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"I don't define divine the ways religion people does which is about earthly life tribalism and afterlife tribalism, I would define divine secularly (inner beauty is the definition.)" -Antonio Myers

"The last section is an eye-opener. It deals with "Jesus for the Non-Religious," a phrase from Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who envisioned a new religionless Christianity. Bishop John Shelby Spong, like many others, laments the doctrines of conservative Christianity which have given rise to the religious anger that fuels the hatred of women, homosexuals, and non-believers in the inerrancy of the Bible. "I submit," he counters, "that this constant onslaught of ecclesiastical negativity comes directly from our theistic portrait of God, who has been traditionally understood as a punishing parent figure." The themes of guilt and degradation have been hammered home to believers in millions of sermons and Bible tracts.

This religion-based anger is divisive and characterized by enmity for outsiders and strangers. Jesus offers another option. Spong sees him as the breaker of tribal boundaries. He presented to his disciples and others "a new and inclusive kind of life" outside of tradition and in solidarity with all people. Spong also sees Jesus as the breaker of prejudices and stereotypes, and this makes him really relevant to our times when race, gender, and sexual orientation are the major areas where hatred divides people from each other. And, finally, there is Jesus as the breaker of religious boundaries, which was, of course, the thing that got him into so much trouble."

Equally controversial is Spong’s assertion that religion is simply a human construct designed to reduce the inherent anxiety of being human. We are hard-wired for survival, so humans created a theistic God who would rule from the heavens, and formed a Christian religion designed to replicate the false security of an insular tribal structure. It’s rather novel for an Episcopal bishop – a man who has devoted his entire life to Christianity – to reject the major teachings of his faith. While Spong is never unkind, he is not afraid to call out his fellow Christians on their antiquated beliefs, tendency towards righteous anger, and harmful prejudices.

At the end of this fascinating deconstruction, Spong argues for a new understanding of Jesus that I found inspiring and moving. Jesus wasn’t divine, but rather fully human – he lived life to its fullest, ignored social boundaries, preached inclusion, and “loved wastefully,” an expression that I rather like."

Beth Andrews, September 2012

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