Thoughts on Spong (Continued)

This lack of appreciation of evangelical dynamics, pressures and motivations lessens the usefulness of the book to the people who probably need it the most. Evangelical fundamentalists are not all hidebound bigots, but they are all subject to fear. Nicodemus came to Jesus by night because of his fear, and the people I'd like to see released from legalism and bible worship are just as frightened and concealed. This is not a book I could give them to read. Spong's message is good, relevant and well intentioned, but the style is more suited to the intellectually converted. However, although "Rescuing..." reopened an old line of enquiry for me, it didn't satisfy me, and it left me needing to search other books for more detail. There are plenty of books to fill that gap. We need a book with Spong's objectives and message, but written by someone who can relate to the background and fears of honest evangelicals (see Note 1).

The Bible does need rescuing, because it is too valuable to be thrown away. Paul argued that the Law had some value because of what it teaches about sin and, in the same way, I would uphold the usefulness of the Bible as we know it because of what it teaches us about the development of faith. The scriptures contain the views of wise people who had thought deeply about subjects that concern today's seekers after God. We can reject the authors' foreign and outdated cultures but still appreciate their attempts to interpret their experience. The whole collection of biblical works, and many of the individual books, was edited together from a variety of sources over several hundred years. Some books were woven together from original texts that took conflicting views of God and history (like the judgemental god of the "P" texts in the Pentateuch, compared with the merciful divinity of the "E" texts)(see Note 2) . Their patchwork of views and experiences tells us more about men and, through that, gives us more evidence to help form our own understanding of God.

So, if you are engaged in the search for truth, I would recommend Spong's book for your reading but do not recommend it for passing on to your evangelical friends.

© Derrick Phillips
August 1993