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Click on the above to jump down the page to that section. the TopOfPage buttons jump back up.
WebLinks are added all during the course according to the topics. Complementary
or competitive views are given. The internet is a rich yet limited resource
to explore. Please share sites you find of value for this study. |
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| General & Introductory |
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The Holy Manners Book Study Internet Link Collections. - All of the research and study links found for the Holy Manners studies
are collected at the top of the Internet Research and Study Page. The Internet
can be such a confusion! These researched sites may be helpful for your
general reference. Do check them out. Many of the site offer a broader
resource than the single voice that made it appropriate to its inclusion
in any of the lists. It is often a bit difficult to find useful sites from
the perspective of progressive christianity. Thus this collection. |
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Bio Information about
The Right Reverend John Shelby Spong Bishop of Newark, Retired
Compiled and maintained by the Diocese of Newark's Electronic Technology
Committee
including the article "The New Reformation" and his 12 Theses as first published in The Fourth R. |
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Listen to 3 interviews on Minnesota Public Radio. Program Midmorning in 2002. "John Shelby Spong thinks too many of
us are spoonfed a Christianity based on outmoded concepts." |
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Book Review - Ken Wilber: More than a Companion to John Spong. Based on Ken Wilber:
One Taste: Daily Reflections on Integral Spirituality. by Larry Fisk |
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Faith Futures Foundation - Reference Materials for the Study Guide on A New Christianity for a new World. - Another course using more classical method on A New Christianity for
a New World. It is copywrited and the fee is $25 USD for plans and materials
to photocopy for group. They offer their collection of research to the
public. |
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The Twelve Theses of Bishop John Spong - from his book - HERE I STAND: My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity,
Love and Equality, San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2000. |
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The Coming Radical Reformation - 21 Theses of Robert W. Funk. - In a parallel manner, Bob Funk has made a provocative list of issues
effecting the church today back in 1998. They are grouped under 5 headings:
Theology, Christology, God's Domanin according to Jesus, The Canon, &
The Language of Faith. Worth looking at the parallels. Funk is the founder
of the Jesus Seminar. Spong is a fellow of the Jesus Seminar. |
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I have some reservations on recommending this site. It is a site dedicated
to discussion of this exact book by Bishop Spong and has considerable depth
of comment that you can read and review on the "Message Board".
But it costs $35/year to join so you can post. And for this you will be
able to read a paper each month that they have contracted to Bishop Spong
to write. Some of the people who paid are unhappy with the deal and with
the inability to read the backlog of papers.
Click here for an opinion defining "Deism" by Rev Carol Rudisill.
Click here for a poem to Spong by "Synchro", that succinctly
describes the Spong phenomena. |
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Is Science a 'Satisfying Replacement' for Religion? A Conversation with E.O. Wilson
The Pulitzer prize-winning author and sociobiologist dicusses creation
myths, evolution, free will, and his Baptist upbringing. Many Christians
are afraid to listen to the challenges Wilson, a former conservative evangelical,
makes against Christian faith. ...Unlike Wilson, who still seems to accept
the Christian ethic but not the old theological systems, Spong says that
much of that theology is outdated, but we can still talk of God in new
and helpful ways that are scientifically respectable. Spong wants to keep
the dialogue going. Wilson wonders if there is much to talk about. |
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Why Liberals Should Read the Bible By John A. Buehrens
The Bible doesn't go away if we don't read it. Others just tell us what
it says. Today many otherwise well-informed, intelligent people--religious
liberals, seekers after wisdom and justice, even skeptics and the news
media--often speak as though the Bible says and means only what fundamentalists
say it says and means. |
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Holy Wars - The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong. New York Times review. Outlines the basics of Fundamentalism
in Christianity, Islam and Judaism as a reaction against modernism and
liberalism.
Cries of Rage and Frustration - New Statesman article by Karen Armstrong. Explaining fundamentalism as
the result of war between liberal and conservative and its current connections
to war and violence.
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Dissolving the Inerrancy Debate: How Modern Philosophy shaped the Evangelical View of Scripture - by student John Perry of Fuller Theological Seminary from Quodlibet Journal. In this 17 page paper with 78 citations, an evangelical conservative
trys to heal the misunderstanding of inerrancy by detailing its recent
origins and dissolving its argument. It's heavy but worth it if you have
friends holding the view that the Bible is literally true. It's certainly
an example of Holy Manners. (Fuller names the 5 Fundamentals in its Statement of Belief, but excludes inerrancy.) |
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The Web Link Collection for Borg's Reading the Bible Again for the First Time this collection has many links appropriate to the subjects of this study
also. Do flip to this page from time to time and check out those links
that fit. |
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Ch 1-4 : Theism |
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The Star Course people offer a series of talks and active discussions for people who want
to explore the Christian faith and make their own decisions. They have
a good debate running on the Existence of God and lots of topical issues
including an extensive debate on Spong's 12 Theses. Click left for their
front page. Or go directly to an archive of the 12 Theses debate that is perhaps as typical as one can find with
a lot of intensity and a manageable amount of acrimony. The site sponsors
are conservative. Some of the visitors are liberal. |
Theism, Atheism, & Rationality
Alvin
Plantinga |
"Atheological objections to the belief that there is such a person
as God come in many varieties. There are, for example, the familiar objections
that theism is somehow incoherent, that it is inconsistent with the existence
of evil, that it is a hypothesis ill-confirmed or maybe even disconfirmed
by the evidence, that modern science has somehow cast doubt upon it, and
the like ...".
From this ultraconservative university comes an amazingly thorough philosophic
dissertation of the issues. Worthy of Aquinas! This may represent the most
cohesive position opposite to John Spong and the Radical Theology of this
study. |
Religion
and
Theism
FAQ |
Religion and Theism FAQ. "What is religion? What are some varieties of religions? What is
theism, and what are some of the varieties of that? Atheists aren't theists,
but they can be religious - understanding what theism and religion are
is key to understanding why that is true."
From www.about.com a discussion of the issues from an atheist perspective. |
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Religion in 20th Century America - Herbert Wallace Schneider. Harvard University Press.1964. As we have
discussed, none of this is new. Click left for a sample from a 1929 survey
of 700 ministers on their beliefs about the basics of belief. See how theres
"nothing new under the sun", and how the acceptance and understanding
of the "fundamentals" was already passing. Note also that this
generation of ministers were unable or unwilling to communicate their actual
beliefs to their congregations who remained until most recently quite unawares
of such seminary teachings. These are scans and so are a bit hard to read.
This book is out of print. |
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The Courage To Be - Paul Tillich. Yale University Press 1952. The last chapter of the book
"The God above God and the Courage To Be". Here you will read
from the source, many of the ideas that Bishop Spong carried across the
years to us, ideas which are perhaps still the most seminal as we leave
theism and seek better words to understand divinity. Tillich says that
courage can show us what being is and that being can show us what courage
is. These are scans and so are a bit hard to read and take some time to
load. LINK to Amazon.com listing of this still topical book. I notice however it
was $1.45 when I bought it and $10.36 now! |
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The Alan Watts Library and Gallery His life and his work including audio and video. Watts was an Episcopalean
priest who became a foremost interpreter of Eastern philosophies for the
West.
"The idea of nothing has bugged people for centuries, especially in
the Western world. We have a saying in Latin, Ex nihilo nuhil fit, which
means "out of nothing comes nothing." It has occurred to me that
this is a fallacy of tremendous proportions. It lies at the root of all
our common sense ... It manifests in a kind of terror of nothing, a put-down
on nothing ... But to me nothing -- the negative, the empty -- is exceedingly
powerful. I would say, on the contrary, you can't have something without
nothing." |
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What is Secularism? A superb essay by Father Michael Azkoul of the Russian Orthodox Church
in Exile in 1978. Covers modernity, the death of god (including extensive
quotations from Nietzche, John Paul, Hegel), pluralism, and relativism. |
| Nietzche |
The Madman - from The Gay Science The original short parable that coined the term "the death of god".
Some say western philosophy is bracketed between 2 stories: Plato's Cave
Allegory ad this parable of Nietzche. |
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Ch 5-7 : Historical Jesus - Early Church |
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The Meaning of Jesus - Two Visions, By liberal Marcus Borg and conservative NT Wright. Our own first Holy
Manners Study. A respectful consideration of the complementary traditions.
This is a link to the page compiled on relevant web links. These are most
complementary to the present chapters of the Spong Study. Especially check
out the 6 midrash links. |
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Jesus DataBase, Based on the work of John Dominic Crossan, this FFF project is developing
an annotated online inventory of all extant items in the ancient Jesus traditions, with historical assessments
by selected scholars and links to related files on this site. |
| HODOS |
HODOS, is a Greek term (meaning "way" or "path") used by
early Christians to identify themselves as followers of the vision taught
by Jesus of Galilee. This egroup aims to be a cyber community where people
can be intentional in shaping their lives by the wisdom and the practice
of the historical Jesus. Drawing on the work of contemporary Jesus studies,
as well as other traditional and modern sources, participants encourage
one another in exploring, developing and sustaining ways of life that are
shaped by the wisdom of the Galilean sage. The only requirement for participation
is a genuine interest in these goals and processes. These folk (also on
Yahoo) are an eclectic ecuemenical community that support and debate Funk's
work. Drop in and listen once in a while. |
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The Lord's Prayer - by Joachim Jeremias, Spong quotes Jeremias. This short little e-book is a perfect example
of why we should go back and study the roots of our tradition. This is
a lovely piece from a new testament scholar Spong quotes. Learn how the
Lord's Prayer was a secret in the early church. Learn the meaning and startling
consequence of Jesus use of "Abba - Beloved Parent". If you liked
this here is his The Sermon on the Mount. |
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Women In Ancient Christianity: The New Discoveries - Karen L King - Scholar Karen King (a Jesus Seminar Fellow) examines the evidence concerning
women's important place in early Christianity. She draws a surprising new
portrait of Mary Magdalene and outlines the stories of previously unknown
early Christian women. This is a PBS summary of a Frontline program in
the series From Jesus to Christ. PBS links other commentary and material on the role of women in early Christianity
including the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. |
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The Westar Institute - home of The Jesus Seminar, with more than two hundred participating scholars, has attempted to distinguish fact from fiction
in the words and deeds ascribed to Jesus in the gospels. The Jesus Seminar
was organized under the auspices of the Westar Institute to renew the quest
of the historical Jesus. They are the publicists who are intent to bring
the scholarship out from the seminaries to the public ear. John Spong is
a fellow. Click HERE to review our page on Robert Funk the founder of the Jesus Seminar - from our 75 Spiritual Innovators study.
Current projects include the Paul Seminar, the Canon Seminar, & the
Acts Seminar which are being conducted on the same lines as the Jesus Seminar
whose present aspect is Historical Jesus.. |
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The Gospel of Thomas - tr. Lambdin. From the Gnostic Society, and their Gospel of Thomas Collection, here is the Lambdin translation of the lost gospel.
The Gospel of Thomas is entirely a collection of sayings of Jesus. It's
first words: "These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke, and that
Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down. And He said: "Whoever finds the meaning
of these words will not taste death." 'There is a growing consensus among scholars that the Gospel of Thomas
– discovered over a half century ago in the Egyptian desert – dates to
the very beginnings of the Christian era and may well have taken first
form before any of the four traditional canonical Gospels.' |
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| Favourite Verses. From the church website, here are 5 verses to introduce the Gospel of
Thomas |
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Early
Christian
Writings |
Early Christian Writings A private site by a Peter Kirby (who appears an rather critical and open
agnostic) with original text for very many of the available ancient texts
- New Testament, Apocrypha, Gnostics, Church Fathers. together with much
art, qualified commentary, related authors and books, and cross web links
on the theme - including more ancient texts, booksand qualified comment.
I discovered it on a Didache link - for which he has a superb collection
including a photo of the greek writing. |
Historical
Jesus
Theories |
24 Authors on Jesus - This useful site (also by Peter Kirby) suggests 10 different visions
of Jesus and groups the 24 authors accordingly, each of which he introduces.
Then an amazing 180 works of these authors are linked to book reviews (mostly
Amazon.com). Included are Borg, NT Wright, Crossan, Funk. Caution. Kirby's "Did Jesus Exist?" (linked from this site) and which
is a collection of Historical Jesus researches has a most negative agenda,
unlike his other rather objective collections. Not recommended. |
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Shaken Creeds: The Virgin Birth Doctrine - Jocelyn Rhys 1922 - An e-book that reads as if just published. And although the book is on-line,
the excellent summary commentary by Gipson Arnold is much more efficient
to introduce the subject. As lead-in to the subject, other topics are covered:
The books of the New Testament - a review of the issues leading to the
first canon, the epistles, gnosticism, the gospels, and the apocryphal
books. Her virgin birth discussions include: New Testament Evidence, Possibilities
and Improbabilities, Other Stories of Virgin Births, Superstitions and
Myths about Conception, Spiritual Virgin Births - Gnostic Doctrines, Details
of the Two Gospel Stories, The Catholic Doctrine-Modern Scepticism, with
appendices on Christmas. |
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How Did Jesus Become God — and Why, Article by Lloyd Geering in Westars Journal The Fourth R.
"Indeed one suspects that if one were to ask the average churchgoer
to spell out what they meant by saying that Jesus is divine, they would
probably align themselves, without realizing it, with one of the ancient
heresies, rather than with orthodoxy." |
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Almost the Whole Truth - John Dominic Crossan - An autobiographical sketch from the foremost Historical Jesus Scholar -
an Irish American trained in Chicago as a priest. and a fellow of the Jesus
Seminar.
"Christianity often asserts that its faith is based on fact not interpretation,
history not myth, actual event not supreme fiction. I find that assertion
internally corrosive and externally offensive. And because I am myself
a Christian, I have a responsibility to do something about it. My reconstruction
of the historical Jesus, for example, must be able to show why some people
wanted to execute him but others wanted to worship him, why some thought
him criminal but others thought him divine." |
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Ch 8-9 - Missions, The New Divinity, The Reality of Evil |
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The United Church of Canada - Justice, Global, and Ecumenical Relations - Wayne points out in his notes on Ch 10 that Bishop Spong is largely off the mark and out of sync with the themes
and undertakings of modern missions in the church. Our own United Church
has long since recognized these past errors and has and is developing vital
new relationships here. It is of note that you find the subject under the
listing of justice. Click the logo left to see current issues and themes.
Bookmark the site and visit from time to time. And of course our own church's
theme verse is Micah 6:8. |
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The Mission & Service Fund of the United Church of Canada - The United Church of Canada is a Canadian church that supports service
and ministry across Canada and around the globe. All of this work is carried
out through the Mission and Service (M&S) Fund. The M&S Fund is
the only fund in which members and friends of the United Church pool their
givings. Gifts are also given by members to their local church, but it
is through the Mission and Service Fund that we live our beliefs -- to
be the church in the world and how we love and serve others. Click for
the FAQs page. |
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The World Council of Churches - The WCC brings together more than 340 churches, denominations and church
fellowships in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world,
representing some 400 million Christians. While the bulk of the WCC's founding
churches were European and North American, today most are in Africa, Asia,
the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific. For its
member churches, the WCC is a unique space: one in which they can reflect,
speak, act, worship and work together, challenge and support each other,
share and debate with each other. |
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The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate - The Catholic Church is also in review and renewal respecting missions.
A leading place of these changes is the Oblate order which is largely responsible
for the misionary work of the Catholic Church in Canada. They also refer
to their current endeavors as focussed on "Justice, Peace and Integrity
of Creation". Click left for their home page and click on the paper
'Faiths and Cultures in Dialogue' for a look into their perspective. |
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The Spirit Bade Me Go: Pentecostalism and Global Religion Margaret M. Poloma "...an estimated 500 million followers today... Pentecostalism, in
its varying expressions, comprises the second largest communion of Christians
in the world. One of the reasons Western scholars have not been particularly
aware of the rapid, if unobtrusive, growth of Pentecostalism is that, despite
its mostly American origins, it is largely a non-western phenomenon. The
majority of Pentecostals around the world are found among the poor and
the working classes, the same socio-economic groups that gave rise to Pentecostalism
in North America early in the 20th century."
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The New Divinity
an essay by Julian Huxley |
From 1964 after the publication of Honest to God by Robinson, Huxley in
his collection Essays of a Humanist discussed the issues of ferment and
change as part of "the inevitable outcome of the new vision of the
world and man's place and role in that world -- in a word, of man's destiny
-- which our new knowledge has revealed." Click left for the whole
essay courtesy of Fredrik Bendz of Sweden, from his site The Page of Reason. |
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Some Presbyterian History - It has been American Presbyterians at Princeton who have largely determined
the conservative Christian agenda. It was from here that biblical inerrency
first came on the scene. And it was here that the phrase "A New Divinity"
of the 1830's was identified and opposed as heresy. For a history lesson
click left. |
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Constellation - Fall 02 - Focus on Evil The Journal of the Centre for Progressive Christianity. These 13 articles
are worth reading. Here's some titles: Evil and Subjectivity: Some 20th
Century Developments. Before the Fall. Evil, Liberal Denial, and Spiritual
Strategies. When I Heard You Lived Next Door to Hate. |
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The Real Meaning of Evil - by Lance Morrow - Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2003
"The truth about evil that needs attention now is its shallow, deadly,
fungus quality. It is possible that neither side in the debate about evil
quite knows what it is talking about. Philosophically and theologically,
both are fighting the last war. They are talking about a world that no
longer exists, or rather, they fail to see what evil lies in the world
that now exists." Here's a political essay found by Don
Campbell that well illustrates the common meanings of the philosophic language
we are using here. We cannot have meanings isolated from such common perspectives.
Thanks Don. |
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A Plain Guide To Evil - Excerpt from paper: "Nobody would propose that we shouldn't pursue
our lives with a degree of drive and enthusiasm. But it appears that those
of us who tend to think we have final answers, who claim to have captured
some or other absolute truth, might beware. Evil acts seem to spring more
easily from fanatical idealists than from those who question the veracity
of their conclusions about themselves, other people, and what life is all
about." And further papers. |
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Ch 10-13 - The Church and the New Ecclesia |
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Radical Faith - Exploring fundamentals of faith in a changed world. A broad and liberal site maintained by The Society of the Sacred Mission
in Durham England. These folks seem the Anglican inheritors of Robinson.
"Churches on Sunday are more and more empty. Why? It may be that we've
got it wrong about the reasons for being there." Very much worth bookmarking.
They are rather practically organized and even have an essay on evil. |
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Hartford Institute for Religion Research - At Hartford Seminary we have a window into the changing world Spong speaks
of. Here is a place that celebrates an intellectual and ecumenical voice
of the church today, and whose purpose is to both conduct religious research
and publish on line. It is a broad and deep resource. |
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FaithFutures Foundation is a grassroots response to a widely perceived need for new ways to express
and explore the sacred knowledge that we have inherited from the past through
our religions and spiritual traditions. It's principles are members of
the Jesus Seminar. There is a considerable resource gathered on their website.
You might wish to join them. |
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The Centre for Progressive Christianity - "Religion doesn't have to be irrelevant, ineffectual, repressive...
Do you find more grace in the search for meaning than in absolute
certainty, in the questions rather than in the answers? Do you have
religious interests and longings but cannot accept the beliefs and dogmas
you associate with Christianity? Are you repelled by claims that
Christianity is the "only way"?" Here is an international
network of people concerned to support change and to support each other
in formulating the New Church. |
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