Opinion of Bishop John Shelby Spong

[Free Speech Enjoyer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZM3FXlLMug

FF.  I've had his lectures on all evening.

For those who want to see shorter videos to get an idea of what he's about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJICIGQl0JU&feature=share (I'll actually be reciting his words in this for Public Speaking class)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XL8LvaJ9Rc

[Tokugawa Sexgod Ieyasu]

Engages in some very bad theology that makes way too many concessions to modernity. Also engages in some very good theology that makes just enough compromises with and overtures to modernity. FF on balance.

[Free Speech Enjoyer]

Engages in some very bad theology that makes way too many concessions to modernity. Also engages in some very good theology that makes just enough compromises with and overtures to modernity. FF on balance.

I, too, am probably slightly more traditionalist than him on certain theological issues, but we need more of these religious leaders in the mainstream.  The media shines too much light, IMO, on the people who poorly represent Christianity.

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

Scott, the stuff you're posting here is quite a bit more moderate than most of his stuff. He wrote some book attacking the virgin birth, divinity of Jesus and resurrection, and basically ended up with some form of pantheism as his theology, not Christianity. I get the impression he's kind of an attention whore too with the stuff he makes a fuss about. Still he makes a lot of good points like in the linked stuff, so I voted Neutral.

[Tokugawa Sexgod Ieyasu]

Scott, the stuff you're posting here is quite a bit more moderate than most of his stuff. He wrote some book attacking the virgin birth, divinity of Jesus and resurrection, and basically ended up with some form of pantheism as his theology, not Christianity. I get the impression he's kind of an attention whore too with the stuff he makes a fuss about. Still he makes a lot of good points like in the linked stuff, so I voted Neutral.

Bishop Spong is actually a friend of a friend of mine, albeit not a particularly close friend of mine, and from what I've heard he's really not much of an attention whore. Other than that, this is entirely correct, and it's a wonder he was never censured in any way.

[Free Speech Enjoyer]

Scott, the stuff you're posting here is quite a bit more moderate than most of his stuff. He wrote some book attacking the virgin birth, divinity of Jesus and resurrection, and basically ended up with some form of pantheism as his theology, not Christianity. I get the impression he's kind of an attention whore too with the stuff he makes a fuss about. Still he makes a lot of good points like in the linked stuff, so I voted Neutral.

Come to think of it, I believe he had a debate with William Lane Craig about some of the specifics in Christianity.  I hadn't gotten to those yet, but I was drawn into his material by these speeches.  In any case, he does seem to be at odds with a lot of the basic tenets of Christianity, in that respect... I'll change my vote to 'neutral.'

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

Scott, the stuff you're posting here is quite a bit more moderate than most of his stuff. He wrote some book attacking the virgin birth, divinity of Jesus and resurrection, and basically ended up with some form of pantheism as his theology, not Christianity. I get the impression he's kind of an attention whore too with the stuff he makes a fuss about. Still he makes a lot of good points like in the linked stuff, so I voted Neutral.

Bishop Spong is actually a friend of a friend of mine, albeit not a particularly close friend of mine, and from what I've heard he's really not much of an attention whore. Other than that, this is entirely correct, and it's a wonder he was never censured in any way.

I get that impression from how he sometimes puts a lot of focus on things that'll obviously cause controversy and things like making a fuss out of what obvious forgeries of old Gnostic texts say. Also some of his arguments strike me as a sort of theological Moderate Heroism and sort of go a "Well fundamentalists who think the Bible should be taken literally on everything believe this, but it's silly to throw it out altogether to, so it's probably metaphorical and means this" sort of thing.

[Tokugawa Sexgod Ieyasu]

Scott, the stuff you're posting here is quite a bit more moderate than most of his stuff. He wrote some book attacking the virgin birth, divinity of Jesus and resurrection, and basically ended up with some form of pantheism as his theology, not Christianity. I get the impression he's kind of an attention whore too with the stuff he makes a fuss about. Still he makes a lot of good points like in the linked stuff, so I voted Neutral.

Bishop Spong is actually a friend of a friend of mine, albeit not a particularly close friend of mine, and from what I've heard he's really not much of an attention whore. Other than that, this is entirely correct, and it's a wonder he was never censured in any way.

I get that impression from how he sometimes puts a lot of focus on things that'll obviously cause controversy and things like making a fuss out of what obvious forgeries of old Gnostic texts say. Also some of his arguments strike me as a sort of theological Moderate Heroism and sort of go a "Well fundamentalists who think the Bible should be taken literally on everything believe this, but it's silly to throw it out altogether to, so it's probably metaphorical and means this" sort of thing.

I should specify that he's not an attention whore on a personal level. I'm not sure he is on a theological level, either, but I guess it's one possible explanation for the bailiwick of his interests.

The moderate heroism is a common and I think at least partially legitimate criticism of a certain type of very liberal Christianity, yes.

[DC Al Fine]

Scott, the stuff you're posting here is quite a bit more moderate than most of his stuff. He wrote some book attacking the virgin birth, divinity of Jesus and resurrection, and basically ended up with some form of pantheism as his theology, not Christianity. I get the impression he's kind of an attention whore too with the stuff he makes a fuss about. Still he makes a lot of good points like in the linked stuff, so I voted Neutral.

Bishop Spong is actually a friend of a friend of mine, albeit not a particularly close friend of mine, and from what I've heard he's really not much of an attention whore. Other than that, this is entirely correct, and it's a wonder he was never censured in any way.

The ECUSA isn't exactly known for it's vigorous approach in defending orthodoxy...

His theology is not remotely Christian, so I voted HP.

[Tokugawa Sexgod Ieyasu]

Scott, the stuff you're posting here is quite a bit more moderate than most of his stuff. He wrote some book attacking the virgin birth, divinity of Jesus and resurrection, and basically ended up with some form of pantheism as his theology, not Christianity. I get the impression he's kind of an attention whore too with the stuff he makes a fuss about. Still he makes a lot of good points like in the linked stuff, so I voted Neutral.

Bishop Spong is actually a friend of a friend of mine, albeit not a particularly close friend of mine, and from what I've heard he's really not much of an attention whore. Other than that, this is entirely correct, and it's a wonder he was never censured in any way.

The ECUSA isn't exactly known for it's vigorous approach in defending orthodoxy...

Well, no, but we are in fact capable of censuring obviously non-Chalcedonian theology.