Upon his death, whenever that comes—John Shelby Spong, scathed by a stroke, is now 88—his publisher should engage a biographer to report the many goings-on in his life in the years since he wrote his autobiography, and bring up to date his theological thinking and conclusions. Even without what’d be a lengthy epilogue, Here I Stand makes an engrossing read: Publishers Weekly finds it a “full-bodied, racy chronicle”; and whosoever.org calls it “passionate, heart-warming.”
Recognized globally as “a lightening rod for controversy” [the Christian Courier dubs him a “rogue priest”], Spong is “a man, often misunderstood, who never fails to elicit strong reaction,” according to Style Weekly in Richmond, Virginia, where once he served. Of the book, it warrants, “He knows how to keep the pages turning. …Spong make[s] even arcane religious and theological points accessible.”
A prolific author—Wikipedia has him authoring 26 books—he has called for a fundamental rethinking of Christian belief away from theism and traditional doctrine: he wants for the Christian church a new Reformation! His autobiography, whosoever.org affirms, “allows his readers to step inside his shoes, and experience vicariously the thrills of being involved in a movement for a more sensible, welcoming…Christianity.”
Here I Stand: My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity, Love and Equality, by John Shelby Spong
HarperSanFrancisco, 2000
