Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by John Shelby Spong

Quote by John Shelby Spong

“At its very core the story of Easter has nothing to do with angelic announcements or empty tombs. It has nothing to do with time periods, whether three days, forty days, or fifty days. It has nothing to do with resuscitated bodies that appear and disappear or that finally exit this world in a heavenly ascension.”

Quote by John Shelby Spong

Book:Resurrection: Myth or Reality?
Create image

Work

Resurrection: Myth or Reality?

This book delves into the historical, cultural, and philosophical aspects of resurrection, examining its presence in various mythologies and its implications in contemporary discussions. more

Author

John Shelby Spong
John Shelby Spong

John Shelby Spong is an American author and theologian known for his modern interpretations of Christian doctrine and his challenges to traditional religious beliefs. His work spans multiple fields, including religion, theology, history, and literature. more

You May Also Like

“Papal infallibility and biblical inerrancy are the two ecclesiastical versions of this human idolatry. Both papal infallibility and biblical inerrancy require widespread and unchallenged ignorance to sustain their claims to power. Both are doomed as viable alternatives for the long- range future of anyone.”

HumansLongTwoReligionIgnoranceClaimsVersionsAlternativesRangeBiblicalDoomedIdolatryInfallibility
Book:Resurrection: myth or reality? : a bishop's search for the origins of Christianity
Create image

“I cannot say my yes to legends that have been clearly and fancifully created. If I could not move my search beyond angelic messengers, empty tombs, and ghostlike apparitions, I could not say yes to Easter.”

IfsHas BeensMovingReligionEmptyIf I CouldLegendsEasterTombsMessengersAngelicApparitions
Book:Resurrection: myth or reality? : a bishop's search for the origins of Christianity
Create image

“Even if it is true that all cultures share a common morality, why does this prove a supreme intelligence? After all, don't we humanists sometimes claim that there is a common thread of humanistic values running through history across cultural and religious lines?”

IfsDoeSometimesRunningReligionValuesCultureReligiousLinesCommonShareMoralityProveClaimsSupremeThreadHumanisticCommon Threads
Book:Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist
Create image

“What suggests to non-Evangelical scholars that the resurrection narratives contain legendary accounts? First there is a variety of apparent contradictions in the stories which in any ancient narrative would have to arouse the historian's suspicion.”

FirstsStoriesReligionAccountsAncientVarietyNarrativeContradictionHistorianResurrectionScholarSuspicionEvangelicalLegendary
Book:Beyond Born Again: Toward Evangelical Maturity
Create image

“A critic may reject some miracle stories as legendary, and not others, with no inconsistency at all for the simple reason that even if one holds miracles to be possible, one need not hold legends to be impossible! There are other factors, literary and historiographical ones, that might lead a critic to conclude that even though miracles can happen, it does not appear that in this or that case they did.”

IfsNeedsMayDoeReasonStoriesMightHappensReligionSimpleCasesImpossibleMiracleCriticsFactorsRejectsLegendsLegendaryInconsistencyMiracles Can Happen
Book:Beyond Born Again: Toward Evangelical Maturity
Create image

“I suspect that, though Craig indulges in a bit of wishful thinking, playing taps for various critical approaches still quite far from death's door, he may well be correct that New Testament scholarship is more conservative than it once was. This has more than he admits to do with which denominations can afford to train the most students, hire more faculty, and send more members to the SBL.”

ThinkingWellsMayStillsReligionBitsDoorsStudentsMembersApproachTrainConservativeVariousCriticalFacultySuspectsTestamentIndulgeNew TestamentScholarshipWishful ThinkingIndulge InDenominations
Author:Robert M. Price
Create image