Human definitions of God need revising
| John Shelby Spong
I welcome the attention that serious atheists like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris are offering the world at this moment through their books. They are bringing what I regard as a deserved criticism and a necessary correction to what Christianity has become in our generation.I, for one, have no desire to worship a God who is thought to favor the war in the Middle East in order to accomplish some obscure prediction found in the late first century book of Revelation, who suppresses women in the name of ancient patriarchy, or who is so deeply homophobic that oppressing homosexuals becomes the defining issue of church life.Such |
Major new challenges facing Faith and Church
I suppose I have by now put in almost fifteen years as an activist in the Church Reform movement. In that time I have seen a lot of change, with the need for reform gradually penetrating to the authorities, and, with the help of Pope Francis, much more open discussion of the many and varied topics.
That is all good. There is now no longer any problem about discussing Catholic sexual teaching, and in particular topics around contraception, divorce, LGBT; equally the place of women in the Church is now very much on the agenda, including playing a full part in decision making, and even in ministry.
