The Sins of Scripture:
Exposing
the Bible’s Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love
By
John Shelby
Spong (2005)
Reviewed by
Geoffrey W.
Sutton
The Sins of Scripture
continues to be relevant to topics that divide American Christians into two
major war camps over such subjects as biblical authority, the equality of
women, same-sex relationships, and doctrinal distinctions that mark boundaries
of exclusivity.
Spong
divides his 32 short chapters into eight sections within 298 pages of a highly
readable work. Section 1 is crucial to his discussion of other topics because
he challenges the view of some Christians that the Bible is the Word of God
although they retain the right to interpret God’s Word in their own way. Like
other writers (e.g., Borg, 2001;
Enns, 2014),
Spong argues against biblical literalism when reading the sacred text of
Christianity. He offers problematic examples like ancient perspectives on
mental illness and improbable stories like the one about a floating axe-head.
In section
2, Spong attacks the problem of global overpopulation encouraged by Christians
who use biblical texts to object to birth control. The title of chapter 6 serves
as a conclusion, “Bad Theology Creates Bad Ecology.”
Women are
the focus of section 3. Spong traces the history of sexism in the Bible and
Christian history. He comments on the texts that point to women as the source
of evil and verses concerning women’s blood and purity.
Section 4 addresses
homophobia, which continues to divide Christians into affirming and rejecting
camps. Spong reviews the familiar Leviticus and Romans texts as well as the misused
Sodom story.
Child abuse
is the subject of Section 5. Building on a discussion of the trite “Spare the
Rod” advice, Spong discusses domestic violence and perceptions of God as a
harsh judge who lacks compassion.
Perhaps
ironically—since Jesus and his apostles were Jews—Spong examines the Christian
roots of antisemitism in the New Testament texts. A fresh look at Judas
Iscariot concludes this analysis in section 6.
In Section
7, Spong takes on the notion of exclusivity and argues for a vibrant Christian spirituality
that is beyond creeds and demonstrates respect for people of other faiths.
Finally, in
section 8, Spong presents an overview of the Bible as a developing epic, which
expanded over the centuries as the Jewish tribes became a nation, went into
exile, and reshaped their story as they heard from one prophet after another.
Christians continue and expand the epic as they begin to see Jesus in this
evolving historic context. Spong concludes with his vision of what comes next
in this epic story.
Comments
Several
writers have covered similar topics in an effort to help people better
understand the ancient texts in context. The Sins of Scripture will help
progressive Christians better understand how their approach to the Bible and
the Christian life differs from evangelicals and those who read many sections
of the Bible as if God wrote laws to govern today’s society. It’s not the kind
of book to gain favor with evangelicals unless they are disenchanted with some
of the strident rhetoric.
I think
Spong has accurately focused on the battleground issue of how to view the
collection of works called the Bible. There is a sharp difference between those
who view the Bible as a sacred anthology to be taken seriously but not
necessarily literally and those who claim the Bible to be the Word of God
as if to discount human authors.
One factor often
overlooked by Spong and other authors addressing biblical scholarship is the
role of human memory and cognitive biases in creating historical works—especially
those written years or decades after people experienced the referenced events. Fortunately,
this might be about to change as evangelical scholar Craig Keener recently gave
a nod to the work of Elizabeth Loftus in his 2019
commentary on the gospels.
I found the
Spong’s book supportive of my efforts in A
House Divided. Although I read The Sins of Scripture years after
writing A House Divided, Spong’s work generally supports my presentation
of progressive perspectives on women and people who identify as LGBTQ+. I would
add that the psychology of disgust is an important factor in the difficulties
some have with blood and same-sex sex.
Reference
Spong, J. S. (2005). The sins of scripture: Exposing the Bible’s texts of hate to reveal the God of love. Harper.
Available on AMAZON and GOOGLE
The
author
John Shelby
“Jack” Spong (1931-1921) was an American bishop in the Episcopal Church. He was
the Bishop of Newark, NJ from 1979-2000. Highlights of his life can be found at https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2021/09/13/rip-rt-rev-john-shelby-spong-newark-bishop-who-pushed-for-lgbtq-inclusion-dies-at-90/
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