Eternal Life: A New Vision
Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell
-
-
4.4 • 9 Ratings
-
-
- $13.99
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
Drawing on a lifetime of wisdom, New York Times bestselling author and controversial religious leader John Shelby Spong continues to challenge traditional Christian theology in Eternal Life: A New Vision. In this remarkable spiritual autobiography about his lifelong struggle with the questions of God and death, he reveals how he ultimately came to believe in eternal life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this challenging, intellectually rigorous culmination of his body of theological work, retired Episcopal bishop Spong (Jesus for the Non-Religious) provides a lucid historical analysis of the development of human religious thought from the onset of self-conscious awareness to the present, and a compelling argument for the creation of a new religious paradigm. Offering deeply personal reflections on his own Christian journey and priestly career, Spong reviews a lifetime of passionate engagement with biblical study and with questions of faith, charting his growing discomfort with language that seemed "limited, falsifying and inadequate." Arguing that modern scientific understanding necessitates dismissing outdated metaphors and assumptions by which faith seeks to calm human anxiety, Spong suggests an understanding of God "not as a person, but as the process that calls personhood into being." Spong's examination of the gospel resurrection accounts includes an intriguing interpretation of John's portrayal of Jesus as "a being so courageously present that he was open to the ultimate reality of life, love and being." This work, bound to be influential, offers new insights into religion's big questions about life and death, making an invaluable contribution to both religious scholarship and faithful exploration.
Customer Reviews
Fantastic
As someone who now belongs to the Church Alumni Association (for who knows how long), I can say that this book was an enjoyable journey into discovering life, death, and religion. Bishop Spong has a lot of interesting views and ideas that resonate with me, but at the same time make me stop and think about what I really believe. A must read for anyone who wants to understand their Christian religion from a new and refreshing perspective.
Certainty is the goal.
I believe I have found something I can "hang my hat on." One can stand between Christianity and skepticism and find peace.
First Time Spong Reader
Spong uses his personal biography in this “last book I’m going to write” as an example of how a person matures from self-consciousness to expanded consciousness. He argues that gaining and growing out of his religious faith was a necessary part of this process. The first hundred pages and the last fifty pages are filled with personal information which his long-term admirers and followers may enjoy. For me the middle part of the book literally was the meat. And it was worth reading. Since this is the only book of his I have read I was gratified to find he had polished his thoughts to points of poignancy.
He argues there is life after death, disagreeing with some of his contemporaries. He argues on a rather mild mystic platform and therefore would likely not unsettle Karen Armstrong and perhaps cause Deepak Chopra to suggest he does not go far enough. Ken Wilbur would count him a wise man. And even science fiction author Robert Heinlein would have enjoyed Spong’s pronouncement “Can we learn to live without religion? I think we can. Even more important, I think we must.”