An Examination of the Theology of Bishop John Shelby Spong
Stephanie D. Monk Patrick Henry College
Exposition Biography John Shelby Spong was born in North Carolina on June 16, 1931. His mother was a strict Presbyterian, so Spong grew up in the church, but from an aunt‟s insistence he started singing in choir at St. Peter‟s Episcopal Church and soon became deeply involved in the Episcopalian Church. Spong‟s father was an alcoholic and died after a heart attack in 1943. As a young child, Spong was deeply troubled by his father‟s displeasure, and after his father‟s death, Spong resented his mother‟s emotional dependency upon him in making him the leader of the family when he was not emotionally prepared for that role.1 Spong married Joan Ketner in 1952, and received his Master of Divinity degree in 1955 from the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1976 he was appointed Bishop of Newark where he served for 24 years, retiring in 2001. In 1988 his wife, Joan, died of cancer. Two years later he married Christine Barney. Bishop Spong is the author, or co-author, of twenty-one books. As a favored media personality, his greatest influence has been in popularizing liberal Christian viewpoints in a format that is easily comprehensible by the layperson.2 Influences 1
John Shelby Spong, Here I Stand: My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity, Love, and Equality (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2000), 1-33. 2
Bishop John Shelby Spong‟s Official Website, www.johnshelbyspong.com (accessed October 26, 2008)