Some parts of the Bible are dreadful. In fact, my working title for The Sins of Scripture was "The Terrible Text of… — 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… — 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
Christianity is, I believe, about expanded life, heightened consciousness and achieving a new humanity. It is not about closed minds, supernatural interventions,… — 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… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The primary message of the Christian Church is that we were born in sin and we need to be rescued; we cannot… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I live on the other side of Charles Darwin and I can no longer see human light as having been created perfect… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
There never was a time when we were created perfect and fell into sin and needed to be rescued. We are evolving… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
You don't take your newborn baby, put that baby on your lap, and say, "Now listen, kid, you were born in sin,… — 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
You can't go to church without praying ten or fifteen times for God to have mercy on you. You can't sing "Amazing… — 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
