Bishop Spong came under fire early in the conference because of his strong support for the full acceptance of gays and lesbians in the church, and his criticism of African bishops' understanding of Scripture, which he saw as out of touch with modern scholarship and scientific theory. Bishop Spong has been in the crosshairs of conservatives since last November when he engaged in a caustic exchange of letters with the Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey over homosexuality. In May, he published his latest book, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, which questions the validity of a physical resurrection and other central principles of the creeds. In the process of communicating with those members, he said, he seems to have unintentionally alienated his African colleagues.
Religion is a deeply emotional thing.
It gets into the very fibre of our soul. It is part of our security system. His criticism of attitudes in the developing world, said Bishop Spong, was not intended to denigrate the personal faith commitments of the bishops nor of their churches. His point was that cultural differences between the church in the developed and developing worlds require the Gospel to be communicated using different language and symbols. In the process of saying that, I've been heard to insult Africans, for which I am really sorry.