In the first gospel, Mark, the risen Christ appears physically to no one, but by the time we come to the last gospel, John, Thomas is invited to feel the nail prints in Christ’s hands and feet and the spear wound in his side. – John Shelby Spong
All religion seems to need to prove that it’s the only truth. And that’s where it turns demonic. Because that’s when you get religious wars and persecutions and burning heretics at the stake. – John Shelby Spong
The God of the Hebrews is a God that human language, we’re not even supposed to speak the holy name. We were told in the Second Commandment we could make no images of this God, and I don’t think that means just building idols, I think that means also trying to believe you’ve captured God in your words, in the Creeds, in the Scriptures. – John Shelby Spong
It appears to be in the nature of religion itself to be prejudiced against those who are different. – John Shelby Spong
Perhaps the most telling witness against the claim of accurate history for the Bible comes when we read the earliest narrative of the crucifixion found in Mark’s gospel and discover that it is not based on eyewitness testimony at all. – John Shelby Spong
The Christians tried to separate themselves from the Jewish crowd so they wouldn’t be the recipients of the persecution of the Romans. And the way they did it was to say, the Jews killed our hero too. And so Christians began to define themselves over against the orthodox party of the Jews as a way of surviving against the Roman onslaught. – John Shelby Spong
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. – John Shelby Spong
I think one of the things we’ve got to look out for is human beings claiming that they know how God operates. – John Shelby Spong
Terrorism is a real despair. These are people for whom life has been so negative that they’re willing to die if they can take down some of their enemies. – John Shelby Spong
I spend my life studying that book, and every book I’ve written has in some sense been a book about the Bible, and that’s what I mean by reclaiming its value and its essence for a world that no longer treats it literally and no longer reads it traditionally. – John Shelby Spong
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. – John Shelby Spong
The Bible interprets life from its particular perspective; it does not record in a factual way the human journey through history. – John Shelby Spong
Jesus represents the possibilities of a new dimension of existence that transcends all the boundaries that restrict us from opening ourselves to God and allowing this source of love to flow through us. – John Shelby Spong
Christianity is, I believe, about expanded life, heightened consciousness and achieving a new humanity. It is not about closed minds, supernatural interventions, a fallen creation, guilt, original sin or divine rescue. – John Shelby Spong
The Bible tells me that every life is holy; the Bible tells me that every life is loved; the Bible tells me that every life is called to be all that it can be. – John Shelby Spong
I believe that is what the God experience does for us. It calls us beyond our limits into the fullness of life – into a capacity to love people we are not taught to love – and into an ability to be who we are. – 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 down? – John Shelby Spong
The ultimate meaning of the Bible escapes human limits and calls us to a recognition that every life is holy, every life is loved, and every life is called to be all that that life is capable of being. – John Shelby Spong
