Here I Stand

January 31, 2000
Longtime devotees of Spong, the controversial Episcopal Bishop from Newark, N.J., will be familiar with some of the material in his new memoir, as his earlier books (Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, etc.) are peppered with autobiographical asides, but they will still relish this full-bodied, racy chronicle of Spong's political and theological journey. Liberal crusader Spong reveals that his concern for the oppressed began in his native Charlotte, N.C., while growing up in an "overtly pious home racism was an operative assumption." Early on, he rejected the racism of the Jim Crow South and of the Church. Spong devotes the core of this memoir, however, to the battle that has earned him national prominence--the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals in the Episcopal Church. Spong has nothing but condescension for those who don't share his views, especially the theologically conservative bishops from the Third World. (Many African bishops disagree with Spong's stance on human sexuality, but rather than engage them, Spong suggests that they have blindly embraced the "fundamentalism" pedaled by English missionaries.) Spong's naysayers will want to steer clear of this book, which will strike them as just another restatement of his heresy, but his followers will appreciate the characteristically lively prose.

February 15, 2000
In this superb autobiography, Spong (the retiring bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, NJ, and the author of over 15 books, including Why Christianity Must Change or Die and Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism) synthesizes his experiences as the leading spokesperson in America and abroad for liberal Christianity. In 20 well-written and -researched chapters, he remembers the dysfunctional environment of his early childhood, his intellectual and moral formation at the University of North Carolina, the humanization acquired through a loving marriage, and the pastoral responses incumbent of a good shepherd. Having thrown away almost nothing in 45 years of ministry, Spong reviewed files, scrapbooks, date books, and calendars chronicling times of adulation and popularity and times of prophetic loneliness. Spong's continuing goal is to make Christianity relevant to the modern world. A delicate and scrupulously honest work; recommended for all public and academic libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/99.]--John-Leonard Berg, Univ. of Wisconsin Lib., Platteville

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 1999
The controversial Episcopal bishop of Newark takes a stand for inclusion.

Copyright 1999 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.