What kind of god is it that some human brain can shatter the illusions that have been built up around such a deity? God's a mystery. I'll never be able to tell you what God is. John Shelby Spong More Quotes by John Shelby Spong More Quotes From John Shelby Spong I go where I'm invited. And all I can tell you is if we accepted every invitation we had, I'd be away every day of my life. John Shelby Spong invited invitations accepted Our English language really says if you're not a theist, the only alternative is to be an atheist. What I'm trying to do is develop a language that will enable us to talk about God beyond the, what I think, are sterile categories of theism and atheism. John Shelby Spong think you language god My basis of morality is this: does this action enhance life, or does it denigrate life? Does it build up or does it tear down? John Shelby Spong down morality action life If I were a child of Tibet or of Arabia, I suspect the path I'd walk would be the Buddhist path or the Muslim path. And I don't mind saying that I don't invalidate any of those paths. John Shelby Spong walk child path mind I believe God is real, but I believe God calls me beyond myself to take responsibility for my life and to try top work to allow other people to be themselves and to take responsibility for their lives. John Shelby Spong myself god work life The Bible tells me that every life is holy; the Bible tells me that every life is loved; the Bible tells me that every life is called to be all that it can be. John Shelby Spong loved me bible life We've got to deal with the fact that the church has been violently prejudiced against gay people. We've murdered them; we've burned them at the stake; we've run them out of town for something over which they have no control. And that's immoral. John Shelby Spong control gay church people I cannot possibly conceive of my planet Earth as the centre of a three-tiered universe. I know rather that the sun, around which my planet Earth revolves, is a middle sized star in a galaxy called the Milky Way that has over a hundred billion other suns or stars within it. John Shelby Spong universe stars sun way I think the best way to view the Gospels is to view them as a magnificent portrait being painted by Jewish artists to try to capture the essence of a God experience that they believe they had with Jesus of Nazareth. John Shelby Spong best experience god believe The church is not going to survive if they are going to tell people that they have to twist their minds into 1st century pretzels. John Shelby Spong survive tell church people I believe that God is very real. I believe that I live my life every day inside the reality of this God. I call this God by different words. I describe God as the source of life and the source of love and the ground of being. John Shelby Spong day god love life
