Delusional
I'm listening to the Dennis Prager radio program right now. Dennis has former Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong on his show to debate Mr. Spong's book, The Sins of Scripture.
As I listen to Mr. Spong, I cannot believe that this man is, or at least was, a "Bishop" of a Christian denominational church. He doesn't even believe in God. He refers to most of the Old Testament as being representative of a "tribal god" and not representative of the God he supports -- a "God of love." Mr. Spong -- I will not give him the preferential title of Bishop -- says that he has studies the Bible all of his adult life and knows too much to consider any part of it true.
As he debates Dennis, Spong basically takes every instance where God punishes the opponents of Israel -- Moses v. Egypt, King Saul v. the Amalakites, etc. -- and says that this is not "a god" he can worship. He refers to King Saul's eradication of the Amalakites as genocide and doubts God's right and just position to sit in judgment of the Amalakites. Spong calls God's actions here immoral. And yet, at another point in the debate, Spong says that only God is capable of judging whether a man deserves to live or die (in the case of capital punishment). Does Spong not see the antithetical nature of these comments? Can't he see that he cannot say, on one hand, that God cannot judge and execute judgment against the Amalakites but can judge whether a man (in general) deserves to live.
Mr. Spong does say that he believes in a "God of love" as mentioned in the New Testament Book of John. From the arguments being made by Spong on the Dennis Prager Show, Spong believes in a God who loves, but does not punish. In doing so, Spong's belief emasculates God. God is not just a loving and grace-giving God, He is also a just God. The God who created the universe and all that is in it is, by His very nature, the definer and arbiter of what is right and wrong. And Spong -- a so-called "Bishop" -- is only willing to accept the love and grace, but not the justice. So Spong has crafted his "god" from a few verses in the New testament and has scrapped the rest of the Bible.
Can anyone say, "Heretic!"
As I listen to Mr. Spong, I cannot believe that this man is, or at least was, a "Bishop" of a Christian denominational church. He doesn't even believe in God. He refers to most of the Old Testament as being representative of a "tribal god" and not representative of the God he supports -- a "God of love." Mr. Spong -- I will not give him the preferential title of Bishop -- says that he has studies the Bible all of his adult life and knows too much to consider any part of it true.
As he debates Dennis, Spong basically takes every instance where God punishes the opponents of Israel -- Moses v. Egypt, King Saul v. the Amalakites, etc. -- and says that this is not "a god" he can worship. He refers to King Saul's eradication of the Amalakites as genocide and doubts God's right and just position to sit in judgment of the Amalakites. Spong calls God's actions here immoral. And yet, at another point in the debate, Spong says that only God is capable of judging whether a man deserves to live or die (in the case of capital punishment). Does Spong not see the antithetical nature of these comments? Can't he see that he cannot say, on one hand, that God cannot judge and execute judgment against the Amalakites but can judge whether a man (in general) deserves to live.
Mr. Spong does say that he believes in a "God of love" as mentioned in the New Testament Book of John. From the arguments being made by Spong on the Dennis Prager Show, Spong believes in a God who loves, but does not punish. In doing so, Spong's belief emasculates God. God is not just a loving and grace-giving God, He is also a just God. The God who created the universe and all that is in it is, by His very nature, the definer and arbiter of what is right and wrong. And Spong -- a so-called "Bishop" -- is only willing to accept the love and grace, but not the justice. So Spong has crafted his "god" from a few verses in the New testament and has scrapped the rest of the Bible.
Can anyone say, "Heretic!"
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