It is possible to experience Christianity and the Christian church primarily as an institution that justifies discrimination against homosexuals and women, promotes war, and shows little regard for the health of the planet and the life it supports. Increasingly, these theological positions are at the heart of contemporary American political debate. At the center of these controversies is The Bible. Bishop Spong proclaims a vision of Christianity that understands the Bible in its cultural and historical context, and with a vision of both its relevance in today's world and of its potential for revolutionizing our world view which leads us to a conversion experience based on respect and love for each other, our planet and all of life. He says, "My understanding of God is that God is the source of life, the source of love and the ground of being in which each of us lives and moves and has our being. The Christ experience calls me into my own deep humanity, where I recognize I am related to every other person and to every other part of life and to the whole environment. My job as a Christian is to build a world where everybody has a better opportunity to live fully, to love wastefully and be all they can be."

John Shelby Spong was the Episcopal bishop of Newark, New Jersey before his retirement in 2000. Bishop Spong has taught at Harvard and at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He has lectured extensively through out the world. His books include A New Christianity for a New World (Harper San Francisco 2001), Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism (Harper San Francisco 1992), Resurrection: Myth or Reality? (Harper Collins 1994), Why Christianity Must Change or Die (Harper San Francisco 1999), and The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love (Harper San Francisco 2005). To learn more about the work of John Shelp Spong go to www.johnshelbyspong.com

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