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John Shelby "Jack" Spong (born June 16, 1931) is a retired American bishop of the Episcopal Church. From 1979 to 2000 he was Bishop of Newark (based in Newark, New Jersey). He is a liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator and author. He calls for a fundamental rethinking of Christian belief away from theism and traditional doctrines.〔(Interview. ) ABC Radio Australia, June 17, 2001〕 ==Background== Spong was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and educated in Charlotte public schools. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1952. He received his Master of Divinity degree in 1955 from the Virginia Theological Seminary in 1955. He has had honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees conferred on him by Virginia Theological Seminary and Saint Paul's College, Virginia, as well as an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters conferred by Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania. In 2005, he wrote: "(have ) immerse() myself in contemporary Biblical scholarship at such places as Union Theological Seminary in New York City, Yale Divinity School, Harvard Divinity School and the storied universities in Edinburgh, Oxford and Cambridge."〔John Shelby Spong, ''The Sins of Scripture'', HarperCollins 2005, page xi〕 Spong served as rector of St. Joseph's Church in Durham, North Carolina, from 1955 to 1957; rector of Calvary Parish, Tarboro, North Carolina, from 1957 to 1965; rector of St. John's Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, from 1965 to 1969; and rector of St. Paul's Church in Richmond, Virginia, from 1969 to 1976. He has held visiting positions and given lectures at major American theological institutions, most prominently at Harvard Divinity School. He retired in 2000. Spong describes his own life as a journey from the literalism and conservative theology of his childhood to an expansive view of Christianity. In a 2013 interview, Spong credits the late Anglican bishop John Robinson as his mentor in this journey and says that reading Robinson's controversial writings in the 1960s led to a friendship and mentoring relationship with him over many years.〔("The retired Bishop John Shelby Spong interview" ), Read the Spirit website, 23 June 2013.〕 Spong also honors Robinson as a mentor in the opening pages of his 2002 book ''A New Christianity for a New World''. Recipient of many awards, including 1999 Humanist of the Year,〔 〕 Spong is a contributor to the Living the Questions DVD program and has been a guest on numerous national television broadcasts (including ''The Today Show'', ''Politically Incorrect'' with Bill Maher, ''Dateline'', ''60 Minutes'', and ''Larry King Live''). Spong's calendar has him lecturing around the world.〔(Speaking calendar )〕 Spong is the cousin of former Virginia Democratic Senator William B. Spong, Jr., who defeated the incumbent Absalom Willis Robertson, the father of television evangelist Pat Robertson. A play about the life of Spong, called ''A Pebble In My Shoe'', has been written by Colin Cox and produced by Will & Company. Spong has seen the play at least a half dozen times at different places in the United States. By his own account, he is closely associated with the Unity Church.〔(Question & Answer ) (paragraph 3) johnshelbyspong.com, 23 July 2015.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Shelby Spong」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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