I read Jesus For the Non-Religious by John Shelby Spong, an Episcopal bishop with a bold take on both Jesus and the Christian religion. After growing up Lutheran, I fell away from Christianity not only because of its conservative political stance, but because I simply couldn’t make myself believe in virgin births or resurrections. And yet it was still jarring to read Spong’s systematic debunking of traditional Christian beliefs.
By reading the Bible through the lens of first century Jewish life and culture, Spong convincingly argues that we should read the New Testament as experiential rather than literal. Our encounters with God must necessarily be funneled through the limitations of human language, and the language chosen by the writers of the gospels had everything to do with their religious background and little to do with literal miracles or divine intervention. (Did you know that many gospel stories are simply retellings of events in the Old Testament?)
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 securi- ty 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. This book is uneven at times, and you should prepare yourself for a great deal of sometimes-tedious Biblical com- mentary. But it’s worth reading and will expand your understanding of both the past and future of Christianity. I also expect you’ll have a newfound appreciation for Jesus of Nazareth, regardless of your religious beliefs or background.
Beth Andrews, September 2012