The Rt. Rev. John Shelby Spong, D.D., is the retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark. As the author of 14 books, he is the most published member of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States. His bestsellers include "Rescuing the Bible From Fundamentalism" and "Why Christianity Must Change or Die." He is a frequent lecturer at conference centers and on college campuses and will be a guest lecturer at Harvard this spring.
Columns and articles by John Shelby Spong
Bad Movie, But Don't Dismiss It May 19, 2006
'The Da Vinci Code' was boring and full of historical inaccuracies--but we can't dismiss its central notion of a married Jesus.
My Love Affair With the Bible May 1, 2005
Bishop Spong tells the story of his first Bible training and getting his first Bible for Christmas.
Was the Apostle Paul Gay? Mar 26, 2004
What accounts for Paul's self-judging rhetoric, his negative feeling toward his own body? An Episcopal bishop mulls the issues.
Homosexual History Jul 29, 2003
The victory for gay rights in the Episcopal Church is almost complete.
The Easter Moment: Drawing Conclusions Apr 18, 2003
Armed with historical clues, we can speculate on the moving drama that came to be called the Resurrection.
I Cry Out Against the War Frenzy Mar 4, 2003
What is the real source of this visceral hatred of Iraq?
Assisted Suicide: A Christian Choice and a New Freedom Feb 12, 2003
It's time for Christianity to grapple with the ethical issues that face us at the end of life.
Is This War Necessary? Jan 15, 2003
Do we secretly yearn for a war we know how to win? Is this war driven by oil? And is war ever moral?
The Right Man for a New World Jan 9, 2003
The new Archbishop of Canterbury must get rid of the Jesus who "died for our sins."
Saint Wonder Woman Dec 4, 2002
Mary was de-sexed and dehumanized by church fathers. I'll take Wonder Woman as a role model.
A Racist Comment by a Cable Talker Mar 18, 2002
Blacks have good reason to be skeptical of the war on terrorism
Three New Year Resolutions Jan 7, 2002
Here's to a Christianity in search of a new reformation
Light Breaks Forth Dec 3, 2001
It is time to recognize that religious truth, like all truth, emerges out of human experience
Terrorism and the Shallowness of Religious Talk Nov 2, 2001
Religions must learn to speak of God with meaning in a world where there is no divine protector and randomness is a reality.
The Theistic God is Dead--A Casualty of Terrorism Sep 24, 2001
The terrorist tragedy will help us step beyond yesterday's God, beyond pious delusions
New Zealand: Western Christianity in Miniature Aug 21, 2001
In this small land, the picture of Christianity's demise is clarified
The Church in Australia: A Ray of Hope Jul 30, 2001
Innovative thoughts and new leadership could breathe new life into the future of Christianity.
European Christianity: A Bleak Picture Jun 7, 2001
If the sickly state of Christianity in Belgium is any indication, there's a much larger problem all over Europe.
Is Christianity Going South? May 17, 2001
Conservatives applaud the rising numbers of Third World Christians. But theological colonialism won't help them in the long run.
Breaking the Literal Mold of Easter, Part III Apr 11, 2001
Can the meaning of Easter be real even if there was no actual event called resurrection that occurred inside history?
Resurrection: Myth or Reality? Part II Apr 3, 2001
Easter's power lies not in resuscitated bodies but in the mind-expanding experience of knowing life is more powerful than death.
The Easter Moment: What Really Happened? Mar 19, 2001
Is the literal claim of Easter still believable? Can Christianity afford to debate its originating moment?
Christians: A Persecuted Minority? Feb 20, 2001
Complaints of prejudice against Christians are a smokescreen for groups who seek to impose their beliefs on the entire nation.
Are the Left's Fears Legitimate? Jan 22, 2001
John Ashcroft's confirmation is inevitable, but what does it mean for those who aren't straight, white, and male?
Not How He Was Born, But Who Was Born Dec 21, 2000
Part III in a series about the Nativity
The Christmas Story: What's Real--and What's Not Dec 19, 2000
Fact or folklore: Part IV in a series about the Nativity
Matthew and Luke's Nativity Accounts: Symbolism or Fact? Dec 14, 2000
Part II in a series about the Nativity.
A Religious Santa Claus Tale Dec 4, 2000
The birth narrative of Jesus shouldn't be taken literally.
Dominus Iesus: The Voice of Rigor Mortis Oct 26, 2000
The Vatican's exclusionist document exposes a hierarchy that refuses to face reality
The Politics of the Death Penalty in Campaign 2000 Oct 12, 2000
John Stott: A Fundamentalist in Sheep's Clothing? Sep 26, 2000
The Anglican leader has decided to retire. What he needs to recognize is that his evangelical ideas retired long ago
Farewell John Stott! Sep 25, 2000
Why we will not miss John Stott.
The Politics of the Death Penalty in Campaign 2000 Jun 30, 2000
Embracing the Jewishness of Jesus Jun 1, 2000
Apologies for anti-Semitism are only the first step in a journey of rooting out prejudice.
Is There Life After Death? Apr 25, 2000
One spoke for hope. One spoke for realism. Uncomfortable anxiety filled the room. The debate had been 'vigorous.'
Shifts in Loyalties Apr 4, 2000
Tracing the development of the Religious Right's ties to both political parties
Primary Priorities Mar 13, 2000
The presidential primaries show us what really matters to the American voter.
My Thanks to John Rocker Mar 2, 2000
A pitcher's stupid comments show that racism is on its way out
Anglican Battle Over Homosexuality Takes a 'Bizarre' Turn Feb 15, 2000
While conservatives 'terrorize,' the church's liberal leadership 'temporizes'
Episcopal Flap Indicative of Problems Feb 8, 2000
The Meaning of the Wise Men Jan 6, 2000
The gospel writer Matthew believed Jesus was a 'Jewish gift to the whole world.'
No Room for Compromise Dec 14, 1999
Christianity's integrity rides on how religious people deal with gay rights
The Drive Toward Individual Freedom Jan 22, 1999
Breaking down prejudice gets my vote as the biggest change of the last century
http://www.beliefnet.com/author/author_44.html another website about the right rev.
http://www.geocities.com/reuther_2000/spong.htmlThe 8th bishop of Newark Diocese of the Episcopal Church, Bishop John Spong has been a leader on fighting for a more inclusive church, ending the walls of hatred and exclusivisim against gays and lesbians, women. His book Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, back in 1991, made a tremendous impact on me. As someone who was an evangelical Christian, I was opened to new and different ways of understanding scripture apart from literalism.
more
http://www.liberator.net/articles/LiberatorMark/Spong.htmlThe best way to lose all is to cling with desperation to that which cannot possibly be sustained literally. Literalistic Christians will learn that a God or a faith system that has to be defended daily is finally no God or faith system at all. They will learn that any god who can be killed ought to be killed. Ultimately they will discover that all their claims to represent the historical, traditional, or biblical truth of Christianity cannot stop the advance of knowledge that will render every historic claim for a literal religious system questionable at best, null and void at worst.
speculation about paul -- this is VERY GOOD READ.
http://www.escapefromwatchtower.com/apostlepaul.html
a list of ''gay heros'' -- paul is included.
http://www.gayheroes.com/paul.htm
gayheroes home
http://www.gayheroes.com/main.htm
this about eleanor roosevelt
During the 1930s, as Franklin prepared to run for president for the first time, Eleanor met a dynamic and feisty journalist named Lorena Hickok. Hickok was a star reporter for the Associated Press, as well as the nation's first woman sports reporter, and she and the tall, buck-toothed Eleanor soon became close friends.
Their friendship lasted for thirty years and was almost certainly sexually as well as emotionally intimate. After Franklin's election to the presidency in 1932, Hickok abandoned her career to work for the Roosevelt administration and be closer to Eleanor. They spent much of their time together, and when apart, exchanged thousands of letters full of passionate declarations of love. In one, Eleanor wrote, "I want to put my arms around you, I ache to hold you close."
It was Hickok who encouraged Eleanor to write her popular syndicated column "My Day," which began running in newspapers across the nation in 1935. Though "Hick's" temper and possessiveness caused friction and embarrassment from time to time, the two remained close friends until Roosevelt's death.
http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/roosevelt_e.html
this from the bbc
Yet another rumour concerns Eleanor's bodyguard from 1929 to 1933. Earl Miller was athletic, charming and handsome. Though a womanizer before he met Eleanor, the bodyguard stopped his carousing shortly after they met. He gained a sudden interest in women's rights and began to refer to his employer as 'the Lady.' Letters and photographs remain that point towards a deep affection between the two.
Eleanor's close relationship to Lorena (Hick) Hickok from 1933 until Eleanor's death is the final subject of rumour. One of the first female reporters, Hickok initially covered the First Lady for the Associated Press. It was unusual at the time for a female reporter to cover politics, but Eleanor insisted on allowing only women to interview her or attend her press conferences. The two became very close and Hickok was known to be a lesbian at the time. Hickok was variously said to wear men's clothing, smoke cigars, drink scotch and play poker with other reporters. It was Hickok's suggestion that Eleanor begin the newspaper column, 'My Day'.
The Associated Press felt that Hickok's relationship to the First Lady compromised her journalistic integrity, so she was forced to resign late in 1933. She eventually took up residence in the White House working there for the Democratic National Committee. In 1945, poor health got the better of Hickok. She moved away from political life to New York, where she wrote numerous biographies about Eleanor and Franklin Delano Roosevelt until her own death in 1968.
After Hickok's death, a collection of letters written by Eleanor was discovered - dozens of which included passages of open longing for Hickok. We now know that Hickok gave a ring to Eleanor in 1933, that she burned many of Eleanor's letters after the former First Lady died, and that photographs of the Roosevelt's family dinners at the White House were often cropped to remove Hickok before being published.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A493535
this from slate
http://www.slate.com/id/2112313/
In Eleanor Roosevelt's case, her lesbian leanings were long denied. Then, several years ago, her letters to and from the journalist Lenora Hickok were released. Those notes were so passionate and, at times, suggestive of physical intimacy that a sexual relationship between the women, if it couldn't be proved, also couldn't be ruled out. "I remember your eyes, with a kind of teasing smile in them and that feeling of that soft spot just north-east of your mouth against my lips. I wonder what we'll do when we meet—what we'll say," Hickok wrote to ER in 1933, concluding the note, "Good night, dear one. I want to put my arms around you and kiss you on the corner of your mouth. And in a little more than a week now—I shall!" (For all his talk of "smoking guns," Tripp produces nothing remotely like this letter.) Not every Roosevelt scholar believes this relationship was sexual, but many, including her most comprehensive biographer, Blanche Wiesen Cook, consider it likely.
my whole point to this is that in many instances i agree with you.
these are figures which are either known to be gay -- or there is good historical reasoning to believe that they were gay.
so in it's way -- albeit fun -- it's a good way of pointing to important people in history who were gay and made contributions to the world and society.{Disputable in paul's case -- but that is another argument}
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