Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World

Zusatztext "Bishop Spong's newest book is not only for the 'non-religious' but it will find its way into churches! study groups! seminaries and the seekers. This book should renew a sincere interest in the biblical story that for too long has been lost in our corporate ignorance." Informationen zum Autor John Shelby Spong! the Episcopal Bishop of Newark before his retirement in 2000! has been a visiting lecturer at Harvard and at more than 500 other universities all over the world. His books! which have sold well over a million copies! include Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy; The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic; Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World; Eternal Life: A New Vision; Jesus for the Non-Religious! The Sins of Scripture! Resurrection: Myth or Reality?; Why Christianity Must Change or Die; and his autobiography! Here I Stand . He writes a weekly column on the web that reaches thousands of people all over the world. To join his online audience! go to www.JohnShelbySpong.com. He lives with his wife! Christine! in New Jersey. Klappentext For two hundred years! scholars have been analyzing one of the most important books ever written—the Bible—and overturning much of what we once thought we knew. Everyday Christians! however! are not privy to this deeper conversation. It is for these people that renowned bishop and author John Shelby Spong presents Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World ! a book designed to take readers into the contemporary academic debate about the Bible. A definitive voice for progressive Christianity! Spong frees readers from a literal view of the Bible. He opens the possibility that some of the characters in the New Testament are imaginary composites or even literary creations—such as Joseph! the earthly father of Jesus; Judas Iscariot; Nicodemus; the Samaritan woman by the well; and Lazarus who was raised from the dead. He presents the Bible as an ever-changing and always growing story. He demonstrates that it is possible to be both a deeply committed Christian and an informed twenty-first-century citizen. In this thorough! substantive guide! Spong explores the origin and essential meaning of each of the individual books in the Bible! examining the background! the context! the level of authenticity and even the trustworthiness of the messages found there. He explains why these particular books! written between two and three thousand years ago! came to be regarded as authoritative and preserved as sacred; he traces the pathway that biblical religion has traveled as it evolved through the centuries! and he shows how people have misused many of these texts in the service of their prejudices. Reaching far beyond the familiar Sunday-school stories that have provided the content of most people’s biblical knowledge! Spong’s journey into the heart of the Bible is his attempt to call his readers into their own journeys into the mystery of God. “One does not!” he asserts! “have to twist one’s brain into a first-century pretzel in order to take the Bible seriously in this increasingly non-religious world.” Zusammenfassung In Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World ! bishop and social activist John Shelby Spong argues that 200 years of biblical scholarship has been withheld from lay Christians. In this brilliant follow-up to Spong’s previous books Eternal Life and Jesus for the Non-Religious ! Spong not only reveals the crucial truths that have long been kept hidden from the public eye! but also explores what the history of the Bible can teach us about reading its stories today and living our lives for tomorrow. Sarah Sentilles! author of Breaking Up With God: A Love Story ! applauds John Shelby Spong’s Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World ! writing that “pulsing beneath his brilliant! thought-p...

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Autori: John Shelby Spong
• Editore: Harper Collins Uk
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Copertina rigida
• Pubblicazione: 01.11.2011
• EAN: 9780062011282
• ISBN: 978-0-06-201128-2
• Pagine: 432
• Categorie: Saggistica > Filosofia, religione > Religione: tematiche generali, opere di consultazione; Scienze umane, arte, musica > Religione / teologia > Cristianesimo; Religion: general, HISTORY: WORLD, RELIGION: Christianity / General, RELIGION: Christian Theology / Apologetics, RELIGION: Christian Theology / History, RELIGION: Christianity / History, HISTORY: Reference, RELIGION: Christian Living / Inspirational, RELIGION: Biblical Studies / New Testament / General, RELIGION: Christian Living / Prayer, RELIGION: Christianity / Catholic / General