Essay Archives View as a list
29 December 2011: An Open Letter to a Political Leader Newt Gingrich and to a Religious Leader Pat Robertson
A note to my readers: This column ran first in the fall of 2010 or about 15 months ago in this exact form. It was not regarded as controversial. The political situation in America, however, has shifted dramatically in those 15 months making this column read very differently in the present context. I suspect it …
22 December 2011: Christpower
A Note to my Readers: Many years ago, in 1974 to be specific, for the sermon at the Christmas Eve Midnight service at St. Paul’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, I sought to redefine Jesus through the medium of poetry. I could, even then, no longer see him with credibility as the incarnation of a supernatural …
Q & A:
I am a member of a group of (progressive) Christians and Jews who have been studying the New Testament. We began with Mark and are now into Matthew and have been guided along the way by several of your books, including Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism. Our question is this: why do you claim that Matthew’s gospel, in particular, is a nightmare for literalists? Why Matthew more than the others? Thank you and thank you for making me believe I am a Christian after all.
15 December 2011: Harrisena Community Church in Lake George New York: A Story Worth Telling
This church was built in 1866 by John J. Harris to be used as an Episcopal summer chapel serving vacationers in the Lake George, New York area. In 1869 it was deeded to the vestry of the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Glen Falls, New York. It was closed in 1883. It re-opened in …
Q & A:
I just want to say that the writings of Bishop Spong have been such a gift. They give me hope when I tend to think there is no hope that God can be imagined in ways different from institutional Christianity. I am a firm Christian but know that our thinking can be so limited. Bishop Spong’s writings echoed so many of the ideas that have become part of my faith journey. It was so wonderful to see them in his books and columns. I did not feel so alone. His ideas have nurtured my spirituality in so many ways that I cannot even begin to express. I am so grateful for the Spirit in him that he has shared with so many.
8 December 2011: A Walk Down Memory Lane in England with My Wife
It was a nostalgic trip down memory lane for my wife Christine. It turned out to be a moment of insight into life itself. For that reason alone I share this experience with my readers. On a recent trip to Switzerland and Italy, we added a couple of days in England, the land of Christine’s …
Q & A:
What do we mean by the word “faith?” People, who would dismiss us as anti-intellectual, ridicule faith with the presumption that it means believing in things that are hard to believe in or believing in things that are contrary to known facts. I know this is not what we Christians mean by that word (outside the evangelical fringe), but I don’t have good words to explain it. Can you help?
1 December 2011: What Do Christian Symbols Mean in a Land Where Christianity is No Longer Practiced?
Italy is a Roman Catholic country! That was stated time after time as we journeyed through Florence, Tuscany and the Cinque Terre. The signs of this faith tradition were everywhere. The major tourist attractions in Italy, ranging from the Vatican to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, to the storied museums of the land in which …
Q & A:
Let me say that you are such an inspiration to me! Your courage to disintegrate the veneer and debris which surrounds God, Jesus and the Gospel has been rockin’ my world! I love it! Thank you!
I’m wondering if you are familiar with Eckhart Tolle. You both come from divergent perspectives, but I see a lot of similarities. Just wondered if you could offer a word or two concerning how you feel about the teachings. Thanks!
24 November 2011: The Super Committee Fails – Disgust is Rampant!
There was a sense of disgust, followed by feelings of despair when the super committee formed to deal with the budget deficit failed to accomplish anything. This committee had been given enormous legislative power. Any conclusion to which they agreed would go to the Senate and House of Representatives to be voted up or down …
Q & A:
I do enjoy all your books. I’ve just finished Eternal Life and my question is-OK, now how do we pray? If we “walk into God” and it’s internal, how do we address prayers? Thanks so much. You have changed my thinking about theology-and I’ve spent my adult life as a Christian educator.
17 November 2011: Studying Christian Art in Florence Italy
The Florence Museum, known in Italy as the Musei Firenze, is best known for the massive marble statue of the youthful King David sculpted by Michelangelo. Housed in the section of the museum known as the Galleria dell’Accademia, this magnificent work of rare genius was accomplished with meticulous detail designed to reveal the beauty and …
Q & A:
Please comment on war. Probably we all hate war and no one hates it more than those who must fight in it, but what must we do when invaded by a Hitler or when Japan bombs a Pearl Harbor?
10 November 2011: Facing the Political Realities of Institutional Church Life in the Launch of Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World
On November 8, 2011, my publisher, Harper-Collins, released my newest book under the title Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World. The date of a book’s release is always a significant day in the life of an author, not unlike, I can at least imagine, the way a mother must feel when she gives birth …
Q & A:
I have just finished Stephen Patterson’s excellent article in “The Fourth R” (thank you for turning me on to this great publication) entitled Was the Resurrection Christianity’s Big Bang? Much of the article reminded me of your arguments concerning how the original Jesus experience was interpreted through the Jewish tradition and liturgy of the first century.
Patterson refers to the second prayer of the Eighteen Benedictions from the traditional Jewish liturgy (Blessed be you, O Lord, who makes the dead to live), serving as a critical lens through which the earliest confession regarding the resurrection surfaced. Would you please comment on this idea? What are these Eighteen Benedictions and how sure are we that they date back to the first century, making up an important part of the context that found meaning in Jesus’ life and death?
By the way our summer book club at the First Presbyterian Church of Hastings, Nebraska just finished a lively and rewarding study of Jesus for the Non-Religious. Thanks for your good work and leadership.
3 November 2011: The European Economy and Germany’s Role in Re-Shaping it in the 21st Century
One of the signs of our radically interdependent world is that the economic problems of Europe have become the primary catalyst in the American stock market fluctuations over the past few months. We have thus become quite familiar with talk of Greece’s default, with downgrades on Italian banks and with constant rumors of the collapse …
Q & A:
Your writing has been an answer to a lifetime of doctrinal searching...and that is not hyperbole! Raised by a traditional, but very liberal Lutheran pastor father and mother, I was eventually ordained and am recently retired. I thank you for the three books, which I highly recommend that people read sequentially...This Hebrew Lord, Liberating the Gospels and Jesus for the Non-Religious. These books have finally let me "land" my Christology after all these years! My question: Though I am very comfortable with the whole concept of the panentheistic being "in whom I live and move and have my being,” I find myself continually wanting to worship and praise and live in THANKSGIVING and GRATITUDE for all that I have and all that I experience. Is it not strange not to direct this "thank you" to an anthropomorphic being (this shows my traditional influences)? Sometimes I feel like I am sending out “thank you” notes with no addresses. As we approach Thanksgiving, I am encouraged to ask you how you handle this personally, if I might. I would so appreciate your thoughts on this. Thank you again for your immensely helpful work.
27 October 2011: Why I Wrote “Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World”
Several years ago, while in England, I was invited to participate on a two-hour television program hosted by Melvin Bragg, now Sir Melvin Bragg, on the UK’s ITV channel. The topic was the future of religion in general and of Christianity in particular. There were three other panelists one of whom was Christopher Hitchens, well …
Q & A:
Thank you for your series on the origins of both the Old and New Testaments. I find your explanations and interpretations very valuable. My question is as follows: I notice you refer to the authors of the gospels by the name of the person to whom the “book” is attributed. Does the gospel “according to Mark” mean something like the gospel description that came from the community or communities that identified with the disciple named Mark or possibly some other Mark? Most of my early education in fundamentalism held that the disciple named Mark wrote down all of his experiences into what is now called the Gospel of Mark and it was most accurately translated into the King James version of 1611. My perception is now that some person or persons educated in the Greek language was/were the scribe(s) who recorded a collection of oral stories containing some accuracies and a lot of distorted memories all with an agenda (or agendas) of some kind.
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