The Philosopher

John Shelby Spong

The face

The background

Nationality:
American
Schools:
Episcopal Church
Branchs:
Liberal Christian theology, Theism, Christian Humanism, Nontrinitarianism, Universalism
Period:
20th century

The synopsis

John Shelby Spong (June 16, 1931 – September 12, 2021) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, he served as the Bishop of Newark, New Jersey, from 1979 to 2000. Spong was a liberal Christian theologian and author who called for a fundamental rethinking of Christian belief away from theism and traditional doctrines. He held progressive and controversial views on Christianity, including rejection of traditional Christian doctrines, his advocacy for LGBTQ rights, and his support for interfaith dialogue. Spong was a contributor to the Living the Questions DVD program and was a guest on numerous national television broadcasts. Spong died on September 12, 2021, at his home in Richmond, Virginia, at the age of 90.

The works

The quotes

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
Let me say that I consider myself a deep believer in the reality of God. I might define God quite differently from the way some people in the Christian faith would do so, but I do not doubt the reality of that experience.
John Shelby Spong