Status Updates From The Sins of Scripture: Expo...

Spong’s warnings about climate change and the mistreatment of our planet being immoral are correct. However, when he poses that teachings about Jesus contribute to this mindset, I again can’t follow his premise all the way through. Someone who truly understands the doctrines of Creation, Incarnation, Ascension and Recreation, would know that following Jesus also means caring for creation.

In his case “against scripture” Spong mentions issues such as the claims of Mosaic authorship for the Torah or Davidic authorship of the Psalms when they were clearly written at a later date, or ways the Gospel writers play with Old Testament texts to tell the story of Jesus. (more in notes)

Spong rightly states that Christians must come face to face with the evils that have been done in the name of their religion and spends several pages listing these evils. He is right, atrocities have been committed in the name of Christianity. However, this does not justify the conclusion that the text of the Bible itself is to blame. Rather it is the misuse of this sacred text.

Immediately another bold and unsubstantiated claim that the Bible is inherently antisemitic…Most fundamentalists I know are Zionists through and through so this is news to me

Early on, Spong makes a bold claim that at times “the Bible is the enemy” rather than the way it’s been misinterpreted or abused. I move forward hesitantly.

“Is it not strange that before the feminine symbol [Mary] could be called holy and lifted into God by the Western Catholic tradition, it had to be first desexed then dehumanized?”