What’s the purpose of Christianity? On (skeptically) reading Spong

Last updated on: September 22, 2018 at 6:35 pm by Jane the Actuary

What’s the purpose of Christianity? On (skeptically) reading Spong 2018-09-22T18:35:14-06:00 Jane the Actuary

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It’s a quiet weekend so I pulled out a book I had picked up at the library, Unbelievable, Why Neither Ancient Creeds Nor the Reformation Can Produce a Living Faith Today, by John Shelby Spong.

Yes, that Spong, who is still writing at the age of 87, though in the introduction he says it’s his last book because of a stroke. I started to read the book, then concluded that hate-reading isn’t a particularly good use of my time, so I wanted to briefly reflect on a few of the things he says in the first few chapters, and in my skim of the rest.

His general theme for the duration of his career has been a rejection of Christian belief. While I haven’t read other things he’s written, he’s pretty unrelenting here: it’s not just a matter of what he believes, but he writes that traditional Christian beliefs, even the very idea of a “miracle” or some sort of supernatural intervention in the world, is patently unbelievable. No one believes this anymore, he says, not anyone who’s got half a brain, and if a seemingly-educated and intelligent person tells you otherwise, say, a minister in a mainline denomination, they’re lying.

But he still claims to be a Christian, and to believe in “Christianity” as he defines it for himself. What’s it mean? It’s his version of the sort of Jesus-ism that we’ve seen before, that Jesus, if properly understood and shorn of supernaturalism, was the Great Role Model.

And the rest of his creed is this: God is the Source of Life and the Source of Love. I am not certain if he believes there is a transcendent supernatural “something” or if it is merely that God is the sum of all those experiences in which we feel and experience something transcendent, whatever it is. He proclaims that, whatever God is, he has “experienced God.” And what we are all called to do is to be on a mission of self-improvement, “to be all that I can be” and to “transform the world” into a better place.

But the argument of the book is not merely, “this is what I believe; come believe it with me,” but rather “if Christianity wants to live on as a religion, it must adapt and preach according to my prescription.” The next generation simply will not believe anything else, but is still seeking:

there was, and I suspect continues to be, a yearning for a meaningful religious experience or, at least to have one’s life enhanced by something beyond itself. (p. 5)

So his prescription is that, however much Christianity might have had as its original purpose the conversion of souls, it can find a new lease on life, much like the March of Dimes moving on from polio to birth defects, by switching to a goal of helping people find meaning and purpose.

Which, on the one hand, seems awfully cynical, yet also pretty much in line with all those insisting that because people don’t believe in, say, traditional Christian sexual ethics, we have to abandon them.

And I’m not particularly sure that this works. It seems too circular: your purpose in life is to have a purpose. What’s more, I didn’t really see what he means by a “transcendent” experience, whether he was speaking of something literally divine/supernatural, or whether he was speaking of experiences which feel transcendent. Is he thinking of meditation? Of New Age-y chanting or Buddhist prayer wheels? Being awed by the sight spread out in front of you when you climb to a mountain summit? Or of those circumstances in which you get a little teary-eyed witnessing some act of great love or charity? He seems to be elevating a by-product of religious worship into something sought-out for its own sake, and, it seems to me, it doesn’t work that way — that you can’t just will yourself into feeling something transcendent, that you can’t convincingly tell people, “Christianity is all about becoming a better person” without having some why other than just a “because.” Of course, Spong says he has had transcendent experiences even though his beliefs about God are so nebulous but he doesn’t quantify what his personal experiences have been or why we should be all about self-improvement and helping others except that, being steeped in Christianity, it just seems intuitively obvious to him.

Beyond which — if our goal is merely to engage in self-improvement and actions to help others, why would we need a church structure to do so? And if we look at Jesus purely as a role model and teacher, well, then, surely he’s just one of many, no?

Image: Is this transcendence?

https://pixabay.com/en/grand-canyon-usa-national-park-1235221/

Previous Post

September 22, 2018

Do you understand the Synod on Youth?

Next Post

September 24, 2018 "If the math doesn't fit, you must . . . ": a few more words on Kavanaugh/Ford

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Actuarial/Retirement Issues Politics Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 December 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 August 2021 June 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the meaning of "Jerusalem"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Mountain of God City of Truth Place of Kings Foundation of Peace