Meet the Author
John Shelby Spong was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2000. Since that time he has taught at Harvard University, the University of the Pacific, and Drew University. Additionally, he delivers more than 200 public lectures each year as a visiting lecturer at churches and universities. Bishop Spong’s books have sold over one million copies, including Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World (2011 – one of my top books of 2011), Eternal Life: A New Vision: Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell (2009), and Jesus for the Non-Religious (2007). He has appeared on numerous television shows, including 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, and Larry King Live.
Book Basics
The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic is the result of an in-depth study that consumed John Shelby Spong for the last five years. Those familiar with his past volumes along with a new generation of progressive Christians will appreciate the brilliance of this new text, which is his twenty-fourth book. Masterfully interacting with the latest scholarly resources while writing for a broad audience, Spong effectively argues that the Gospel according to John is best
- understood as a composite of multiple sources (likely the book as we know it was comprised by three people plus a fourth who wrote the epilogue) and
- best viewed through the lens of Jewish mysticism with a recognition that few if any of the characters were “real” people, none of the stories were intended to be read literally, and as a work that likely contains no words even spoken by Jesus.
The Fourth Gospel is more than a chapter by chapter study; it is a character driven account that takes seriously those who appear within the pages of John’s twenty-one chapters. Attentive readers may experience the same transformation as the author in moving from seeing this gospel as a problem to be avoided to considering it an asset worthy of exploration.
So What?
By understanding the development of what is now typically referred to as the New Testament, readers are able to better appreciate and more fully understand the writings it contains. Spong’s latest book is a rich resource for those engaged in such a quest related to the book of John while Marcus Borg’s Evolution of the Word (one of my top books of 2012) is ideal for those seeking to consider all twenty-seven books in the New Testament.
- Have you tended to avoid or limit your reliance on John in favor of one or more of the other gospels? Why or why not?
- What resources have been helpful to you in your quest to better understanding the four New Testament gospels?
John Shelby Spong. The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic (HarperOne, 2013). ISBN: 9780062011305.