---
title: "23 Ifs Quotes By John Shelby Spong"
description: "23 Ifs quotes by John Shelby Spong. Plus more from John Shelby Spong and more Ifs 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)

> [One of my professors said to me once, "Any god that can be killed off will be killed, but if I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/one-of-my-professors-said-to-me-once-any-god-that-can-be-killed-off/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/john-shelby-spong-1488_faith_one-of-my-professors-said-to-me-once-any_2969918.png)

> [I go where I'm invited. And all I can tell you is if we accepted every invitation we had, I'd be away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-go-where-i-m-invited-and-all-i-can-tell-you-is-if-we-accepted-every/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/john-shelby-spong-1488_accepted_i-go-where-i-m-invited-and-all-i-can-tel_315327.png)

> [Some people in the church, like Martin Luther King, Jr., came out against segregation. But if you look at the bulk of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/some-people-in-the-church-like-martin-luther-king-jr-came-out-against/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/john-shelby-spong-1488_church_some-people-in-the-church-like-martin-lu_1799629.png)

> [The thing that intrigues me about Matthew is that I don't believe anybody would read it if they aren't Jewish and understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-thing-that-intrigues-me-about-matthew-is-that-i-don-t-believe/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/john-shelby-spong-1488_believe_the-thing-that-intrigues-me-about-matthe_1567631.png)

> [I cannot say my yes to legends that have been clearly and fancifully created. If I could not move my search beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-cannot-say-my-yes-to-legends-that-have-been-clearly-and-fancifully/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/john-shelby-spong-1488_angelic_i-cannot-say-my-yes-to-legends-that-have_2369381.png)

> [I still hope. I wouldn't be in this position if I didn't. I love the church. I love the Bible. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-still-hope-i-wouldn-t-be-in-this-position-if-i-didn-t-i-love-the/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/john-shelby-spong-1488_bible_i-still-hope-i-wouldn-t-be-in-this-posit_728089.png)

> [The Hebrew scriptures say it's okay to enslave anybody except your fellow Jews. It says you should enslave only your neighbors. I…](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/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/john-shelby-spong-1488_bible_the-hebrew-scriptures-say-it-s-okay-to-e_85991.png)

> [I think if you're convinced that you're evil, and that God has had to rescue you, then the best you can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-think-if-you-re-convinced-that-you-re-evil-and-that-god-has-had-to/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/john-shelby-spong-1488_christian_i-think-if-you-re-convinced-that-you-re_3144957.jpg)

> [...secular journalists... tend to accept uncritically the oft - repeated Evangelical Protestant and Conservative Roman Catholic definitions that the Bible is anti…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/secular-journalists-tend-to-accept-uncritically-the-oft-repeated/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/john-shelby-spong-1488_accepting_secular-journalists-tend-to-accept-uncri_1066600.png)

> [Theism, as a way of conceiving God, has become demonstrably inadequate, and the God of theism not only is dying but is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/theism-as-a-way-of-conceiving-god-has-become-demonstrably-inadequate/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/john-shelby-spong-1488_alive_theism-as-a-way-of-conceiving-god-has-be_1988682.png)

> [The trouble is, the same thing that enabled us to survive evolution is also going to kill us, because in the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-trouble-is-the-same-thing-that-enabled-us-to-survive-evolution-is/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55b/john-shelby-spong-1488_analysis_the-trouble-is-the-same-thing-that-enabl_2043396.jpg)

> [I think Jesus is a fact of history. I think a man named Jesus of Nazareth lived and was crucified. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-think-jesus-is-a-fact-of-history-i-think-a-man-named-jesus-of/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/john-shelby-spong-1488_calling_i-think-jesus-is-a-fact-of-history-i-thi_2518253.jpg)

> [If you're going to live in a community, you have to refrain from killing one another and stealing from one another. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/if-you-re-going-to-live-in-a-community-you-have-to-refrain-from/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/john-shelby-spong-1488_community_if-you-re-going-to-live-in-a-community-y_2268911.jpg)

> [Matthew is the only gospel that uses the Sermon on the Mount, for example, because that's the new Moses making a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/matthew-is-the-only-gospel-that-uses-the-sermon-on-the-mount-for/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a4/john-shelby-spong-1488_backgrounds_matthew-is-the-only-gospel-that-uses-the_1898833.png)

> [If the resurrection of Jesus cannot be believed except by assenting to the fantastic descriptions included in the Gospels, then Christianity is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/if-the-resurrection-of-jesus-cannot-be-believed-except-by-assenting/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/john-shelby-spong-1488_atheism_if-the-resurrection-of-jesus-cannot-be-b_658917.png)

> [When we unravel the theological tomes of the ages, the makeup of God becomes quite clear. God is a human being without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/when-we-unravel-the-theological-tomes-of-the-ages-the-makeup-of-god/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/john-shelby-spong-1488_age_when-we-unravel-the-theological-tomes-of_770825.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)

> [Now, if Mary has an egg cell, then Jesus gets 50 percent of his genetic make up from his mother. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/now-if-mary-has-an-egg-cell-then-jesus-gets-50-percent-of-his-genetic/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/john-shelby-spong-1488_adam_now-if-mary-has-an-egg-cell-then-jesus-g_1957795.png)

> [If you want to be a Roman Catholic scholar and write, you've got to write in such a way that nobody understands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/if-you-want-to-be-a-roman-catholic-scholar-and-write-you-ve-got-to/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/john-shelby-spong-1488_catholic_if-you-want-to-be-a-roman-catholic-schol_655676.png)

> [I think the worst way to go is to have somebody think they speak for God. If you look at history, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-think-the-worst-way-to-go-is-to-have-somebody-think-they-speak-for/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0df/john-shelby-spong-1488_destructive_i-think-the-worst-way-to-go-is-to-have-s_1605185.jpg)

> [If you're really thinking prayer can stop rockets or bullets, you have to ask why some people do get hit by rockets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/if-you-re-really-thinking-prayer-can-stop-rockets-or-bullets-you-have/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36e/john-shelby-spong-1488_asks_if-you-re-really-thinking-prayer-can-sto_2185187.jpg)

> [If I want to put a Christmas tree in my yard, or three crosses for the crucifixion story, that's fine. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/if-i-want-to-put-a-christmas-tree-in-my-yard-or-three-crosses-for-the/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/john-shelby-spong-1488_christmas-tree_if-i-want-to-put-a-christmas-tree-in-my_2573677.png)

## Other authors on Ifs

## 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/)

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                        "text": "The thing that intrigues me about Matthew is that I don't believe anybody would read it if they aren't Jewish and understand it. And so to say that publicly as a Christian is kind of interesting.",
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                        "text": "I cannot say my yes to legends that have been clearly and fancifully created. If I could not move my search beyond angelic messengers, empty tombs, and ghostlike apparitions, I could not say yes to Easter.",
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                        "text": "I still hope. I wouldn't be in this position if I didn't. I love the church. I love the Bible. But I think we're in a time where we're desperately in need of a great reformation.",
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                        "text": "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 people that means Mexicans and Canadians are a bit at risk if we want to be literal about the Bible.",
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                        "text": "I think if you're convinced that you're evil, and that God has had to rescue you, then the best you can be is grateful. But nobody ever loves the person they have to be perpetually grateful to. That's just not the way it works in humanity. You need to be set free. You need to be loved just as you are so that you can become all that you can be. That's the direction we have to turn the Christian message; when we do, it becomes universal.",
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                        "text": "...secular journalists... tend to accept uncritically the oft - repeated Evangelical Protestant and Conservative Roman Catholic definitions that the Bible is anti - gay. If these people were honest, they would have to admit that the Bible is also pro - slavery and anti - women.",
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                        "text": "Theism, as a way of conceiving God, has become demonstrably inadequate, and the God of theism not only is dying but is probably not revivable. If the religion of the future depends on keeping alive the definitions of theism, then the human phenomenon that we call religion will have come to an end. If Christianity depends on a theistic definition of God, then we must face the fact that we are watching this noble religious system enter the rigor mortis of its own death throes.",
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                        "text": "The trouble is, the same thing that enabled us to survive evolution is also going to kill us, because in the final analysis, if survival is the primary motivation of every human being, then we will finally be in a situation where might will make right and only one person will survive.",
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                        "text": "I think Jesus is a fact of history. I think a man named Jesus of Nazareth lived and was crucified. I think his death interpreted his life in a fantastic way, because if you study that life carefully underneath an overlay of theology and mythology, you'll find that the power of that life was that he was constantly giving himself away. He was constantly calling people to be all that they could be.",
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                        "text": "If you're going to live in a community, you have to refrain from killing one another and stealing from one another. You must have honor and honesty in your dealings with one another. But I think the deeper thing that we need to do is to become so fully human that we don't grasp at life; we give life away. We give love away. We give being away. That is the ultimate work of religion.",
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                        "text": "Matthew is the only gospel that uses the Sermon on the Mount, for example, because that's the new Moses making a new interpretation of the law on a new mountain. So then you begin to put all these things together, and I don't know how you can make sense out of that book if you don't know the Jewish background.",
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                        "text": "If the resurrection of Jesus cannot be believed except by assenting to the fantastic descriptions included in the Gospels, then Christianity is doomed. For that view of resurrection is not believable, and if that is all there is, then Christianity, which depends upon the truth and authenticity of Jesus' resurrection, also is not believable.",
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                        "text": "When we unravel the theological tomes of the ages, the makeup of God becomes quite clear.  God is a human being without human limitations who is read into the heavens.  We disguised this process by suggesting that the reason God was so much like a human being was that the human beings were in fact created in God's image.  However, we now recognize that if was the other way around.  The God of theism came into being as a human creation.  As such, this God, too, was mortal and is now dying.",
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                        "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.",
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                        "text": "Now, if Mary has an egg cell, then Jesus gets 50 percent of his genetic make up from his mother. And if his mother is a child of Adam, she, too,is fallen so Jesus is not perfect.",
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