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
Hysterical fundamentalism is not the way into the future; it is the last gasp of the past. — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The priesthood in many ways is the ultimate closet in Western civilization, where gay people particularly have hidden for the past two… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I think we have to recover our spiritual nature. The way we have interpreted Christianity does not do that. — 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
There's no way a human being can escape his or her human-ness to be able to imagine God. We can talk about… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I think the worst way to go is to have somebody think they speak for God. If you look at history, every… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
If you want to be a Roman Catholic scholar and write, you've got to write in such a way that nobody understands… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
[Charles] Darwin, for example, is the one who made us face the fact that the primary way we tell the Christ story… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
What happened in the Western world was that Plato ceased to be the way people thought. Aristotle was rediscovered, and the modern,… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The Christians tried to separate themselves from the Jewish crowd so they wouldn't be the recipients of the persecution of the Romans.… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The church had to find a way to protect Jesus' perfection so that he could do the work of salvation which, in… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
You learn that you either are going to have a police state where you don't have any freedom left, or you're going… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I think Jesus is a fact of history. I think a man named Jesus of Nazareth lived and was crucified. I think… — 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
Let me say that I consider myself a deep believer in the reality of God. I might define God quite differently from… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
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 Copy Share Image
If I want to put a Christmas tree in my yard, or three crosses for the crucifixion story, that's fine. But if… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
When we unravel the theological tomes of the ages, the makeup of God becomes quite clear. God is a human being without… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I think if you're convinced that you're evil, and that God has had to rescue you, then the best you can be… — 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
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
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
We have a democracy within the bounds of a constitution which provides certain guarantees related to the basic humanity of every person.… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
Our problem is not that we're fallen; our problem is we haven't become human yet. The question is, what can make us… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
[Apostol Paul's] views were translated as, "Your rule is to be kind to black people; you don't beat them." It's very much… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I think the best way to view the Gospels is to view them as a magnificent portrait being painted by Jewish artists… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
We have to start at ground zero and ask what it means to have a real connection with God and what it… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
The time has come for us to think of Christianity in a different way. Instead of thinking of God entering human life… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
Men didn't like to empty bedpans, so we made women nurses. Then men didn't like to do the administrative stuff, so women… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share Image
I cannot possibly conceive of my planet Earth as the centre of a three-tiered universe. I know rather that the sun, around… — 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
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
“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
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
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
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
I want the traditional family upheld, but I don't want it upheld to the detriment of other people. — John Shelby Spong Copy Share
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
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
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
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
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
I know Jerry [Falwell] fairly well, and he's probably not bright enough to recognize all of the implications of what he said. — John Shelby Spong Copy Share
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… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share
I find it fascinating that Paul [the apostol], writing to the Galatians, responds to the question, "What does it mean to live in Christ?"… — John Shelby Spong Copy Share
![“[Charles] Darwin, for example, is the one who made us face the fact that the primary way we tell the Christ story doesn't work anymore.” quote by John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a9/john-shelby-spong-1488_christ_charles-darwin-for-example-is-the-one-wh_194036.png)
![“[Apostol Paul's] views were translated as, "Your rule is to be kind to black people; you don't beat them." It's very much the way we treated women in the 14th and 15th centuries. A woman was not human, and you should be kind to your wife like you are to all dumb animals. That was the mentality.” quote by John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/428/john-shelby-spong-1488_animal_apostol-paul-s-views-were-translated-as_2766975.png)
