Jesus for the Non Religious: Recovering the Divine at the Heart of the Human

by John S. Spong

In Jesus for the Non-Religious , bestselling author and moral activist John Shelby Spong challenges much of the traditional understanding that has for so long surrounded the Jesus o fhistory, from the tale of his miraculous birth to a virgin, to the account of his cosmic ascension into the sky at the end of his life. Spong proposes a new way of understanding the divinity of as the ultimate dimension of a fulfilled humanity that opens the meaning of the divine in all life. Controversial as always, Spong breaks new ground, offering his readers a different way to understand the divine Christ through the lens of the fully human Jesus, calling on Christian leaders to step beyond Christianity's dying religious forms if they want this faith tradition to live in the 21st century.

Genres: Religion, Spirituality

336 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2008

Reviews

[Mr S Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read, attempting to show Jesus form more that just an Orthodox position.

[Carrie Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read but assumes you're willing to take huge leaps if you're not familiar with the bibliography.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deconstructing New Testament events is like telling kids there is no Santa Claus; no big surprise to the thoughtful but has to be done deftly for believers

[Zach Christensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my least favorite Spong book. There are many reviews here that say "Spong is a heretic and an atheist in disguise." That is not why I didn't enjoy this book. For the most part, I enjoy reading Spong. He is often able to deconstruct something and then present an intriguing alternative. In this book, however, it took so long to deconstruct an idea that the reader begins to lose interest. I eventually lost track of what he was deconstructing! I would not discourage you from reading other works of Spong, but this is not his best in my humble opinion.