Spong Lecture-Can You Believe It?

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"Biblical Scholar & Author Bishop John Shelby Spong To Speak at First Church" was the title of the post I saw on a local news website. I've heard of Bishop Spong. Anyone who has taken a college bible course in recent times as well as anyone who has done bible study has likely heard of his books and liberal (unorthodox) Christian perspectives. The FREE program was scheduled for a Saturday afternoon (1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.).

I was intrigued about attending since I am reading/studying the Gospel of John and Spong's most recent book is about the Fourth Gospel. First Church is also within walking distance of where I live and I've never been inside (although have gone past many many times). Also, in the interest of exploring new places and possibly meeting people who have similar interests.

Sign in front of Church.

First Church-location of the lecture.

Naturally, as I entered the church I was greeted enthusiastically by a greeter (ala pretty typical nowadays)-similar to what you'd encounter when going to a automobile dealer to buy a car. I sat towards the front in a position where I hoped I could see and hear. I noticed that most of the attendees appeared older than me (i.e., nursing home crowd) with only a smattering of young adults and no teenagers. I guess that should be expected given the title of the lecture (see above).

At the front of the church was a music combo playing jazzy versions of standard Christian hymns. After a short introduction by a female host/moderator, Bishop Spong was introduced. The format was:

1 - 2 pm: Lecture
2 - 2:30 pm: Q&A
2:30-3 pm: Intermission/Break
3-3:45 pm: Lecture
3:45-4:15 pm: Q&A
4:15 pm: Book signing.

Bishop Spong at First Church (Courtesy of First Church FB)

I wish I had taken notes or recorded the lecture and questions so that I could have studied it more thoroughly. However, I was more curious and less serious. So my thoughts below are more random and jumbled impressions rather than a cohesive summary or analysis.

Apparently the 84-year old Bishop is extremely hard of hearing. He had a lot of difficulty understanding the questions during Q&A. Despite a universalist  portrayal, he insisted that a woman ask the first question and then alternate male and female questioners. That was to demonstrate his support of feminism. Thank God he didn't throw a racial quota in because almost all attendees were white.

Question & Answer at First Church (Courtesy of First Church FB)

At the start of Intermission, I turned around and was surprised and delighted to see someone I know. It was a female colleague from a professional society that I belong to. Roberta was accompanied by her RC friend Mary Sue (with a bad knee). We retired downstairs to a large room where cookies and apple cider were provided (and the musical combo was providing hymnal sounds that made it difficult to chat - why must there be a musical soundtrack for everything?).

Here are some of the points I remember from Bishop's Spong's presentation:

• The world has changed and what worked in the past religiously no longer works (thanks in large part to evolution).
• Life begins when a fertilized cell splits into two cells. He related that as something scientists use as the basis for determining if life exists on other planets. This supervised me  because it would be a strong argument against abortion (and abortion is a feminist right).
• Our behavior is largely driven by our desire for survival (surprise!) which apparently is not a good thing per Spong's religion because it is self-oriented.
• Self-consciousness is something akin to sinfulness and being human. We really become human when we become self-aware.
• He is fond of his wife and is blessed by their marriage.
• Love is all you need. Love wins, etc.
• He doesn't like fundamentalists. No fundamentals anymore (except as he defines).
• He doesn't believe in creeds although he has no reservation saying them every Sunday during church services.
• Sin doesn't make sense. The Fall (Adam & Eve) is an obsolete, inaccurate myth.
• Apparently there is no Hell or Devil (although he worked hard to avoid answering a pretty specific question. Deafness comes in handy sometimes).
• He likes RC Pope Francis and the direction the Pope is taking the RC Church. However, he is still perturbed about the RC church not having women priests and being against birth control, abortion, etc.

And what was Spong's answer to the question posed by the title of the lecture (see above)? I think the answer is "sort of." He apparently doesn't see the afterlife as any sort of continuation of human life, certainly not a risen body and spirit. It seems like he perceives the afterlife as not really life but rather being absorbed into God. I probably agree with the general sense of this position. However, I think the gist of the question was really to question the value of religion in modern society.

Surprisingly, he still considers himself a Christian. I was fortunate to ask the final question. So I asked (I forget the exact words) if Christianity was still a viable concept. I was thinking along the lines of how so much prejudice against Christians exists today. Bishop Spong firmly claimed Christianity and called for people to redefine Christianity (from those pesky fundamentalists and traditionalists).

After the program was finished, I stayed and bought a soft bound copy of his recent book on the Gospel of John (see picture below) and got him to autograph it. The only other time I stood in line to get an autographed book was for The Cat Who Went to Paris. I plan to write a separate post about Spong's book when I am done reading it.

Spong's recent book (2013)

So did I accomplish my goals for this lecture? Well, I did get to see a bit of the inside of First Church; I did get an autographed copy of the Fourth Gospel book I wanted to read; I did meet people. On the other hand, First Church is too radical for me (too left) and I don't think I would be comfortable there. My beliefs don't align with what is proclaimed by First Church. So I don't see myself returning on a regular basis. However, if a program is interesting, I would return for the program. Spong's lecture was sponsored by a library they have. This might be worth exploring more. I looked through their upcoming calendar and didn't see anything worthwhile to me. Like most modern churches, there  is no sign of Bible study but plenty of "progressive" oriented activities.

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Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong
http://www.whfirstchurch.org
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/735-john-shelby-spong-anglican-nightmare
http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062011305/the-fourth-gospel-tales-of-a-jewish-mystic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cat_Who_Went_to_Paris

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Written: Tuesday 8 December 2015.