The Rt. Rev. John Shelby Spong, D.D., is the retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, whom Bp. Jack McElvey reported to before coming to the Rochester Episcopal Diocese.  As the author of more than a dozen books, he is the most published member of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States.

His bestsellers include "Rescuing the Bible From Fundamentalism" and
"Why Christianity Must Change or Die" and "Jesus For The Non-religious" 
and  "Sins of Scripture".
He is a frequent lecturer at conference centers and on college campuses all over the world and has been a guest lecturer at Harvard.  Bishop Spong has some controversial, modern ideas, and whether you agree with him or not, his ideas are sure to prompt some interesting discussions.

A few of the many Beliefnet columns and articles by Bishop John Shelby Spong:
we'll start with the following four in our  afternoon book discussions

• Three New Year Resolutions
  Here's to a Christianity in search of a new reformation
  As a new year dawns with hope and promise, people turn almost inevitably to the future. That is what produces resolutions aimed at self-improvement. In that mode, I would like to gaze into the future of the Christian Church and shape three New Year’s Resolutions that might guide the church into tomorrow.
   
• The Easter Moment: What Really Happened? Part 1
  Is the literal claim of Easter still believable? Can Christianity afford to debate its originating moment?
   
• Resurrection: Myth or Reality? Part II
  Easter's power lies not in resuscitated bodies but in the mind-expanding experience of knowing life is more powerful than death.
   
• The Easter Moment: Drawing Conclusions
  Armed with historical clues, we can speculate on the moving drama that came to be called the Resurrection.

Saint Wonder Woman
Mary was de-sexed and dehumanized by church fathers. I'll take Wonder Woman as a role model.

Assisted Suicide: A Christian Choice and a New Freedom
It's time for Christianity to grapple with the ethical issues that face us at the end of life.

Was the Apostle Paul Gay?
What accounts for Paul's self-judging rhetoric, his negative feeling toward his own body? An Episcopal bishop mulls the issues.

Anglican Battle Over Homosexuality Takes a 'Bizarre' Turn
While conservatives 'terrorize,' the church's liberal leadership 'temporizes'

No Room for Compromise
Christianity's integrity rides on how religious people deal with gay rights

The Theistic God is Dead--A Casualty of Terrorism
The terrorist tragedy will help us step beyond yesterday's God, beyond pious delusions

Is There Life After Death?
One spoke for hope. One spoke for realism. Uncomfortable anxiety filled the room. The debate had been 'vigorous.'

The Drive Toward Individual Freedom
Breaking down prejudice gets my vote as the biggest change of the last century

Is Christianity Going South?   May 17, 2001
Conservatives applaud the rising numbers of Third World Christians. But theological colonialism won't help them in the long run.