Customer Reviews

Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Virgin Birth and the Treatment of Women by a Male-Dominated Church

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As a child, I was taught that being a Christian meant that a person had accepted Jesus as his Savior. I was also taught that this meant that all non-Christian believing persons were going to Hell. This was something that I couldn't embrace and I turned against as I grew to adulthood.

Bishop Spong's books have opened my mind and allowed me to look at what being a Christian really means. Being a Christian doesn't hinge on believing that Mary was a virgin or that Jesus was resurrected. It is based on how you live your life.

This book brought tears to my eyes because it affirmed my right to question the things I was told to accept without question.

If you have read the other reviews, you already know that Bishop Spong quckly sets aside the literal "Christmas Story" and the "Virgin Birth" in this book. Much more intersting to me, however, was his careful tracing of the crafting of what we know today as the "Christmas Story" in the order the various references were written, starting with Paul (I didn't realize his account was written earlier than the gospels).

The core of this book is Bishop Spong's combination of the few clues in the Bible with the intellectual and political currents of the day in the early church, and how they effected the moulding of the traditions we know today as the "Christmas Story" and the "Virgin Birth".

When he has finished his interesting analysis, he then adds a final chapter to discuss how he feels the developing concept of the "purity of Mary" has influenced the state of women in the centuries since, to the present day. While this is somewhat disconnected from the rest of the book, it builds on the lessons of the previous chapters, and opens up the possibility of dialog on the subject.

There is no question that this book has and will offend many Christians, but for those who are intellectually curious and like to think "out of the box", this book is a treat.

Much of the time I feel that I am exactly the kind of person that Christians love to hate, in that I find it very hard to disconnect my brain and accept uncritically things that are clearly at variance with reality.

It was therefore a huge relief to find a theologian (and a Bishop!) who espoused the same doubts as myself, and who didn't see anything wrong with rationalism, or even being an intellectual. If Christianity is to survive it needs more people like Bishop Spong.

The book brings a reasoned, historical and thoughtful approach to bear on the issue of the Incarnation and comes to an interesting conclusion that salvages much of the mystery and majesty of Christ, while ditching the myth. It will be challenging reading for traditionalists, but they should not find their faith damaged. If anything their faith should be deepened by the removal of mythological crutches. For doubters the book should be a revelation, and make Christianity look rather more attractive.

John Shelby Spong's 1992 book is subtitled "A Bishop rethinks the birth of Jesus" and in it he hopes to concentrate exclusively on the birth of Jesus. Needless to say the good bishop manages to devote only about 50% of the book to the issue of Jesus' birth, but don't let that detract from the value of the book. Spong's discussion of the gospels in general and the resurrection in particular only add to the value of the book.

The book is divided into 5 basic parts. Chapters 1 and 2 are general in nature and discuss biblical scholarship. Chapters 3 to 5 discuss the Pauline and pre Gospel traditions. Chapters 6 to 10 are devoted to Matthew and Luke. Chapter 11 deals with Mark and John, and the remaining chapters discuss the two Marys. The notes are limited, as is the bibliography.

Throughout the book Spong continues to hammer his point that the gospels are neither history nor biography, and must be understood within their theological and symbolic contexts. Spong is right in this regard, although his own context is relatively narrow and he rarely discusses the broader issues (e.g., the astronomical background to much of the gospel texts, the influence of mystery religions, the roman/jewish interface, etc.). He can rarely be faulted for what he does say, although one might have wished that he perused some areas in more detail.

The section on Matthew covers several issues:

- On the four (sinful, foreign) women, Spong believes that "irregular sexual activity initiated by the action of the Spirit [that] enabled the promise of Israel to move forward" is what unites these women's stories and links them to Mary.

- He believes that Matthew's midrash tradition of prophesy was mistaken by later Christians to be literalized.

- The story of the star and the magi is thoroughly researched by Spong, who identifies the Old Testament as well as contemporary events that contributed to these passages.

Luke's section begins with an excellent discussion about who "Luke" was and presents sound arguments for the fact that the same writers did not pen Luke and Acts. It's a minority position, but one I subscribe to as well. He also points out that Luke's gospel is presented in the format of a play, and other authors have theorized that Luke's gospel was drawn from a pre-existing early Christian play. Spong then proceeds to block out the gospel in play form, and this is an amazing exercise that is truly instructive.

Some of the interesting elements from Spong's discussion of Luke include:

- John the Baptist's father's name is Zechariah, the name of the next to last of the minor prophets in the Old Testament. Zechariah preceded Malaci (the messanger), possibly a clue to the naming. John's mother's name, Elizabeth, is only found in the Old Testament in Aaron's wife (Aaron was the brother of Moses), and Aaron's sister's name was Mary. Hence Elizabeth and Mary were related and their children would have been cousins. Intriguing stuff!

- Spong raises the interesting question of why Mary says "I have no husband " (Luke 1:34) when in fact, by Jewish law and customs, as a betrothed woman Joseph was her husband.

In his brief section on Mark and John, and in his discussion of the likelihood that Jesus and Mary were married, Spong continues his ability to critically examine the gospel texts. Some of the interesting findings here are:

- Angels appeared and Mary said she was crying because "they have taken away my Lord..." These words were spoken before anyone knew that Jesus had risen, and hence he was still merely a dead prophet, not the risen Lord. Yet Mary called him "lord", a term commonly used by first Century Jewish women to speak about their husbands.

- When the gardener appears, Mary claims the body ("I will take him away"), an act only the nearest of kin could perform.

- Mary addresses Jesus as "Rabboni" (an affectionate term) and then tries to embrace him. Jesus cautions: "Do not touch me..." Yet in First Century Jewish society, only a wife (or mother) was permitted to touch a man.

The final two chapters discuss Mary Magdalene and the continuing image of Jesus' mother Mary. Although not directly involved in the birth issues, both these chapters are excellent supplements.

This is not a perfect book. Spong makes several errors. For example:

- He claims in Luke 3 that "John the Baptist was engaged in a conversation with his Jewish detractors on the meaning of one's origins (p. 126)" when in fact the comments are made to the people he is baptizing, not his distractors.

- He claims Luke's authorship when in fact, many parts of the Gopspel of Luke are simply copies from other people's works (e.g., Josephus, Judges, 1 Samuel, etc).

- He makes the common error of concluding that Mark 3:20 refers to Jesus' relatives wanting to seize him and thinking he is mad (the original reference is to the disciples, not the family).

- He claims that Jesus reference in the Gospel of John to the adulteress (8:10) and his mother by the same name "woman" (2:4, 9:26) is significant. However, Jesus also addresses the Samaritan by the well as "woman" (4:21), a fact not mentioned by Sprong, which substantially lessens the significance of the usage he identifies.

These errors are few and far in between. Bottom line, this is a provocative, informative, scholarly account of Jesus' birth, and probably the best single source on the subject available. It will appeal to beginning students as well as the most advanced scholars.

This book gives insight into an interesting way of interpreting the meaning of Biblical content and also provides its authors conclusions. I think that the title "Born of A Woman" characterizes the theme of the author's research pathway regarding the origins of Jesus of Nazereth, the man, as told in the gospels. The title does not reveal much about his conclusions regarding the negative effects of masculine church leadership and perpetuation of the 'Virgin Mary' myths which have dominated the Christian churches since their original formulation.

The reader of this opus does not have to agree with the author's conclusions. For those, like me, who feel the need to embody Christian principles in real life as important contributions to human(e) endeavor but feel skeptical in the face of literal interpretation of Biblical stories, Spong provides a lens to view the information authored nearly two thousand years ago that is refreshing and revealing. Undoubtedly, his perspective is not totally original but it is very useful to me and I think it will be to many others.

I have seen just a bit of the orthodox and fundamantalist critics of Spong's work. I can understand their points intellectually but I cannot agree with some of their intolerence toward adjusting our understanding of Biblical meaning and Christian faith as civilization unavoidably marches on.

For insight as to my thoughts as I read this book: I believe in the approach to the Bible that emphasizes seeking an answer to "What does the story mean?" Personally, I am not very interested (any more) in "Why did it happen?" or "Is it literally true?" Spong's book is aimed at impressing folks who recognize the differences among these questions and want to seek answers to all of them.

This book was very enlightening without being too like a catechism, giving all the answers. Spong makes no pretense that he has all the answers; many of his conclusions are unpretentiously hypothetical. One should read the entire book with an open mind before judging it. The subject matter is certainly challenging, not to mention his verbose style, but it is refreshing to read the opinions and conclusions of a true intellectual, an all too uncommon thing in this day and age.

The interest in this book goes beyond the extended title, which many will read and mistake for a feminist text with an ax to grind. In fact the entire way in which the bible has been presented to the masses will be turned on its head for the uninitiated reader. It is not that what is discussed in this book is a secret to biblical scholars of any major Christian subsect. However, such studies do not reach the level of the masses and most parish priests are either ignorant of these findings, or they (and almost certainly their parishoners) are more comfortable with the 1700+ year old fixed doctrine of the major churches. If you are content with the "opium of the people," do not read this book or any others by the author. If you are seriously interested in the evolution of the christian church and thought, and in figuring out that the whole thing is really all about, don't miss it.

By looking at the historical and literary purpose of the Gospels rather than forcing it into a Greco-Roman historical context, Spong sheds some insight into the spiritual and political, rather than historical, thrust of Christian Testament.

Everyone should read at least one Spong. He's an Anglican Bishop with 21st Century religious views. He has no use for snakes that talk (Genesis 3), people with wings or seven headed beasts (Revelation). He thinks and writes well.

Of his books I this is the one to read first. It best introduces the reader to his philosophy, and on a key subject. This is not to diminish the worth of the others, all of which are excellent, although for some readers one book of religious philosophy is enough. Spong strips away the legends, superstitions and other traditional Middle Eastern baggage and gives us what he feels faith is really about.

Spong's book and perspective on the virgin birth is just way to good. I never read any of his books without being skeptical to what he says, but the fact is, I can't find any other legitimate way around it. By presenting hard-fact evidence about the virgin birth and considering the society's male-dominated ego driven in the lifetime of Jesus, one just throws the all-comforting traditional idea of Mary being a virgin and the like. This book makes the reader face the Virgin birth in its logical sense, while on the side refuting the traditional nonsense taught by the christian churches for centuries.