Jesus for the non-religious : recovering the divine at the heart of the human /
Spong, John Shelby,author.
Writing from his prison cell in Nazi Germany in 1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a young German theologian, sketched a vision of what he called "Religionless Christianity." In this book, John Shelby Spong puts flesh onto the bare bones of Bonhoeffer's radical thought. The result is a strikingly new and different portrait of Jesus of Nazareth, a Jesus for the non-religious. Spong challenges much of the traditional understanding, from the tale of Jesus' miraculous birth to the account of his cosmic ascension into the sky. He questions the historicity of the ideas that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that he had twelve disciples, or that the miracle stories were ever meant to be descriptions of supernatural events. He also speaks directly to those critics of Christianity who call God a "delusion" and who describe how Christianity has become evil and destructive. Spong invites his readers to look at Jesus through the lens of both the Jewish scriptures and the liturgical life of the first century synagogue. He proposes a new way of understanding the divinity of Christ as the ultimate dimension of a fulfilled humanity. Jesus for the Non-Religious may be the book that finally brings the pious and the secular into a meaningful dialogue, opening the door to a living Christianity in the post-Christian world.  -- Provided by publisher.
Poses an argument for the importance of separating the teachings and examples of Jesus from the restrictive dogma of modern religious institutions in order to render Christ a more accessible role model.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 301-308) and index.
Prologue: The lament of a believer in exile -- PART 1. SEPARATING THE HUMAN JESUS FROM THE MYTH. Introduction: Opening the door on a new quest -- There was no star over Bethlehem -- The parents of Jesus: fictionalized composites -- The historicity of the twelve disciples -- Miracle stories in the Gospels: are they necessary? -- Nature miracles: interpretive signs, not historical events -- Healing miracles: a vision of the Kingdom of God -- Did Jesus literally raise the dead? -- The Crucifixion narrative: liturgy masquerading as history -- The cross: told "in accordance with the scriptures" -- The eternal truth inside the myths of resurrection and ascension -- PART 2. THE ORIGINAL IMAGES OF JESUS. Introduction: Exploring the original images of Jesus -- The oral tradition: where was Jesus remembered? -- Jesus understood as the New Passover -- Jesus understood under the symbols of Yom Kippur -- Jesus as the Son of Man -- Minority images: the Servant, the Shepherd -- Jesus: a man for all Jewish seasons -- PART 3. JESUS FOR THE NON-RELIGIOUS. Introduction: Jesus really lived -- Who is the God met in Jesus? -- Recognizing the sources of religious anger -- Jesus: the breaker of tribal boundaries -- Jesus: the breaker of prejudices and stereotypes -- Jesus: the breaker of religious boundaries -- The Cross: a human portrait of the love of God -- Epilogue: Christpower.
Writing from his prison cell in Nazi Germany in 1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a young German theologian, sketched a vision of what he called "Religionless Christianity." In this book, John Shelby Spong puts flesh onto the bare bones of Bonhoeffer's radical thought. The result is a strikingly new and different portrait of Jesus of Nazareth, a Jesus for the non-religious. Spong challenges much of the traditional understanding, from the tale of Jesus' miraculous birth to the account of his cosmic ascension into the sky. He questions the historicity of the ideas that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that he had twelve disciples, or that the miracle stories were ever meant to be descriptions of supernatural events. He also speaks directly to those critics of Christianity who call God a "delusion" and who describe how Christianity has become evil and destructive. Spong invites his readers to look at Jesus through the lens of both the Jewish scriptures and the liturgical life of the first century synagogue. He proposes a new way of understanding the divinity of Christ as the ultimate dimension of a fulfilled humanity. Jesus for the Non-Religious may be the book that finally brings the pious and the secular into a meaningful dialogue, opening the door to a living Christianity in the post-Christian world.  -- Provided by publisher.
Poses an argument for the importance of separating the teachings and examples of Jesus from the restrictive dogma of modern religious institutions in order to render Christ a more accessible role model.
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Bible.