Season 1, Episode 2 – John Shelby Spong
Posted by bruce on January 29, 2010 · 6 Comments
Join Carol Howard Merritt and Bruce Reyes-Chow as they welcome writer and speaker Bishop John Shelby Spong (Eternal Life: A New Vision: Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell)
To listen, use the player at the bottom of the post, or right click here and “Save as…”
Some highlights from this episode:
0:00: Carol speaks with pastor Beth Sentell about a vision she had while giving birth to her son
5:45: Carol introduces the theme of the episode and Bishop John Shelby Spong
7:51: John Shelby Spong shares how he responds to criticism of his thoughts and writings; “for most people religion is the search for security and not the search for truth”
12:45: Spong: “Death is a universal experience”; “The presuppositions of the tradition way a viewing life after death have been destroyed”
20:20: Bruce and Carol reflect on Part 1 of Spong interview
31:21: Spong: “I don’t think Christianity…will ever give me peace of mind or certainty or security…it will give me the courage to live in a world that is always insecure.”
35:00: “I seek to reach those who want to live in a 21st century world with a 21st century mind”; “We’ve created God after our own image”; Sin and guilt are not healthy
50:39: Bruce and Carol reflect on Part 2 of Spong interview
1:05:20: Bruce and Carol speak with Melissa DeRosia about the recent Supreme Court decision on campaign spending, the trial over California’s Proposition 8, and the forthcoming Presbyterian Church report on Civil Unions/Christian Marriage
1:30:19: Promo for next week’s episode: Carol talks with author and religious leader Samir Selmanovic (It’s Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian about embracing “The Other.”
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Loved the interview. Had some trouble following Carol and Bruce's discussion relative to Spong's comments – maybe bit less of that and more of Spong. He had so many thoughtful ideas to share. Introduction was fascinating but I was a bit at sea with what you were doing until I remembered title of Spong's book. And I liked final discussion with Melissa DeRosia about prop 8 court case and the PC(USA) report on Civil Unions/Christian marriage. Keep up the new format. It works well. Looking forward to your next interview.
Thanks, Janet. We appreciate the thoughtful comments.
Thanks so much, Janet. Always good to get feedback on the show, and we hope that comments like yours can be put to good use. We'll certainly try to!
Thanks Janet. You were not the only one that had a heard time keeping up with that BRCs longwindedness
We do hope to get better with our pace as well as figuring our a good balance. Thank for the feedback.