The Religion and Attraction of John Shelby Spong

As demonstrated above, the religion of John Shelby Spong is based neither on revelation, nor on reason.

Spong's religion is not based on revelation, because he denies special revelation, asserting that God is not personal.

Spong's religion is not based on reason, because reasoning requires assertions with evidence. Spong offers no evidence for his assertions; instead he merely spouts opinions.

And what is the content of the opinions offered by Spong? Each of his opinions follows a simple formula; whenever the Bible says "a," Spong asserts "non-a."

So, as seen in the video above:

• The Bible records Jesus as saying, "You must be born again" (John 3:3,7). Spong opines, "People don't need to be born again."
• The Apostle Paul writes, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). Spong opines, "You and I are emerging people, not fallen people."
• King David writes, "Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Psa 51:5). Spong opines, "Our problem is not that we are born in sin."
• Again, the Bible records Jesus as saying, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). And again Spong opines, "The function of the Christ is not to rescue the sinners."
• Jesus consistently called God "Father in heaven," and taught His followers to do the same (for example, Matt 6:9), whereas Spong opines, "God is... not a parent-figure up in the sky."

The type of discourse in which Spong engages is not argument, but simple contradiction, and it takes no more intellectual capability to assert such contradictions than that exercised by a precocious kindergartner who says, "Nah-uh," to everything his teacher tells him.

And so why do so many find Spong's opinions persuasive? I would argue that it is because his religious views feed into our pride. We do not like to think of ourselves as less than God, fallen, sinful, lost, and in need of salvation. But until we recognize our true condition, we will not see the Savior nor submit to Him.