Honest Prayer, Part 1 -- John Shelby Spong

Bishop Spong shares an early experience in ministry that helped redefine his understanding of the practice of prayer.

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[phoenixtimes2]

What if John Shelby Spong and others like him had shaped Christianity? What if there were no southern evangelists with prayer cloths, miracle oils, river water, etc. yelling about hell and scaring, threatening, and thundering in rants? What if toxic theology never existed? What if intellect and kindness dominated religious discourse? What if there were no fundamentalists to screw things up? What if clergy and congregants really and truly used their minds? How wonderful

it would be!

[GiDaOne]

This is very moving and demonstrates Spong's sensitivity towards his fellow human beings and the fact that he has thought honestly a lot about these things.

[secondthes]

@dambobjob He doesn't believe the Bible has any power. Why would he read it? It probably burns his eyes. It's like garlic to a vampire.

[secondthes]

@1472asdf If you mean that he seeks to be a savior, then yes, you are correct. He is by no means preaching Christianity. He creates a straw man of Christ and then tears it down for his own glory.

[1472asdf]

He is a living Buddha. A Bodhisatva (defined as: Traditionally, a bodhisattva is anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhicitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.{Wiki})

We are blessed to have him in our consciousness.

Thank you Rev Spong for all you do.

[dambobjob]

He quotes his prayer book, not the bible. If you were to explain his behaviour in real terms: He doesn't pray anymore.

[emdeezal]

this video is dripping with honest and authentic spirituality. This man yearns to worship God "in spirit and in TRUTH." Brilliant and sincere.

[alleycatalog]

To me, the most honest prayer is, "God, your will be done, even if I wont like it. And bless my enemies AND my loved ones, that they may all have you with them. "

[perfectlyparadoxical]

@phoenixtimes2 Actually, you should say THANK YOU! There wouldn't be a message such as this for you without all of that, & I think John would tell you that as well. Thank you for all of this silly nonsense to have taken place, so that we may all come to our senses & see things for what they actually are, not what they appear to be! It is human nature & it's ignorance of the true nature of spirituality that has brought us to this point (& none too soon, wouldn't you say?)....

[shieldsff]

While I admire, respect & commend the works of Mr. Sponge in the area of civil rights & social justice, it must be equally acknowledged that his teachings & interpretations of the Gospels& epistles are quite clearly flawed & misleading. Many traditional catholic, reformed, & protestant churches opposed segregation without adopting a theological position which undermines the Gospels (as Mr. Sponge does). See the works of NT Wright, Cone, CS Lewis, A Evans, Cone, C.Stanley, R.Zacarias & others

[barmanjoe]

@bella50008 That's ok, but lets end the insults, so if that's what you felt I apologise. I do actually believe in God, I don't necessarilly believe in the God of organised religion, but I believe that there is a deity and that we're all part of it. I believe that the sum of our reality is a part of God, as God is pretty big. I believe in Jesus Christ, just like John Shelby Spong, I just don't believe in the fear spreading, while it may serve the church, it has yet to serve the world.