view of the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world is a barbarian idea based on primitive concepts… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The virgin birth, understood as literal biology, makes Christ's divinity, as traditionally understood, impossible. — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The miracle stories of the New Testament can no longer be interpreted in a post-Newtonian world as supernatural events performed by an… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
They amuse themselves by playing an irrelevant ecclesiastical game called "Let's Pretend." Let's pretend that we possess the objective truth of God… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
Our English language really says if you're not a theist, the only alternative is to be an atheist. What I'm trying to… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The hope for life after death must be separated forever from the behavior control mentality of reward and punishment. The Church must… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
If the resurrection of Jesus cannot be believed except by assenting to the fantastic descriptions included in the Gospels, then Christianity is… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The God understood as a father figure, who guided ultimate personal decisions, answered our prayers, and promised rewards and punishment based upon… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I could not believe that anyone who has read this book would be so foolish as to proclaim that the Bible in… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
A major function of fundamentalist religion is to bolster deeply insecure and fearful people. This is done by justifying a way of… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
Theism, as a way of conceiving God, has become demonstrably inadequate, and the God of theism not only is dying but is… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The way that I see Christianity is that its role is to enhance the life of every person. — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The Sins of Scripture is an interesting title; most people don't put sins and scripture together in the same title. It jars people. — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
“When a human life is open to all that humanity can be, humanity and divinity flow together as one. It was and is a… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I don't see Jesus as rescuing the fallen; I see Jesus as expanding the potential of life. The primary reason the old idea of… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The Bible interprets life from its particular perspective; it does not record in a factual way the human journey through history. — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
My basis of morality is this: does this action enhance life, or does it denigrate life? Does it build up or does it tear… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I want the traditional family upheld, but I don't want it upheld to the detriment of other people. — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
We live in a very pluralistic society today. There are Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, atheists, Roman Catholics, Evangelical Christians, and Christians like me. There are… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The Bible was written between 3,000 and 2,000 years ago, and it's filled with the knowledge that people had in that period of time,… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
We are in a survival mentality, and that's hard-wired into our humanity, because we are the winners of an evolutionary struggle of millions and… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
Some people think prayer stops bullets or rockets or land mines. It doesn't. That's magic, that's not God. Sometimes, you're just in the wrong… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The Hebrew scriptures say it's okay to enslave anybody except your fellow Jews. It says you should enslave only your neighbors. I say to… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
