The Jewish rabbi and Episcopal priest, Rabbi Spiro and Bishop Spong, did not beat around the bush during their dialogue. They openly discussed differences, and graciously recognized and expressed appreciation for in-common beliefs and expressions of faith and God's love. For example, Spiro said, "We can come together, reconcile, and transcend our differences by recognizing and remembering that we are all human and that we are all children of the one God." The crowds that Spiro and Spong attracted to their synagogue and church sanctuaries as they discussed the issues, now available in book form, reveal the growing interest and awareness of the need for Jews and Gentiles to reconcile and dialogue. I have wanted to for a long time. Following Spiro and Spong's example, I am challenged to try. For further reading for other readers who are challenged and interested, I also recommend "Jews, Gentiles and the Church" by David Larsen.

Rather than watch re-runs from my treasured collection of Marjoe Gortner memorabilia, Bishop Spong's introduction made possible a startling encounter with my faith! For the very first time, I learned that a tiny child -- even a Jewish waif -- could heal a belligerent tumor. Don't take my word for it -- try reading the Apocryphal Acts of the Young Christ, then take the ever-affirming Spong Challenge! A real wowser worth every point Amazon offers!

Not only a well-written hypothesis lacking emotional impact, it lacks theological impact as well. Had Jesus up and married and gave birth in India, He might have had the foresight to design and develop the world's first atomic weapons -- and drop them on the unsuspecting readers of this book. Not one for Dr. Strangelove, Bishop Spong nevertheless offers a satisfying substitute.

Coming across this title provides the reader with a clear pattern for adolescent faith development. Resources filling in the blanks of Jesus' adolescence aren't generally helpful. But this one is! The sense of incarnational reality is available to the reader as the author develops his argument not predicated on the life of an individual but rather a generation in which Jesus lived, and moved, and had his being. The consciousness of faith in the maturation of Jesus of Nazareth helps the reader's understanding of the Gospels not in a secret, gnostic way but in the natural unfolding of an integrated faith. Rev. Canon James Irvine

Bishop Spong is one of those select individuals I love to hate and hate to love. His books, whether I agree with him or not, are very engaging. His writing style is easy and provocative.

In this latest compolation of essay, Spong tackles many subjects such as his family and mentors, social issues, religious issues and much more.

The strength of this book is by far the way he writes about himself and the people close to him. I found this "celebertism" to be interesting and enlighting.This is howevevr, the really only good thing about this book. The rest of the book, though engaging, is overy wrought with logical errors and self-refutation. He spin doctors for his cause as well as any White House spokesperson. He mentions the 80s as a decade of greed. However, he is largely silent when a liberal is in office. After all, what are the 90s? I assert more greed.

Of course, Spong addresses his "pet" issues such as his views on "Christology", homosexual rights, abortion, and many more. It is provoking, yet, empty: emotional, reflective, yet, very illogical.

Probably the most controversial person I have seen still inside the Christian leadership, Spong never ceases to amaze me. Whether you agree with his views, theology, or his process, you must respect his strength. What amazes me is how someone of his generation and age can be so openminded and fight so hard to try to change a religion that he feels will crumble without such change. This book is a great overview of his writings and the evolution of his principles. If you are interested in Bishop Spong, but are not sure where to start, these essays are usually under 10 pages, and are a great look at a great mind.

Throughout his 24-year career as an Episcopal bishop, John Shelby Spong has always been a vocal spokesman for liberal Christianity. Over the years, he has acquired a very distinct writing style with which he passionately explains his favorite theological issues. It suffices to say that he definitely has his own "voice." "The Bishop's Voice," the title of this book, could not be more fitting for Spong. This book contains a collection of essays written by Spong over the course of the last twenty years. The essays seem to cover every topic imaginable. In this book, Spong tackles core theological issues such as the nature of God and the role of Jesus, political issues such as the emergence of the religious right in American politics, social issues such as abortion and homosexuality, and personal issues as he writes about people who have influenced him and people of whom he loves very deeply. Needless to say, this book is an excellent summation of what Spong believes and why he believes it.

My favorite essay from this book is called "Yes, Virginia, There is a God!" In this essay, Spong compares the conservative Christian image of God to a child's image of Santa Claus. Spong says that our prayers to an external deity often resemble a child's letters to Santa. Similarly, we often attribute impossible tasks to God when we claim that "God" refers to a heavenly parent figure that interferes randomly in our world to accomplish a certain purpose. Spong says that this is akin to Santa Claus' magical journey around the world in one night. The bottom line is that it simply isn't possible. Just as many children "grow out" of believing in Santa, many teens and adults are even beginning to "grow out" of believing in God in this scientific age -- myself included. The answer, however, is not to abandon belief in God altogether. Instead, Spong says that we must seek new ways to articulate the way we experience God in this postmodern world. Spong's primary task in this essay and in his overall vocation is to help Christians rediscover God when the God-as-parent-figure of the past becomes inadequate. He does so with candor, integrity, and love. Because of this, he has quickly become my favorite theologian.

I highly recommend Spong to all Christians that find themselves uncomfortable with the religious symbols of the past. His theology is comforting, refreshing, beautiful, and easy. Its greatest strength, I believe, is realizing that scientific knowledge is our asset in faith and not our enemy. It's also about realizing that people are generally good, not sinful. Reading Spong has been, for me, profound and life giving. It has allowed me to capture a new theological perspective that makes use of both my brain and my heart. Although this book of essays is only a tiny taste of one of Spong's other books, it is still incredibly powerful. By exploring a variety of issues, it paints a portrait of Spong that is sure to appeal to both his greatest fans and those discovering his enchantment for the first time.

...but a bit drier than some of Spong's other works. My favorite of his continues to be "Rescuing The Bible From Fundamentalism", but this one is certainly worth the read.

Spong's basic message is, essentially, that it is a mistake to try to force literal belief in the events of the bible; doing so is almost impossible for a modern, educated person, and the effort distracts us from the actual message of the book and of Christianity in general. The message of Christianity is love and joy and goodness; all else is window-dressing. This is a message that is difficult for most Christians to accept, and many who DO accept it come to a point at which they no longer define themselves as Christian, because the vast majority of those who call themselves Christian would not accept the commonality of their religious outlook. But this is the religion that Jesus taught, and Spong strives mightily to help people remember that the key to Christianity is to follow the teachings of Jesus, and that one cannot do that by blindly following what others have claimed were the teachings of Jesus. One must study the history of the writing of the Bible, in order to learn the truth of how certain passages came to be included, in order to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. If one doesn't do so, if one uncritically accepts what traditional teaching claims for the bible, one loses the power that originally led to the Christian movement, and is left with silly children's stories.

Not a book for those who wish to cling to a security blanket of a religion. But an excellent book for a mature reader who wishes to understand the real meaning of Christianity more fully.

I had long ago come to the conclusion that the Bible was not literal history but had been written as an expression of religious experience. However, I have never been clear about the particulars of this process. Spong presents the most common-sense and well-supported theory for how the Gospels were written that I have ever encountered. I am amazed by how clearly the arrangement and content of the Gospel stories fit into the liturgical calendar of the Jews. The use of Old Testament material to interpret the life of Jesus becomes obvious through Spong's unrelenting barrage of evidence. Spong makes such a strong case that only the most stubborn and narrow-minded fundamentalist could completely deny the theory put forth in this book. The book also sheds light on the writing of Acts and the epistles. I would love to see a future book dealing with the book of Revelation. By liberating the Gospels from a long history of cultural misinterpretation in a format for the popular reading public, Spong has done so much--through this and his other books--to liberate the Christianity and faith of so many in this secular age. This is a book to be studied as well as read. Like Spong's other books, it includes a detailed bibliography for those who wish to explore the subject further.

Once again, Bishop Spong has done Christianity an immense service. Spong is less a divider than a restorer. In his earlier books, he helped restore Jesus' essential humanity. In this book, he restores Jesus to Judaism, the even-then ancient faith to which Jesus was a devoted and reform-minded adherent. Spong helps us understand the gospels in the context of the liturgical calendar of Judaism. After reading this book, it becomes harder to imagine how one could understand Jesus except in this context. It takes courage to challenge the foundations of spiritual belief. It takes more than courage to do so as a leader of the church whose members are growing disproportionately gray and are being asked to forsake the representation of the faith that has sustained them for decades. The fact that everything Spong writes becomes a bestseller demonstrates that there is a receptive audience for a brand of Christianity that is not so magical; one in which Jesus' mother was perhaps less a virgin than a Jewish mother; and a faith focused more intensely on what Jesus described as his key messages: Love God, and Love Thy Neighbor.

I confess-- I have something in common with most of the Rt. Rev. Spong's fans. Like them, I've read very little of what he's written. (For example, "Can A Bishop Be Wrong" has two five-star reviews from Spong fans who are under the impression that Spong wrote this book-- apparently, they feel comfortable praising Spong's work sight-unseen).
Don't get me wrong. I've tried to read Spong. But, alas, the Rt. Rev. S. is a ghastly writer. After a while, the charms of Spong's writing-- his relentless self-congratulation, his presenting of hackneyed 19th-century pop-biblical-criticism as his own daring innovation, his use of the passive voice to hide sweeping and questionable assertions ("...there is surprise at how insignificant were the theological issues dividing the two sides [of the Reformation]"), his utter lack of a sense of humor, his unforgivably poor skill with words-- begin to pall. I haven't yet met someone who can read an entire chapter of Spong at one sitting.

That's where another book comes in handy- "Can a Bishop Be Wrong?". The authors don't exhaustively categorize the intellectual sins of the Rt. Rev. Spong-- such a task could never be worth the trees killed. But they provide a good survey of his looking-glass kingdom. "Can A Bishop Be Wrong" isn't a work of Christian apologetics, because it doesn't have to be. Spong's main contention-- the foundation of all his work-- is his claim that no intelligent person of the twentieth century can be an orthodox Christian. To respond, one doesn't have to prove Christianity-- one just has to provide a counterexample. This book categorizes his errors and logical lapses with admirable thoroughness. Not an exhaustive thoroughness, to be sure, but sufficient to the silly task at hand.

This book has its flaws. As others have noted, it is a collection of essays, and they repeat some of the same points over and over. The authors sometimes let Spong goad them into anger. And they don't argue much against Spong's theological outlook-- but since Spong's outlook is just rehashed nineteenth-century "modernism", you can find plenty of orthodox arguments against heavier intellectual forces than Spong. (Try Chesterton's _The_Everlasting_Man_, for starters.)

This book has a limited market. Spong's fans will not be moved by what they read here, if they were inclined to try reading it. But to the traditional theist of whatever religion, who wonders whether he ought to read Spong and find out what all the fuss is about, this book offers a strong and well-reasoned answer: "Nope."

Written in 1988, way ahead of its time, "Living in Sin?" continues to ask tough questions about sexual ethics in what is now the 21st century. Spong, clearly fed up with the church's naive view of human sexuality, proposes some ideas to the church that are not all that radical in today's changing society. Pointing out the flaws of the bias towards patriarchy shown in the Bible and the church's ongoing reluctance to accept new ideas, Spong calls on the church to bless same-sex relationships and permit sex outside of marriage in some instances. He also petitions the church to permit divorce and encourage divorced persons to worship in full communion with the church. In the book, Spong also asserts that the Bible is not a valid "textbook" for sexual ethics in today's society. He says that what was considered moral in the first century is not necessarily moral today and vice versa. He calls on church leaders to "wake up and smell the coffee" - the church cannot continue to proclaim outdated sexual ethics into the 21st century without losing it's authority. Although a great deal of controversy surrounds John Shelby Spong, this book demands the reader's attention as we are forced to question what we believe is sexually moral and why we believe it. If we believe something just because "the Bible says so," Spong asserts that we are in for a rude awakening. "Living in Sin?" is book that will change the way you think about the relationship between morality and sexuality, as it will certainly help to permeate new doctrines in the church over the coming years as they begin to realize that maybe, just maybe, they had it wrong about sex.

Even for the devoutly secular, the influence of the Judeo-Christian tradition on Western culture's sexual morality is inescapable. This very well-thought out and well-written book challenges outdated church doctrine that is at best is out of synch with the realities of modern day life along well-argued socio-biological and spiritual grounds. Spong's ideas are long overdue and offer a way for the religiously alienated, offended or otherwise disinterested to either for the first time or once again see relevance in or consider organized religion, (specifically Christianity) while maintaining their dignity. Fundamentalists are either ignorant or mistaken (or are reading what they want to rather than giving the text due consideration) if they think that book advocates promiscuity and sins of similar ilk--the author clearly and vigorously does not in any way condone such behavior. But he does challenge the inerrancy of the literal words of the Bible, and shows that certain passages are easily taken out of context to support any number of prejudices (both sexual and otherwise), so be prepared to be challenged and enriched if that is what you believe. Spong simultaneously demonstrates that certain scriptural laws and moral codes written centuries ago are no longer valid in today's age, but also that there is a transcendence to the Bible that upholds the goodness of humanity in all ages. Quite an achievement for a relatively short book that is easy to read.

I was raised Anglo Catholic. I was also taught that Faith is a gift. I was also taught that the Resurrection of Christ must be believed even though there is no way to prove it. Well, Bishop Spong did the impossible! First he offers us a very deep (and quite probable) speculation of what was going on between the crucifixion and resurrection. He also goes beyond the Scriptures and speculates on what may have been going through the Apostles' minds when all this happened. But the greatest thing Spong does is that he actually proves the resurrection. What he does is he shows you what happened BEFORE Easter, and then he shows you what happened AFTER Easter. In my opinion, even the most obtuse person would be able to see that if one looks at the picture before and after, the resurrection HAD TO HAVE HAPPENED. This belongs in the library of ANY Roman Catholic or Anglo Catholic. I also feel that Bishop Spong hit on something that THOUSANDS of priests, bishops, and cardinals would have loved to stumble upon. Bishop Spong did the church a WONDERFUL service when he wrote this book!

Last year I read John Shelby Spong's book, "Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers in Exile" and was moved. I had thought that about the most I could expect from the Anglican tradition was a good cup of coffee after the service and yet here was an Episcopal bishop whose book fed me intellectually and, rarest of all, spiritually. In December I learned that his autobiography was to be published and bought it as soon as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed "Here I Stand: My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity, Love and Equality".

The book moves along at a fast pace, blending the facts of his life with the stories that give them meaning. And the stories are fascinating. We read of the experiences that shaped him as a child, as a youth, as a young man. The racial conflicts he sought to ease in his early years as a priest. His stimulating approaches to preaching and education. His acceptance of gay and lesbian people and his support of them even at personal cost. And throughout the book, insightful looks into the workings of the Episcopal Church in America and the worldwide Anglican Communion.

I like the way he looks at himself, indeed it is his frank portrayal of his own weaknesses and mistakes that makes his descriptions of the weaknesses and mistakes of others believable.

Spong closes his book by saying, in part, "But above all else, I was throughout my life and am still today deeply convinced of the reality of God. Indeed, I am more deeply convinced of this reality at this moment than I have ever been before. I walk inside the wonder of this God in every experience of life. I have become more of a mystic than I ever thought possible for a rationalist like me. I still meet this God in the life of the one I call Lord and Christ, who is supremely important to my spiritual journey".

A wonderful man, a great book.

Last year I read John Shelby Spong's book, "Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers in Exile" and was moved. I had thought that about the most I could expect from the Anglican tradition was a good cup of coffee after the service and yet here was an Episcopal bishop whose book fed me intellectually and, rarest of all, spiritually. In December I learned that his autobiography was to be published and bought it as soon as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed "Here I Stand: My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity, Love and Equality".

The book moves along at a fast pace, blending the facts of his life with the stories that give them meaning. And the stories are fascinating. We read of the experiences that shaped him as a child, as a youth, as a young man. The racial conflicts he sought to ease in his early years as a priest. His stimulating approaches to preaching and education. His acceptance of gay and lesbian people and his support of them even at personal cost. And throughout the book, insightful looks into the workings of the Episcopal Church in America and the worldwide Anglican Communion.

I like the way he looks at himself, indeed it is his frank portrayal of his own weaknesses and mistakes that makes his descriptions of the weaknesses and mistakes of others believable.

Spong closes his book by saying, in part, "But above all else, I was throughout my life and am still today deeply convinced of the reality of God. Indeed, I am more deeply convinced of this reality at this moment than I have ever been before. I walk inside the wonder of this God in every experience of life. I have become more of a mystic than I ever thought possible for a rationalist like me. I still meet this God in the life of the one I call Lord and Christ, who is supremely important to my spiritual journey".

A wonderful man, a great book.

All scholarship should be like this. It was so funny. I confess--I have something in common with most of the Rt. Rev. Spong's fans. Like them, I've read very little of what he's written. (For example, "Can A Bishop Be Wrong" has two five-star reviews from Spong fans who are under the impression that Spong wrote this book-- apparently, they feel comfortable praising Spong's work sight-unseen).
Don't get me wrong. I've tried to read Spong. But, alas, the Rt. Rev. S. is a ghastly writer. After a while, the charms of Spong's writing-- his relentless self-congratulation, his presenting of hackneyed 19th-century pop-biblical-criticism as his own daring innovation, his use of the passive voice to hide sweeping and questionable assertions ("...there is surprise at how insignificant were the theological issues dividing the two sides [of the Reformation]"), his utter lack of a sense of humor, his unforgivably poor skill with words-- begin to pall. I haven't yet met someone who can read an entire chapter of Spong at one sitting.

That's where another book comes in handy- "Can a Bishop Be Wrong?". The authors don't exhaustively categorize the intellectual sins of the Rt. Rev. Spong-- such a task could never be worth the trees killed. But they provide a good survey of his looking-glass kingdom. "Can A Bishop Be Wrong" isn't a work of Christian apologetics, because it doesn't have to be. Spong's main contention-- the foundation of all his work-- is his claim that no intelligent person of the twentieth century can be an orthodox Christian. To respond, one doesn't have to prove Christianity-- one just has to provide a counterexample. This book categorizes his errors and logical lapses with admirable thoroughness. Not an exhaustive thoroughness, to be sure, but sufficient to the silly task at hand.

This book has its flaws. As others have noted, it is a collection of essays, and they repeat some of the same points over and over. The authors sometimes let Spong goad them into anger. And they don't argue much against Spong's theological outlook-- but since Spong's outlook is just rehashed nineteenth-century "modernism", you can find plenty of orthodox arguments against heavier intellectual forces than Spong. (Try Chesterton's _The_Everlasting_Man_, for starters.)

This book has a limited market. Spong's fans will not be moved by what they read here, if they were inclined to try reading it. But to the traditional theist of whatever religion, who wonders whether he ought to read Spong and find out what all the fuss is about, this book offers a strong and well-reasoned answer: "Nope."

This book gives insight into an interesting way of interpreting the meaning of Biblical content and also provides its authors conclusions. I think that the title "Born of A Woman" characterizes the theme of the author's research pathway regarding the origins of Jesus of Nazereth, the man, as told in the gospels. The title does not reveal much about his conclusions regarding the negative effects of masculine church leadership and perpetuation of the 'Virgin Mary' myths which have dominated the Christian churches since their original formulation.

The reader of this opus does not have to agree with the author's conclusions. For those, like me, who feel the need to embody Christian principles in real life as important contributions to human(e) endeavor but feel skeptical in the face of literal interpretation of Biblical stories, Spong provides a lens to view the information authored nearly two thousand years ago that is refreshing and revealing. Undoubtedly, his perspective is not totally original but it is very useful to me and I think it will be to many others.

I have seen just a bit of the orthodox and fundamantalist critics of Spong's work. I can understand their points intellectually but I cannot agree with some of their intolerence toward adjusting our understanding of Biblical meaning and Christian faith as civilization unavoidably marches on.

For insight as to my thoughts as I read this book: I believe in the approach to the Bible that emphasizes seeking an answer to "What does the story mean?" Personally, I am not very interested (any more) in "Why did it happen?" or "Is it literally true?" Spong's book is aimed at impressing folks who recognize the differences among these questions and want to seek answers to all of them.

If you have read the other reviews, you already know that Bishop Spong quckly sets aside the literal "Christmas Story" and the "Virgin Birth" in this book. Much more intersting to me, however, was his careful tracing of the crafting of what we know today as the "Christmas Story" in the order the various references were written, starting with Paul (I didn't realize his account was written earlier than the gospels).

The core of this book is Bishop Spong's combintation of the few clues in the Bible with the intellectual and political currents of the day in the early church, and how they effected the moulding of the traditions we know today as the "Christmas Story" and the "Virgin Birth".

When he has finished his interesting analysis, he then adds a final chapter to discuss how he feels the developing concept of the "purity of Mary" has influenced the state of women in the centuries since, to the present day. While this is somewhat disconnected from the rest of the book, it builds on the lessons of the previous chapters, and opens up the possibility of dialog on the subject.

There is no question that this book has and will offend many Christians, but for those who are intellectually curious and like to think "out of the box", this book is a treat.

Even though I have already read three of Spong's books, his scholarship continues to surprise and enlighten me. Each one of his works is a treasure, and "Born of a Woman" proved to be no different. In this book, Spong takes a look at the reasons why Matthew and Luke invented the biologically impossible "virgin birth." He contends that the virgin birth was never an historical event, but merely an attempt to explain the origins of Jesus's divinity. He also stresses the Jewish literary device known as midrash that was used to make an unlikely story out of a simple truth. The simple truth of the Bible's birth narratives is that Jesus was divine in the way that he perfectly embodied God's love. The unlikely story is that God negated physics in order to create Jesus. Spong also explains how this "virgin myth" has resulted in the dehumanization of women and shows how the myth was used to label normal human sexuality as "sinful." Even for those churchmen who still give lip service to the Bible's improbable tales, Spong presents a convincing argument -- one that is certain to make the reader question not only what he believes, but also why he believes it.

In the end, the reader will discover that Christianity is not about believing in questionable stories that have no basis in history. Instead, Christianity should be centered in love, the incredible gift of grace that Jesus shared with us! Whether or not one believes in the virgin birth is insignificant and trivial when compared to Christianity's greater truths -- the ones that really count. Even if Spong does not change the reader's belief about the origins of Jesus, he will most certainly bring out the significance of the story -- the meaning behind the midrash.

I continue to recommend Spong to everyone that claims to be a Christian. His lucid, down-to-earth, no-nonsense writing style demands attention from those on both sides of the argument. I firmly believe that everyone, regardless of his or her position, has something to learn from this book. That's just the way that Spong is . . . it's no understatement to say that you should read everything that he writes.

Bishop Spong began his religious life as a Bible-studying fundamentalist. His earliest doubts about the inerrancy of the Bible as a literal document resulted not from the influence of the outside world, but from the Bible's intrinsic conflicts.

Internal contradictions, pre-scientific assumptions, and pre-second-century social thought are all barriers to the modern Christian's literal acceptance of the Bible. Therefore Bishop Spong rightly employs them to underline his point that there must be a better way to understand Western civilization's most important book.

RESCUING THE BIBLE FROM FUNDAMENTALISM is an earnest attempt to give thinking Christians a way to get beyond the humanly limited dimensions of the Bible, and into the inspired ones.

Spong's book is a fascinating and fresh interpretation of the bible, finally giving (possible) answers to many questions modern-day people have had concerning inconsistencies in the biblical text(s). The author does an admirable job of hashing through a great deal of material and it may well be an inspiring and faith-reaffirming book for the Christian who has doubts/issues/questions but rabid fundementalists will only be, at best, indifferent, and at worst, calling for Spong's head on a platter. The effect it had on me, was that reaffirmed all the criticisms and doubts I already held concerning the divine infallacy and accuracy of the Bible. Spong does not cover the political aspects of some of the bible's translations and development, but he covers the cultural aspects enough to make his point. In all, Spong reasserts the bible as an excellent and educating book, a book with many valuable lessons to teach us, but not a book to be taken literally or as the sole (sou! ! l?) source of the history of mankind. It's my feeling that more Pagans than Christians will enjoy this book, as many of Spong's ideas will probably be condemned before they're even given any consideration. That's a shame, because Christianity needs the kind of intelligent debate that Spong's thinking brings.

Bishop John Shelby Spong writes convincingly and eloquently not only of the Bible as literature in a context of time, place and politics, but also for his love of the book and the meanings it can convey if viewed as a whole for all its contradictions and myths. The book conveys Bishop Spong's deep spirituality very clearly while also explaining Biblical texts in a way that makes one feel one doesn't have to leave one's brain at home when going to church. I highly recommend this book to people of all religions as a cogent and strong explanation of Christianity today.