Description: "In this profound work, bestselling author and the former Episcopal Bishop of Newark John Shelby Spong offers a radical new way to look at the gospels today. Pulling back the layers of misunderstanding created over the centuries by Gentile ignorance of things Jewish, he reveals how a literal reading of the Bible is so far removed from the original intent of the Jewish authors of the gospels that it has become an act of heresy. Using the gospel of Matthew as a guide, Spong explores the New Testament's literary and liturgical roots its grounding in Jewish culture, symbols, icons, and storytelling tradition to explain how the events of Jesus's life, including the virgin birth, the miracles, the details of the passion story, and the resurrection and ascension, would have been understood by both the Jewish authors of the various gospels and by the Jewish audiences for which they were originally written. Spong makes clear that it was only after the church became fully Gentile that readers of the gospels took these to be events of history, thus distorting their essential meaning."--Provided by publisher.
Brief description:
John Shelby Spong, the Episcopal Bishop of Newark before his retirement in 2000, has been a visiting lecturer at Harvard and at more than 500 other universities all over the world. His books, which have sold well over a million copies, include Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy; The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic; Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World; Eternal Life: A New Vision; Jesus for the Non-Religious, The Sins of Scripture, Resurrection: Myth or Reality?; Why Christianity Must Change or Die; and his autobiography, Here I Stand. He writes a weekly column on the web that reaches thousands of people all over the world. To join his online audience, go to www.JohnShelbySpong.com. He lives with his wife, Christine, in New Jersey.
Review Quotes:
"After reading Spong's newest book, it will be difficult to read Matthew or any of the Gospels in quite the same way. He's done an amazing job of explaining how the book of Matthew was written as weekly liturgies for the Jewish Synagogue year. A wonderful book." - Fred C. Plumer, President of ProgressiveChristianity.org
"Jack Spong confounds biblical literalists by being profoundly biblical. This exciting book is liberating for those looking for a rational and authentic Christian faith that honors its biblical roots and an essential building block in the search for a new Christianity for a new world." - Peter Francis, warden and director of Gladstone's Library, Wales
"A brilliant challenge to biblical literalism, Bishop Spong reveals the tragic consequences of idolatry of the written word and why it matters today. A timely, important book." - Michael Dowd, author of Thank God for Evolution
"Skewers historical readings of Matthew and turns the passages toward issues of dignity, social justice, and transformation . . . worthwhile read for the progressive layperson concerned with living out one's faith and applying the Bible as a touchstone." - Library Journal
"Spong offers a radical new way to look at the gospels." - Publishers Weekly
"This exciting book recovers the original meaning behind Matthew's Gospel with profound implications for the way we look at Jesus and follow him today. Spong is a truth-teller who stands up to the ignorance spawned by a 'Gentile Heresy' that has hijacked the story of Jesus for too long." - Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing
"If you're keen for a deeper tracing of its history and inscription, then rush to get your hands on a copy of respected theologian Spong's Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy." - Chicago Tribute Printers Row Journal
"There is a powerful message that runs counter to the idea that faith offers nothing but a sweet and secure life." - Religion Dispatches
"The release of Biblical Literalism - a Gentile Heresy brings him back to State of Belief to talk about his dive into a more contentious area of theology, his potentially-controversial use of the term 'heresy' and the future - and drive towards inclusiveness - of the progressive Episcopal community." - State of Belief Radio
"For years-decades, really-the former Episcopal bishop of Newark, N.J., John Shelby Spong...has been proposing various controversial ways of understanding what Christianity is all about [...] In his new-and, he says, perhaps final-book (he'll be 85 years old in June), he's at it again." - Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog
"Delightedly publishing another book as he nears 85, Spong returns to a main theme of his career, the Jewishness of Christianity, denial of which, he holds, amounts to a heresy so malign that it will destroy Christianity in the twenty-first century...vibrantly accessible." - Booklist