Even though I disagree with John Shelby Spong on a wide variety of topics I genuinely like him. In terms of modern theologians and Christian apologists his is certainly one of the more thoughtful and even somewhat original theists. Most of what he believes is just as delusional and loaded with nonsense but he does a far better job supporting them than most. He also comes across as just a really nice person. When he disagrees he tends to focus on the issue or concept at hand rather than resort to personal attacks. It would be great if his fellow theologians and apologists would follow his example.
Any non-religious person, atheist or not, who has an interest in religion/theology I would strongly recommend becoming familiar with Spong's work. He has written numerous articles and books. Despite the failure of his ideas to stand up to any deep scrutiny they are none the less very interesting and worth exploring.
A few of the pieces on or by Spong from around the internet:
CNN Belief Blog post: "My Take: The 3 biggest biblical misconceptions"
Culture Shocks podcast: Interview with Barry Lynn
John Shelby Spong website
He also has a Facebook page and there are numerous clips of him on YouTube.
I encourage everyone to read as widely as possible on as many topics/issues as possible. I intend to regularly post on individuals I find interesting whether I agree with them or not. Opinionated or not, I truly believe that we should constantly question and challenge ourselves.
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