Spong is controversial, opinionated and shocking. He's also provocative, well researched and informative. Spong breaks the book into three parts, each of which have a distinct flavor and thesis.
The first section is a systematic deconstruction of the traditional myth of Jesus. He analyzes and works to dispell the literal interpretations of the virgin birth, the miracles, the Easter story and other elements of the Jesus mythology. In general, Spong denies that any of these things ever happened literally or historically as outlined in scripture. This is by far the most controversial element of the book, and the part that many traditional Christians will find the most objectionable - particularly given that Spong is an Espicopalian bishop. Having said that, the thesis is interesting, intellectually supported, and not easily dismissed.
The second section focuses on the symbolic and allegorical elements of the gospels as they relate to Judiasm and first century thought. Perhaps the most compelling and ineteresting section of the book, Spong draws parallels with Jewish liturgical and scriptural traditions that throw new light on the Gospels, and these arguments really resonated. The scriptural references were comprehensive and the arguments for his position were well articulated. As an example, Spong develops a very compelling concept of liturgical parallells between the crucifixion and Yom Kippur that were fresh and enlightened.
The third section explains Spong's view of what a "new" Christianity should embrace, or what Jesus means to him. The flowering of a complete humanity, the acceptance of others, the elimination of traditional barriers. This section is far more polemical, and represents the sythesis of Spong's faith. In essence, Spong argues that the divinity of Jesus was that he was completely human and allowed the love of God to flow through him. The God that Spong writes of, however, is not the typical paternalistic father diety, but rather an unknowable concept that is in harmony with current science and human evolution. In this area, Spong sounds far closer to the Diests of the 18th and 19th Centuries, and his argument for this position, well compelling, is also his bully pulpit to denounce other more mainstream religious positions.
Regardless of whether you accept Spong's "Jesus is only a man" premise of the first section of the book, Spong's exceptional views on the allegorical and symbolic meaning of the Gospel and his interpretation of the "message" and "meaning" of Jesus in the third section are so interesting and compelling to read that anybody - Christian to non-religious, should find them a worthwhile study.
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Jesus for the Non Religious: Recovering the Divine at the Heart of the Human
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Top reviews from other countries
Daniel Schmidt
Hab die Jesus Geschichten so noch nie gelesen.
Reviewed in Germany on December 5, 2021
