Book reviews
The Sins of Scripture
One of the most outspoken and indomitable of Christian leaders, Jack Spong, former Bishop of Newark, New Jersey returns to the United Kingdom in September of this year. Jack Spong will be the keynote speaker at this year’s conference at St Marks Centre for Radical Christianity in Sheffield on September 24th
Spong has recently written his latest book, The Sins of Scripture, with its subtitle, Exposing the Bible’s Texts of Hate to Reveal a God of Love.
As ever this is a highly charged and passionately argued book about the Bible, which itself has become a source of great political controversy in recent decades. Spong gathers together in eight sections of the book, arguments which reveal how some of the ‘terrible texts’ of scripture have been used and misused to do damage to the planet, to women, to gay and lesbian people, to children., to Jews and others. None of the material and arguments are particularly new but nevertheless the book as a whole is an impressive tour de force against the vociferous and damaging voices of Christian fundamentalism.
Few senior clerics in the Church have shown the courage of Jack Spong in opposing those forces which, in the name of the Christian God, have caused such damage and hurt to millions of people and continue to do so. His vision for a life enhancing Christianity, for a fully inclusive church, for a total reformation of Christian doctrine and dogma remains as challenging as ever.
At the September conference in Sheffield, Jack is joined by Janet Morley, known to many for her collections of prayers and by Andrew Furlong, whose intelligent and honest reappraisal of Christianity earned him dismissal from the Church of Ireland.
Meanwhile The Sins of Scripture is available now, published by Harper San Francisco at £14. 99. Janet Morley’s All Desires Known has been revised and this new edition is now available, published by SPCK, price £9.99
Reviewer - Adrian Alker