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In this boldest book since Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, Bishop John Shelby Spong offers a compelling view of the Gospels as thoroughly Jewish tests.Spong powerfully argues that many of the key Gospel accounts of events in the life of Jesus—from the stories of his birth to his physical resurrection—are not literally true. He offers convincing evidence that the Gospels are a collection of Jewish midrashic stories written to convey the significance of Jesus. This remarkable discovery brings us closer to how Jesus was really understood in his day and should be in ours.
In this boldest book since Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, Bishop John Shelby Spong offers a compelling view of the Gospels as thoroughly Jewish tests.Spong powerfully argues that many of the key Gospel accounts of events in the life of Jesus—from the stories of his birth to his physical resurrection—are not literally true. He offers convincing evidence that the Gospels are a collection of Jewish midrashic stories written to convey the significance of Jesus. This remarkable discovery brings us closer to how Jesus was really understood in his day and should be in ours.
Did the gospel authors invent stories about Jesus that never happened? Meticulous, well-informed, and accessible, The Mirror or the Mask is an important addition to the libraries of laymen, pastors, apologists, and scholars who want to know whether the Gospels are reliable.
"With a keen eye and years of deliberate investigation, Spong traces the long period of history in which the Gospels were "cut away from their essential Jewishness" and interpreted as if they were primarily gentile books, distorting their meaning with a deeply prejudiced anti-Jewish bias. To remedy both that bias and the continued misinterpretation of the Gospels' message, Spong believes we must recognize the Gospels as the thoroughly Jewish books they are and learn to read them with a clear understanding of the Jewish context, frame of reference, vocabulary, and history that shaped in informed them." "By connecting the Gospels to the style of the Jewish midrashic literature of Jesus' era, he shows how the Gospel authors intended their stories to be perceived, not as historic accounts of actual events, but rather as interpretive narratives about the meaning of Jesus, using images and themes from the Hebrew Bible. Some examples of his fascinating arguments and conclusions are the significant events of Jesus' life follow an orderly cycle of Jewish feasts and rites of passage; Judas never existed but was a fictional scapegoat created to shift the blame for Jesus' death from the Romans to the Jews; leading characters of Jewish scripture make cameo appearances in the Gospels; and stories about Jesus, from the infancy narratives to the resurrection, can all be freshly understood as interpretative tales based on key passages in the Old Testament." "Like any good detective story, Liberating the Gospels is a riveting account of facts and theories coming together, piece by piece, to form a brilliant, convincing whole. Spong approaches the Gospels with reverence and a determination to restore their meaning, their vivid historical context, and the respect so long eroded between Christians and Jews. The result is a remarkable revisioning of Jesus and the Gospels that brings us closer to how Jesus was really understood in his day and should be in ours."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
From the bestselling author of Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: John Shelby Spong's original groundbreaking classic, now newly revised, reveals the Jesus "behind the language of myth, magic, and superstition." "In this study I found a Lord, a center for my being. Behind the supernatural framework of the first century . . . I discovered a life I wanted to know; a life that possessed a power I wanted to possess; a freedom, a wholeness for which I had yearned for years." Illuminating the "figure who stands at the center of all the Christina Church is," John Shelby Spong explores Jesus under the light of the Hebrew tradition into which he was born. Candid, personal, and soundly argued, this is Spong's spiritual and intellectual pilgrimage to the Christ he discovered in Jesus of Nazareth.
In short chapters full of memorable personal stories Danielle Strickland challenges us to take seriously our reading of the Gospels and the consequences of that reading. Strickland exposes the lie that debates regarding women's positions in the church and in life are academic exercises conducted by theologians with no impact on the day-to-day lives of women and the lie that the debate is even about gender. Strickland starts with stories of women in subjugation--women who are considered property, or have been told to remain in abusive relationships, or face extensive cultural restrictions.These are women she has met as she serves around the world for the Salvation Amy. She calls us to know each woman as she meets Jesus and by her spiritual gifts--not by a culturally defined category. After tackling overt cases of oppression of women, Strickland confronts the subtleties of gender inequality in the Western world. Laying open the Bible and inviting all to come, she thoughtfully outlines the positions regarding gender equality and reviews related passages of Scripture. Using her gift as an evangelist along with the guiding of Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience, she makes her case that the more women are empowered to be true equals to men, the closer we bring the Kingdom of God.
Roberta Grimes spent decades studying nearly 200 years of afterlife evidence and forming a detailed picture of what happens at and after death. She then discovered that two thousand years ago Jesus told us things about God, reality, death, the afterlife, human nature, and the nature of reality that perfectly match the afterlife evidence in even small details. She outlines many of these correspondences in appendices to her books The Fun of Dying (2010, 2014) and The Fun of Staying in Touch (2014). In Liberating Jesus Roberta offers compelling evidence that the earliest Christians misunderstood the meaning and the message of Jesus. She demonstrates that all the correspondences between the Gospels and the afterlife evidence amount to nothing less than a new revelation from God. And she shows us that once we put aside the magic-thinking notion that the whole Christian Bible must be the Inspired Word of God just because the earliest Christians said it was, we at last free Jesus to bring to humankind the messages directly from God that long ago were His true life's purpose. His promise remains as fresh today as it was two thousand years ago, and now it is confirmed by the afterlife evidence: if we will live according to the teachings of Jesus, we can create the Kingdom of God on earth.
Liberating the Bible by Thomas Calnan Sorenson Pdf
Liberating the Bible offers readers a handbook to help them make their way through a front-to-back exploration of the riches contained in the Bible. Thomas Calnan Sorenson blends scholarship with a down-to-earth presentation in a survey of the Bible that uncovers the basics of its many books and reveals the persuasive power of its messages to nurture faith, expand understanding, and deepen connections to God. Liberating the Bible organizes its guidance into three parts. In Approaching the Bible, eleven stops on the tour investigate the basics of the Bible, its status in the church, methods for reading and interpreting it, and the grounding of its claims. The second part, The Old Testament, groups the books of this testament and covers over sixteen stops. Each of the stops delves into a book or cluster of books, examining historical background, organization, key passages, and distinctive themes and messages. The third part, The New Testament, provides similar guidance while making eleven stops along the way. If you are one of the millions who have a Bible--or several--on your nightstand, but find yourself confused or intimidated by its size and scope, then this guidebook offers its companionship. It promises to serve as a seasoned and knowledgeable resource to consult as you make your trip through the Bible. It will help you find a deeper faith and stronger ties to God through the Bibles powerful witness.
Why Christianity Must Change or Die by John Shelby Spong Pdf
An important and respected voice for liberal American Christianity for the past twenty years, Bishop John Shelby Spong integrates his often controversial stands on the Bible, Jesus, theism, and morality into an intelligible creed that speaks to today's thinking Christian. In this compelling and heartfelt book, he sounds a rousing call for a Christianity based on critical thought rather than blind faith, on love rather than judgment, and that focuses on life more than religion.
Using approaches from the Hebrew interpretive tradition to discern the actual events surrounging Jesus' death, Bishop Spong questions the hitorical validity of literal narrative concerned the Ressurection. He asserts that the resurrection story was born in an experience that opened the disciples' eyes to the reality of God and the meaning of Jesus of Nazareth. Spong traces the Christian origins of anti-Semitism to the Church's fabrication of the ultimate Jewish scapegoat, Judas Iscariot. He affirms the inclusiveness of the Christian message and emphasizes the necessity of mutual integrity and respect among Christians and Jews.
The Liberating Mission of Jesus by Dario Andres Lopez Rodriguez Pdf
The Liberating Mission of Jesus deals with the central message of the Gospel of Luke, provocatively arguing that the liberating mission of Jesus has two central themes: the universality of the love of God and the special love God has for the defenseless of society. Both of these pillars form the bedrock of Luke's theological vision, animate his Gospel throughout, and summarize the good news of the reign of God in subversive and radical form. This book shows how the liberating message announced by Jesus, as well as his liberating practice, is manifested throughout the Gospel and its implications for Christian life today. Through this thorough treatment, the full depth of Luke's vision of the liberating mission of Jesus is shown to be a paradigm for the personal and collective witness of believers, regardless of the social, political, cultural, or religious boundaries that try to inhibit them from giving witness to the God of life.
Liberating Exegesis by Christopher Rowland,Mark Corner Pdf
This important book provides a sampling of liberation theology's use of biblical texts, relating it to the "standard" methods of interpretation in Europe and America. Divided into four sections, the book sets out contemporary readings of the parable of Jesus influenced by a liberationist perspective; identifies the biblical and theoretical foundations of liberation theology, comparing them with the dominant exegetical paradigm in the first world; explores the way in which liberation exegesis affects reading the canonical accounts of Jesus; and argues that liberation theology cannot be seen solely as a third-world phenomenon.
The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.
Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World by John Shelby Spong Pdf
In Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, bishop and social activist John Shelby Spong argues that 200 years of biblical scholarship has been withheld from lay Christians. In this brilliant follow-up to Spong’s previous books Eternal Life and Jesus for the Non-Religious, Spong not only reveals the crucial truths that have long been kept hidden from the public eye, but also explores what the history of the Bible can teach us about reading its stories today and living our lives for tomorrow. Sarah Sentilles, author of Breaking Up With God: A Love Story, applauds John Shelby Spong’s Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, writing that “pulsing beneath his brilliant, thought-provoking, passionate book is this question: can Christianity survive the education of its believers?…A question Bishop Spong answers with a resounding yes.”
Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism by John Shelby Spong Pdf
By popular demand—study guides to two of Bishop John Shelby Spong's bestselling and controversial works, including questions, reflections, and summaries for group and individual use.