Spong

A few years ago I discovered John Shelby Spong -- an Episcopal Bishop who writes about matters related to Christianity, that are close to what I clumsily referred to in my post about being a "post Christianity Christian."

He has written books like "The Sins of Scripture" and "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism."

As I noted before, Moving Back to Jamaica involves making a decision about one's spiritual beliefs and religious practices. I imagine that it is the rare Jamaican that can come back and sit in the same pew, and believe the exact same things. One of the gifts of living abroad is that it is, for most people, a chance to expand the mind.

Reading Spong's books is mind-expanding, to say the least. I receive his weekly newsletter (at a price) and it is superb.

He brilliantly explains what happened to Christianity in the first century, and how the story of Jesus evolved from one gospel to the next. Most of what he addresses in his books is not new to Bible scholars and educated pastors, but it has been kept hidden from view partly because people just don't want to hear it.

Yet, at the end of his writing there is a prize -- a deeper and fuller understanding of Jesus and the role he played, and the power of his message today to us, in our time. It is very different from most things I have heard, yet it makes more sense than anything else I have heard.

He has a new book coming out -- Jesus for the Non-Religious that I am looking forward to getting into (the audio version for me, thanks.) I recommend his books for the serious searcher.