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A New Christianity for a New World
A New Christianity for a New World, Why Traditional Faith is Dying and How a New Faith is Being Born, by John Shelby Spong, HarperSanFrancisco, 2001, 276 pages $36.50
Tine and time again Bishop Spong emphasizes that this is not a book he enjoyed writing. It has caused him considerable distress and spiritual agony, besides bringing into his life a horde of critics who, in a previous time, would have happily burned him at the stake. Since we know, in retrospect, that yesterday's heretics have so often proven to be closer to the truth than their accusers, it behooves us to take this book seriously.
My guess is that there are many Christians, both lay and clerical, who will quietly say to themselves: "That is what I have been thinking about and wrestling with, but I would never say it publically." Spong has gone public in spite of a personal cost.
The primary question which Spong seeks to raise is this. "Can a person claim with integrity to be a Christian and at the same time dismiss, as I have done, so much of what has traditionally defined the content of the Christian faith?" And he dismisses quite a bit.
In a long list of theological dismissals he can not interpret Jesus as the earthly incarnation of a supernatural deity, nor can he accept the virgin birth. He considers many of the stories following the death of Jesus such as the resurrection appearances and the ascension as intriguing legends which later became historized. He does not believe that Jesus founded a church or created sacraments as special means of grace, nor that they should be controlled by ordained clerics. He dismisses the concept of original sin, the literal interpretation of the Bible as the word of God, and the belief that all Christian ethics have been inscribed either on tablets of stone or in the pages of Christian Scriptures. And so the list goes on. Needless to say, this is not a book for the faint of heart. Those who have, over the years, attached themselves to their religious traditions as unshakeable truths and as ends in themselves will find this book very disconcerting.
But what is it that lies at the heart of Spong's discontent? It is, in his mind, the death of theism - the concept of some mega person in the heavens who can be both malevolent or benevolent depending on how his minions down below are behaving - the concept of an all-controlling deity who must be constantly placated and appeased by various rituals in order to acquire his favour - so much of which has become embedded in our creeds, our liturgies, and our daily decision making. When this foundational concept of God is questioned the ripple effect on our traditional beliefs system can be somewhat devastating.
But who are the people that Spong is trying to address? In his words "they are people who feel spiritually thirsty but know they can no longer drink from the traditional wells of the past". They are people who "still possess a profound God-consciousness, but that God-consciousness never quite fits the molds that religious institutions say are the only ways that one can think about God."
But how do you reach such people? They are not necessarily in the pews. They do not frequent religious book stores. You probably would not find them attending a conference lead by a "Bishop"! Part of the answer is his promotion and distribution. I bought my copy of the book at Chapters and I enjoyed perusing the fan club web site http://www.geocities.com/reuther_ 2000/spong.htm There is a better chance of reaching his audience through these channels.
Some of you may have read his previous book Why Christianity Must Change or Die. Many of his concerns raised in this book are repeated in A New Christianity for a New World - but with two major exceptions. I was very impressed with the amount of Biblical scholarship he included to develop his arguments. This is where the traditionalist will be challenged.
The second addition is his attempt to provide a glimpse of what the Christian church might look like if change did occur. He considers the impact on evangelism and world mission, on our liturgies and ecclesiastical structures, on how we pray, on what it means to be an essential part of the Christian Community. Spong has started to draw some images of what we might expect to see in the future. Hopefully, he will continue to explore these unchartered waters and provide an even clearer picture of this new Christianity.
Paul Chidwick is the Editor of OMNI.
Posted by editor on September 30, 2003 10:06 AM