John Shelby Spong, Bishop

Bishop Spong is one of the most identifiable, outspoken liberal voices in religious circles today. Generating controversy and headlines for more than three decades, Spong is a longtime advocate for gay rights both inside and outside the church and can speak to all issues of Christian faith. He urges everyone to abandon all traditional beliefs (e.g., that Jesus was divine, born of a virgin, was resurrected, that the Bible was inspired by God, or even that God exists as a separate being) that are out of step with modern science or the concerns of contemporary society. He lives in New Jersey.

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Spirituality

Eternal Life: A New Vision

Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell

Talking Points

John Shelby Spong continues to speak at hundreds of events each year in the United States and abroad and has become a go-to spokesman for liberal Christianity. He is a regular contributer and guest on numerous radio and television shows, and writes a regular online newsletter that goes out to thousands of readers. His expertise is wide ranging and powerful.

Description

God, says John Shelby Spong, is ultimately one, and each of us is part of that oneness. This is how we live on after death: not in Heaven or Hell, but as part of the eternity that continues after we die beyond the barriers of time and space. Spong says the discovery of the eternal can be found within each of us as we go deeper into ourselves and become most fully human. By seeking it, by living each day to its fullest, we will come to understand how we live eternally.

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