As for the status of Western Christianity, we are in a place where our task is to redefine the primary symbols of… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I think the story of the Christian faith is how you can become more deeply and fully human, not how you can… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
If you're going to live in a community, you have to refrain from killing one another and stealing from one another. You… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I know that Arnold Toynby, the great historian, said he had always hoped the religions of the world would evolve until they… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
Biblical higher criticism is preserved in the particular enclave of academic Christian scholarship and is thought to be too unfruitful to share… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I cannot say my yes to legends that have been clearly and fancifully created. If I could not move my search beyond… — 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
True religion is not about possessing the truth. No religion does that. It is rather an invitation into a journey that leads… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The God content of the past no longer sustains the contemporary spirit. We sense that our only hope is to journey past… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I have no problem with anybody who wants to bear public witness to their religion, but I don't think they can do… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
Papal infallibility and biblical inerrancy are the two ecclesiastical versions of this human idolatry. Both papal infallibility and biblical inerrancy require widespread… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I think human beings are almost, by definition, religious people,in the sense that we ask questions of meaning, we anticipate future events,… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
My hope is that a religious consciousness will begin to rise, one based on enhancing humanity, grasping life in all of its… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
In my book, The Sins of Scripture, I traced the development of tribal religion, which included ideas like God's killing the Egyptians… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
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 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
