John Shelby Spong

[Andromeda Islands]

John Shelby Spong died yesterday.

Conservative Christians saw him as a heretic.
Although I don't identify as a Christian I truly admire this man.

He challenged orthodoxy with logic and reason.
He was a champion of liberal thinking.

He was certainly a controversial thinker, but he was a good man and he was what a Christian should be, in my opinion.

[Old Tyrannia]

My first response was a little on the distasteful side, on reflection, so let me try again.

My condolences to the Right Rev. Bishop's family and friends. In the grand scheme of things, he was not a particularly bad man, and his passing is undoubtedly a sad occasion. Nonetheless, his legacy as a public figure is, in my opinion, an almost wholly negative one, and his decision to use his position as a bishop of the American Episcopal Church as a platform from which to attack the most fundamental of the church's teachings could reasonably be considered an unethical one. Despite my strong objections to his teachings and life decisions, I will keep him in my prayers as he goes to his final reward or judgement.

[Lady Victory]

I don't know whether to call him a heretic or an apostate tbh. His proposals read like an attempt at appealing to Atheists; which is frankly silly.

RIP all the same.

[Andromeda Islands]

His proposals read like an attempt at appealing to Atheists.."
RIP all the same.

I agree with that, but why is it silly?

[The Holy Therns]

Never heard of 'im, but all respect to his loved ones.

[Lady Victory]

His proposals read like an attempt at appealing to Atheists.."
RIP all the same.

I agree with that, but why is it silly?

Why should Christians try to appeal to Atheists? We should we change the very way our religion operates to appeal to the faithless? That defeats the point and purpose of Christianity entirely.

[Postauthoritarian America]

RIP. I've read some of his stuff and generally agree with the critic who argued that if you remove the ability of a God or gods to significantly change anything in the world you're not just unorthodox, you're an atheist. As an open atheist who's known my share (and that of others) of the prejudice that that brings I was underwhelmed by his professions of anguish over being a "Christian in exile." Get off the front porch of exile and join the real exiles inside, Bishop.

[Punished UMN]

John Shelby Spong died yesterday.

Conservative Christians saw him as a heretic.
Although I don't identify as a Christian I truly admire this man.

He challenged orthodoxy with logic and reason.
He was a champion of liberal thinking.

He was certainly a controversial thinker, but he was a good man and he was what a Christian should be, in my opinion.

He was not a Christian at all, his thought was based on a fundamental rejection of Christian theology. That said, it is a shame that he has died.

[Immortan Khan]

My condolences to his family and friends, I'm sure this is not easy for them as it rarely, if ever is, for anyone. As others have said though, he was not even a Christian and he should have done the honourable thing of stepping down from his position(s) within his church.