Resurrection

Resurrection is an innovative examination of the foundational event of Christianity, and an inspiring vision for reconciliation between Jews and Christians. Using approaches from the Hebrew interpretive tradition to discern the actual events surrounding Jesus’s death, Bishop John Shelby Spong questions the historical validity of a literal narrative concerning the Resurrection. However, Spong is not searching for the historical Jesus, either; he asserts that the Resurrection story was born in an experience that opened the disciples’s eyes to the reality of God and the meaning of Jesus of Nazareth. To fully understand the meaning of the Resurrection, it must be approached in the style of the midrash, or teaching tale. Spong goes on to trace the Christian origins of anti-Semitism to the Church’s fabrication of the ultimate Jewish scapegoat, Judas Iscariot. He affirms the inclusiveness of the Christian message and emphasizes the necessity of mutual integrity and respect among Christians and Jews. John Shelby Spong was the Episcopal Bishop of Newark before his retirement in 2000. As a leading spokesperson for an open, scholarly and progressive Christianity, Bishop Spong has taught at Harvard and at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. His books include A New Christianity for a New World, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, Resurrection: Myth or Reality?, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, and his autobiography, Here I Stand. “This book will appeal to those wanting a reasonable, nonliteralist faith grounded in the mystery of reality beyond time and space. Highly recommended.” - Library Journal