Liberating the Gospels: Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes – Bishop Spong's Remarkable View of Midrashic Stories and Their Power to Reveal Jesus's True Significance

As the 21st century has evolved and some of our world powers has become more transparent in their greed and hate, I wondered as I served in church if we were missing it. Was there a more we were bypassing bc living like we were in an American church was not truly growing people into deeper love and maturity. This book really is an amazing argument to the more that has been missed by those taking the bible literally. Some parts are very easy to read and others takes a few rereading to get it deeply. I shall go back and reread with my bible in hand to go even deeper. I loved the author's conclusions and look forward to more from him. Highly recommend this book especially if you struggle with past teachings from churches that were wrong or incomplete. If you struggle to see the Jesus you know that you know with the dogma the church has raised you in, give this book a try so it can help you go deeper and find true freedom.

No real Joseph, manger, shepherds, angels, guiding stars, or flights into Egypt...no real journey into Bethlehem by one who was great with child...no real temptation in the wilderness, sermon on the mount, raising Lazerus from the dead, miraculous feeding of the multitudes...no literal triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, betrayal of Jesus by Judas, cosmic ascension of Jesus, Pentacostal experience on wind & fire...no "in the flesh" resurrection appearances, etc, etc, etc. Rather, "the primary purpose of these stories of Jesus' passion was liturgical, not historical...that have been misread as the historical descriptions of literal events by the non-Jewish Christian world for far too long." I've read many books about critical textual analysis of the NT. I've seen it suggested that much of the NT was written with a copy of the Septuagint (early copy of Greek OT) at hand - but I have not seen that theory followed to this extent. I find it convincing - with the fiat that we humans do have a tendency to seek (and be persuaded by) patterns, whether or not they are real. It's not a new theory. Spong was interested in Jesus from the point of view of his Jewishness and a colleague aimed him to the New Testament scholar Michael Goulder. Goulder (who just died in 2010) was unusual in being both an Old Testament and a New Testament scholar. He proposed that the gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke were never intended to be historical accounts of what Jesus said and did. They were put together by scribes for use in worship as liturgical readings - modeled after what was done with the Torah in Jewish worship services. They were written in a midrash fashion - a Jewish method of demonstrating the presence of God in a present timeframe by inventing new stories that had similarities to great stories from earlier eras in the Old Testament - that could have been myths in the first place. They were theological statements closely connected to a liturgical function. Spong lays out the evidence in impressive, painstaking detail. He says, "I want to propose that, rather than trying to discern whether the things said and done in the Gospels actually happened, we need to begin to explore these episodes as attempts by Jewish authors working against the background of a Jewish liturgical year and Jewish lectionary readings to process and write about the Church's experience of Jesus in a specifically Jewish way. Such an approach will destabilize again and again the claims of the literalists" It helps that Spong writes in such clear and easy prose. It's questionable how - after such a thorough job of deconstruction - the good Bishop still wants to make a religion out of this. For a great read, mostly in line with mainstream biblical textual criticism, I can't recommend this book enough.

This was the first book of Bishop Spong that I have read and it is easy to see why he is controversial. People have been burned at the stake for saying a lot less than the good bishop. His is a radical but tightly reasoned scholarship which sweeps you along with him, like it or not. He begins with what should be obvious--the gospels are Jewish books, written by Jewish believers for other Jewish believers, at a time when the church was still a largely Jewish community. He presents the fascinating thesis that the Gospels were never written as--never meant to be--eyewitness accounts, but midrashic stories meant for use in the developing Christian liturgy. By this word--midrashic--he refers to a kind of Jewish teaching story, in which legendary accounts are used to convey deep spiritual truths. A story about Abraham and his father, for example. Or, what did Abraham tell Sarah after he returned from the "sacrifice" of Isaac. No one expects these stories to be factual accounts, that is not their purpose. Spong has done his homework and he draws the reader through a meticulous accounting of how the Gospel stories were constructed out of biblical (i.e. Old Testament) materials, to form a cycle of readings for the Jewish liturgical year. Along the way he shows how the developing rift between the young Jewish church and orthodox Judaism affected successive New Testament writers and laid the groundwork for centuries of bitter prejudice against the Jews. Spong takes the same sharp knife to all the Gospel materials--the birth stories, Joseph, Judas, the passion, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. When he is finished there is not much left of the literal Gospel record. Not much that can be thought of as eyewitness accounts or factual history. Yet he remains deeply spiritual, deeply convinced that someone named Jesus lived and taught and transformed people, set people free, lives among us still. Only he can't be captured in literal-minded thinking. This is a disturbing book, and for some people it will be extremely threatening, but it is well worth reading.

Blimey, what a book. It took me while to finish but I'm going straight back to the beginning again. For the longest time I've been searching for a Jewish scholar with old testament knowledge. Finally he has crossed my path. Ironically I came Bishop Spong whilst reading from an atheist author. I left my Christian fundamentalist background years ago but I'm still searching. Sadly there is no one from my world that I can share this book with. I once passed on a Karen Armstrong book to my eldest brother but because it wasn't printed by an evangelical printer he shunned the suggestion. My once Christian friends are either now atheists or simply way too bored to be interested. I think Spong has the heart of a lion if it was any other religion (not mentioning anyone in particular) he would have a death wish on his head. And for the fundamentalist out there who have had the courage to read this, then I salute you. Thank you Bishop Spong.

Bishop Spong elucidates The Gospels against the Jewish tradition of sacred story telling and reminds us that the authors of the Gospels were Jews who naturally drew on their own traditions of telling stories. For me,the book opened up a new perspective that was convincing and stimulating. The author's quest for a new Christianity,freed from the incredible literalism most Christians have been expected to accept in the story of Jesus, is developed to a greater extent than ever before . Many traditionalists will be shocked by much of the analysis:Joseph and Judas Escariot were probably fictional,for example. Bishop Spong's writing has always been lucid , direct and powerful. He has shown himself in his ministry to be morally and intellectually courageous, and a master expositor. I recommend this book to anyone whose intellectual integrity prevents them from accepting the Gospel stories as literal history. Kenneth Hunter

Bishop John Shelby Spong considers this book his favourite one. It certainly illuminates the Gospels, how they were written as a result of the regular worship of the first Christian community in the synagogues, week after week. He shows clearly the relationship of the Gospels with the Jewish liturgy, something that for reasons he explains, the church has forgotten and not to take it into account has lead to gross misunderstandings. If you really love the Bible, you must read this book. If you doubt many things in the Bible, here you will have some good answers to honest & serious questions.

While some of what Bishop Spong says seems obvious in retrospect (how could the gospel writers have known what happened in closed sessions of criminal courts? they didn't: they made up what they thought must have happened), the idea that the gospels are a midrash on the Jewish Bible was a new one on me, and is both intellectually and emotionally satisfying. Read this book, either if you're a Christian trying to make sense of some of the scribble, or if you're an atheist wanting to understand what all the fuss is about.

Good condition and arrived promptly. Spnog draws heavily on Michael Goulder to create a fascinating exploration of the Jewish roots of the Christian faith