Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Bishop John Shelby Spong Gets Real



"I don't think Hell exists...religion is always in the control business and that's something that people don't really understand. It's in the guilt-producing control business. ...the Church doesn't like for people to grow up because you can't control grown-ups. That's why we talk about being 'born-again'"

Bishop Spong's answers in this interview are enlightening and I have to appreciate his willingness to speak on such vulnerable issues (an appreciation I doubt many senior members of the Church share.) The clip of his sermon, however, sounds like so much gobbledygook and obfuscation. "We do not yet know how to achieve being fully human." Huh? Wha?

8 comments:

Jay said...

Apparently he's a retired Episcopal bishop, not Catholic like I had assumed. (The purple shirt, that should give it away, right?)

fulleju said...

I would go to his church. If I was a churchgoer, that is.

Mack Ramer said...

Spong's a very interesting person. What I've heard about him is almost entirely from his detractors, so it is to be taken with a grain of salt, but what I've heard is that he's an atheist.

Mack Ramer said...

Also, point of nitpick: Spong is an Episcopalian bishop. "Episcopal Bishop" is redundant.

Jay said...

Assuming dictionary.com is correct, my usage is technically correct (to quote Futurama, the best kind of correct!) so long as it is capitalized, but "Episcopalian" does sound better. And now that I know the etymology, I think I prefer that less redundant usage.

Jay said...

He doesn't sound like an atheist in his sermons. Unless he's had a recent deconversion, he'd probably take issue with the label. Then again, from the little I've heard, his conception of God seems to be so nebulous and encompassing that even I can start to shake my head in agreement.

I also found a QA where he defends his (emphasis on personal) belief that Paul was a repressed homosexual. I wanted to hear more about the reasoning behind his conclusion, but the questioner was outright hostile about the idea.

Jay said...

BTW, thumbs up for your discussion over at Boar's Head. BIG thumbs up!

Mack Ramer said...

LOL you read the BHT? That is hilarious. Glad you liked it.