The Once and Future Jesus [Paperback]

John Shelby Spong (Author), Marcus Borg (Author), Robert W. Funk (Author), John Dominic Crossan (Author), Karen King (Author), Lloyd Geering (Author), Gerd Luedemann (Author), Thomas Sheehan (Author), Walter Wink (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2000

The question of the historical Jesus—who he was, what he said, what he did—has been one of the most exciting and controversial developments in all of contemporary religion. Thanks to decades of renewed interest and research, the way we think and talk about Jesus will never be the same. The Once & Future Jesus took that quest to a new level. At this unprecedented gathering, leading thinkers turned their attention from the past to the future and asked: What do new understandings of Jesus mean for the church, the faith, and the world of tomorrow. Their answers can be found in the pages of this book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marcus Borg is Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University. John Dominic Crossan is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at DePaul University in Chicago. Robert W. Funk is Director of the Westar Institute and founder of the Jesus Seminar. Lloyd Geering is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Karen L. King is Professor of New Testament Studies and the History of Ancient Christianity at Harvard Divinity School. Gerd Lüdemann is Professor of New Testament at the University of Göttingen, Germany. Thomas Sheehan is Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University. John Shelby Spong retired as Episcopal Bishop of Newark, New Jersey, in January 2000. Walter Wink is Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Auburn Theological Seminar in New York City.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

: . . .there is the sense among many liberal-minded people that we have been betrayed by the Bible. In the half century just ending, there is belated recognition that biblically based Christianity has espoused causes that no thinking or caring person is any longer willing to endorse. We have had enough of the persecution of Jews and witches; of the justification of black slavery; of the suppression of women, sex, and sexuality; and of the stubborn defense of a male-dominated, self-serving clergy. The Bible is not to be blamed for all this misplaced self-righteousness; how we have employed it is at fault. We have created a mindless authoritarian bibliolatry. For Protestants, the office of holy inquisition has been the Bible. Religious and cultural wars are again being fought across the pages of the Bible over sexuality, the place of women in society, and special creation. We cannot, we must not, shrink from engagement with the ignorance and misunderstanding that fuels such egregious misuse of scripture. -Chapter 1

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Polebridge Press (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0944344801
• ISBN-13: 978-0944344804
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #762,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let your enemies love you!, April 3, 2001

By 

Dave Kinnear "Executive Leader Coach" (Lake Forest, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Once and Future Jesus (Paperback)

The Once and Future Jesus is a compendium of presentations given at one of the many Jesus Seminars. The writing is insightful, in depth, concise, and enlightening. This is must reading for anyone serious about bible study.

Each of the contributors to this book sheds new and different light on what I once thought I understood. The gems almost slip by you, such as this one from Robert Funk: "Love your enemies is probably the most radical thing Jesus ever said. Unless, of course, one considers the parable of the Samaritan. There the admonition is to let your enemies love you." Perhaps this is not a new slant for many readers, but for me, it was a fresh way to view a wonderful, familiar parable.

And it is so good to have a female point of view. Karen L. King, in Back to the Future, opens our minds to the gospel of Mary and how the "basis for leadership lay in a person's spiritual maturity, not any ephemeral physical characteristic like gender or sexuality."

And of course, the indomitable Bishop John Shelby Spong gives the reader hope for the survival of Christianity in his essay, Christ and the Body of Christ. And Lloyd Geering point out in The Legacy of Christianity that "It was the ancient Israelites who abolished the gods of nature who prevented humans from interfering with their domain. It was the ancient Israelites who declared that humans had been given dominion over the earth by its one and only Creator. It was the ancient Israelites who desacralized the sun, moon, and heavenly bodies and proclaimed that the heavens and the earth belonged to one created system." This small book, packed with new insight, was for me an excellent read.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Once and Future Jesus", August 12, 2009

By 

Robert G. Peebles, Jr. "psycotherapist" (North Carolina mountains) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Once and Future Jesus (Paperback)

Bishop Spong's book is expectedly stunning. Participants in the Jesus Seminars comment on the most current thoughts on Jesus. Jesus can now be seen in a new light, as an individual repositioned in the current age. Without revealing or skewing comments in this book, I can only say that if your mind is open than this book will alter your spirituality.

1 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buyer Beware, April 22, 2010

By 

Sonny MD (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Once and Future Jesus (Paperback)

Not recommended for persons who are: just become Christians; theological beginners.

This compilation includes viewpoints supported by the founder of the HIGHLY DISCREDITED Jesus Seminar.

Thus the "a priori " assumption is the contents will also be intellectually unfounded and dishonest and far afield from actual long-term studies and assessments.

You read this at the risk of your own social, intellectual, and spiritual impairment.