--- title: "14 Different Quotes By John Shelby Spong" description: "14 Different quotes by John Shelby Spong. Plus more from John Shelby Spong and more Different sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a57/john-shelby-spong-1488_abnormal_benedict-xvi-kept-saying-that-homosexual_112509.jpg" --- > [Benedict XVI kept saying that homosexuals are deviant. They're not deviant. They're deviant only if you say that anyone who is different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/benedict-xvi-kept-saying-that-homosexuals-are-deviant-they-re-not/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a57/john-shelby-spong-1488_abnormal_benedict-xvi-kept-saying-that-homosexual_112509.jpg) > [It appears to be in the nature of religion itself to be prejudiced against those who are different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/it-appears-to-be-in-the-nature-of-religion-itself-to-be-prejudiced/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c0/john-shelby-spong-1488_against_it-appears-to-be-in-the-nature-of-religi_385491.png) > [ I don't make that decision \[what next book will be\] until I've read enough to know that I've got something different to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-don-t-make-that-decision-what-next-book-will-be-until-i-ve-read/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/john-shelby-spong-1488_book_i-don-t-make-that-decision-what-next-boo_2973946.jpg) > [Anybody who's a mythology ... there's always a fear. That's why we don't like people whose skin color is different, whose eye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/anybody-who-s-a-mythology-there-s-always-a-fear-that-s-why-we-don-t/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/john-shelby-spong-1488_bother_anybody-who-s-a-mythology-there-s-always_2076258.jpg) > [The time has come for us to think of Christianity in a different way. Instead of thinking of God entering human life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-time-has-come-for-us-to-think-of-christianity-in-a-different-way/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a48/john-shelby-spong-1488_christianity_the-time-has-come-for-us-to-think-of-chr_1288043.jpg) > [I could not believe that anyone who has read this book would be so foolish as to proclaim that the Bible in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-could-not-believe-that-anyone-who-has-read-this-book-would-be-so/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d9/john-shelby-spong-1488_atheism_i-could-not-believe-that-anyone-who-has_271989.png) > [I believe that God is very real. I believe that I live my life every day inside the reality of this God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-believe-that-god-is-very-real-i-believe-that-i-live-my-life-every/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/john-shelby-spong-1488_being_i-believe-that-god-is-very-real-i-believ_2682122.jpg) > [There never was a time when we were created perfect and fell into sin and needed to be rescued. We are evolving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/there-never-was-a-time-when-we-were-created-perfect-and-fell-into-sin/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/john-shelby-spong-1488_angel_there-never-was-a-time-when-we-were-crea_2637041.png) > [You learn that you either are going to have a police state where you don't have any freedom left, or you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/you-learn-that-you-either-are-going-to-have-a-police-state-where-you/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/john-shelby-spong-1488_different_you-learn-that-you-either-are-going-to-h_1896769.png) > [I didn't choose to be white, I didn't choose to be male, I didn't choose to be heterosexual, I didn't choose to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-didn-t-choose-to-be-white-i-didn-t-choose-to-be-male-i-didn-t/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/john-shelby-spong-1488_afraid_i-didn-t-choose-to-be-white-i-didn-t-cho_2140164.jpg) > [I go into the Hebrew Scriptures frequently, looking for different ways in which minority voices have expressed the reality of God, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-go-into-the-hebrew-scriptures-frequently-looking-for-different-ways/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/john-shelby-spong-1488_cannot_i-go-into-the-hebrew-scriptures-frequent_2035297.jpg) > [There's one other interesting thing about Western democracy. It didn't arrive at the end point that Karl Marx thought it would that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/there-s-one-other-interesting-thing-about-western-democracy-it-didn-t/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/john-shelby-spong-1488_democracy_there-s-one-other-interesting-thing-abou_447749.png) > [There is no way that the Fourth Gospel was written by John Zebedee or by any of the disciples of Jesus. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/there-is-no-way-that-the-fourth-gospel-was-written-by-john-zebedee-or/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/john-shelby-spong-1488_any_there-is-no-way-that-the-fourth-gospel-w_652863.png) > [I'd like to turn the whole Jesus story around and look at it from a different vantage point, to consider that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-d-like-to-turn-the-whole-jesus-story-around-and-look-at-it-from-a/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/john-shelby-spong-1488_century_i-d-like-to-turn-the-whole-jesus-story-a_1952659.png) ## Other authors on Different ## More by John Shelby Spong > [The way that I see Christianity is that its role is to enhance the life of every person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-way-that-i-see-christianity-is-that-its-role-is-to-enhance-the/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The Sins of Scripture is an interesting title; most people don't put sins and scripture together in the same title. It jars people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-sins-of-scripture-is-an-interesting-title-most-people-don-t-put/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [“When a human life is open to all that humanity can be, humanity and divinity flow together as one. It was and is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/when-a-human-life-is-open-to-all-that-humanity-can-be-humanity-and/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-don-t-see-jesus-as-rescuing-the-fallen-i-see-jesus-as-expanding-the/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The Bible interprets life from its particular perspective; it does not record in a factual way the human journey through history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-bible-interprets-life-from-its-particular-perspective-it-does-not/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [My basis of morality is this: does this action enhance life, or does it denigrate life? Does it build up or does it tear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/my-basis-of-morality-is-this-does-this-action-enhance-life-or-does-it/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [I want the traditional family upheld, but I don't want it upheld to the detriment of other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-want-the-traditional-family-upheld-but-i-don-t-want-it-upheld-to/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [We live in a very pluralistic society today. There are Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, atheists, Roman Catholics, Evangelical Christians, and Christians like me. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/we-live-in-a-very-pluralistic-society-today-there-are-buddhists/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-bible-was-written-between-3-000-and-2-000-years-ago-and-it-s/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/we-are-in-a-survival-mentality-and-that-s-hard-wired-into-our/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/some-people-think-prayer-stops-bullets-or-rockets-or-land-mines-it/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-hebrew-scriptures-say-it-s-okay-to-enslave-anybody-except-your/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [ I know Jerry \[Falwell\] fairly well, and he's probably not bright enough to recognize all of the implications of what he said. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-know-jerry-falwell-fairly-well-and-he-s-probably-not-bright-enough/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [Benedict XVI kept saying that homosexuals are deviant. They're not deviant. They're deviant only if you say that anyone who is different from me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/benedict-xvi-kept-saying-that-homosexuals-are-deviant-they-re-not/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [ I find it fascinating that Paul \[the apostol\], writing to the Galatians, responds to the question, "What does it mean to live in Christ?"… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-find-it-fascinating-that-paul-the-apostol-writing-to-the-galatians/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/john-shelby-spong/#itemlist", "name": "14 Different Quotes By John Shelby Spong", "numberOfItems": 14, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Benedict XVI kept saying that homosexuals are deviant. 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That's why we don't like people whose skin color is different, whose eye slant is different, or whose worship is different. It makes them feel insecure. So we strike out. The thing that bothers me most about the Christian church today is that we spend our time confirming people in their own sense of wretchedness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/anybody-who-s-a-mythology-there-s-always-a-fear-that-s-why-we-don-t/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/john-shelby-spong-1488_bother_anybody-who-s-a-mythology-there-s-always_2076258.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/john-shelby-spong-1488_bother_anybody-who-s-a-mythology-there-s-always_2076258.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/john-shelby-spong-1488_bother_anybody-who-s-a-mythology-there-s-always_2076258.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anybody who's a mythology ... there's always a fear. 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Instead of thinking of God entering human life from outside in the person of Jesus, we have to begin to see human life evolving to the place where it opens itself into an experience of divinity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-time-has-come-for-us-to-think-of-christianity-in-a-different-way/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a48/john-shelby-spong-1488_christianity_the-time-has-come-for-us-to-think-of-chr_1288043.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a48/john-shelby-spong-1488_christianity_the-time-has-come-for-us-to-think-of-chr_1288043.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a48/john-shelby-spong-1488_christianity_the-time-has-come-for-us-to-think-of-chr_1288043.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The time has come for us to think of Christianity in a different way. Instead of thinking of God entering…” — John Shelby Spong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I could not believe that anyone who has read this book would be so foolish as to proclaim that the Bible in every literal word was the divinely inspired, inerrant word of God. Have these people simply not read the text? Are they hopelessly misinformed? Is there a different Bible? Are they blinded by a combination of ego needs and naïveté?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-could-not-believe-that-anyone-who-has-read-this-book-would-be-so/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d9/john-shelby-spong-1488_atheism_i-could-not-believe-that-anyone-who-has_271989.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d9/john-shelby-spong-1488_atheism_i-could-not-believe-that-anyone-who-has_271989.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d9/john-shelby-spong-1488_atheism_i-could-not-believe-that-anyone-who-has_271989.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“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", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I believe that God is very real. I believe that I live my life every day inside the reality of this God. I call this God by different words. I describe God as the source of life and the source of love and the ground of being.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-believe-that-god-is-very-real-i-believe-that-i-live-my-life-every/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/john-shelby-spong-1488_being_i-believe-that-god-is-very-real-i-believ_2682122.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/john-shelby-spong-1488_being_i-believe-that-god-is-very-real-i-believ_2682122.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/john-shelby-spong-1488_being_i-believe-that-god-is-very-real-i-believ_2682122.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I believe that God is very real. I believe that I live my life every day inside the reality of this God. I…” — John Shelby Spong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There never was a time when we were created perfect and fell into sin and needed to be rescued. We are evolving people; we are not fallen people. We are not a little lower than the angels. We're a little higher than the apes. It's a very different perspective.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/there-never-was-a-time-when-we-were-created-perfect-and-fell-into-sin/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/john-shelby-spong-1488_angel_there-never-was-a-time-when-we-were-crea_2637041.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/john-shelby-spong-1488_angel_there-never-was-a-time-when-we-were-crea_2637041.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/john-shelby-spong-1488_angel_there-never-was-a-time-when-we-were-crea_2637041.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There never was a time when we were created perfect and fell into sin and needed to be rescued. We are…” — John Shelby Spong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You learn that you either are going to have a police state where you don't have any freedom left, or you're going to build a world that doesn't create terrorists - and that means a whole different way of 'getting along.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/you-learn-that-you-either-are-going-to-have-a-police-state-where-you/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/john-shelby-spong-1488_different_you-learn-that-you-either-are-going-to-h_1896769.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/john-shelby-spong-1488_different_you-learn-that-you-either-are-going-to-h_1896769.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/john-shelby-spong-1488_different_you-learn-that-you-either-are-going-to-h_1896769.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You learn that you either are going to have a police state where you don't have any freedom left, or you're…” — John Shelby Spong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I didn't choose to be white, I didn't choose to be male, I didn't choose to be heterosexual, I didn't choose to be right-handed. Those are the givens of life. And I don't know why the church can't deal with that, why they can't understand that. Well, I do know why: because people are always afraid of anybody who's different.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-didn-t-choose-to-be-white-i-didn-t-choose-to-be-male-i-didn-t/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/john-shelby-spong-1488_afraid_i-didn-t-choose-to-be-white-i-didn-t-cho_2140164.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/john-shelby-spong-1488_afraid_i-didn-t-choose-to-be-white-i-didn-t-cho_2140164.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/john-shelby-spong-1488_afraid_i-didn-t-choose-to-be-white-i-didn-t-cho_2140164.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I didn't choose to be white, I didn't choose to be male, I didn't choose to be heterosexual, I didn't choose…” — John Shelby Spong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I go into the Hebrew Scriptures frequently, looking for different ways in which minority voices have expressed the reality of God, and I find them. God is the wind in the Hebrew tradition, the life-giving, animating wind that gets identified with spirit. God is the rock upon which you stand, and you cannot fall when you're standing upon the rock.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-go-into-the-hebrew-scriptures-frequently-looking-for-different-ways/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/john-shelby-spong-1488_cannot_i-go-into-the-hebrew-scriptures-frequent_2035297.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/john-shelby-spong-1488_cannot_i-go-into-the-hebrew-scriptures-frequent_2035297.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/john-shelby-spong-1488_cannot_i-go-into-the-hebrew-scriptures-frequent_2035297.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I go into the Hebrew Scriptures frequently, looking for different ways in which minority voices have…” — John Shelby Spong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's one other interesting thing about Western democracy. It didn't arrive at the end point that Karl Marx thought it would that wealth would become more and more concentrated in the hands of the few, that eventually the few would be killed by the many who were deprived, and that a different kind of government would then develop. What happened in Western democracy is that we began to understand that a democratic system can't work if half of the people are starving and the other half are dieting.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/there-s-one-other-interesting-thing-about-western-democracy-it-didn-t/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/john-shelby-spong-1488_democracy_there-s-one-other-interesting-thing-abou_447749.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/john-shelby-spong-1488_democracy_there-s-one-other-interesting-thing-abou_447749.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/john-shelby-spong-1488_democracy_there-s-one-other-interesting-thing-abou_447749.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's one other interesting thing about Western democracy. It didn't arrive at the end point that Karl…” — John Shelby Spong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no way that the Fourth Gospel was written by John Zebedee or by any of the disciples of Jesus. The author of this book is not a single individual, but is at least three different writers/editors, who did their layered work over a period of 25 to 30 years.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/there-is-no-way-that-the-fourth-gospel-was-written-by-john-zebedee-or/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/john-shelby-spong-1488_any_there-is-no-way-that-the-fourth-gospel-w_652863.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/john-shelby-spong-1488_any_there-is-no-way-that-the-fourth-gospel-w_652863.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/john-shelby-spong-1488_any_there-is-no-way-that-the-fourth-gospel-w_652863.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no way that the Fourth Gospel was written by John Zebedee or by any of the disciples of Jesus. The…” — John Shelby Spong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'd like to turn the whole Jesus story around and look at it from a different vantage point, to consider that he was a human being who achieved such promise of humanity that he entered into what I think God is: mainly, the power of life, the power of love and what Paul Tillich, a German theologian of the mid-twentieth century, called \"the ground of all being.\"", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-d-like-to-turn-the-whole-jesus-story-around-and-look-at-it-from-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/john-shelby-spong-1488_century_i-d-like-to-turn-the-whole-jesus-story-a_1952659.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/john-shelby-spong-1488_century_i-d-like-to-turn-the-whole-jesus-story-a_1952659.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/john-shelby-spong-1488_century_i-d-like-to-turn-the-whole-jesus-story-a_1952659.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'd like to turn the whole Jesus story around and look at it from a different vantage point, to consider…” — John Shelby Spong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/john-shelby-spong/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/john-shelby-spong/", "name": "Different Quotes by John Shelby Spong", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/john-shelby-spong/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a57/john-shelby-spong-1488_abnormal_benedict-xvi-kept-saying-that-homosexual_112509.jpg" }, "description": "14 Different quotes by John Shelby Spong. 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