Review Of The Sins Of Scripture: Exposing The Bible\u27s Texts Of Hate To Reveal The God Of Love By J. S. Spong

The controversial Spong, retired Episcopal bishop of Newark, expands his argument for a radical Christianity. This time he focuses on prominent biblical texts that he claims are the sources of, and not just used as the justification for, anti-semitism, abuse of children, neglect of the environment, denigration of other faiths, second-class status of women, and black slavery, as well as the mistreatment of gays and lesbians. Spong calls for a revaluation of biblical authority and the concept of God. Instead of viewing God as a supernatural being working miracles and Jesus as a being who enters the world from above, Spong views God as the underlying source of life and love and Jesus as the first fruit of a new humanity fully integrated into the life and love of God. Among Spong\u27s earlier books are A New Christianity for a New World (CH, Sep\u2702, 40-0247), Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism (1991), and Why Christianity Must Change or Die (1998). Notes are kept to a minimum. No index except a hard-to-use scriptural one. Well written, but some of the exegesis is open to challenge. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers