Spong on Eternal Life

John Shelby Spong, Eternal Life: A New Vision. New York: Harper One, 2009.In what he intends to be his final book, Spong summarizes the paradoxes presented in previous books and adds one more. He doesn't believe in the traditional concept of God, yet he believes in God as Being. He doesn't believe in the Resurrection as resuscitation of a dead body, but he believes in the Resurrected Jesus. Now we learn that he doesn't believe in life after death, but he affirms there is eternal life.One long passage in this book sums up the points in traditional belief about God that Spong disavows."There is no supernatural God who lives above the sky or beyond the universe.... There are no record books and no heavenly judge keeping them to serve as the basis on which human beings will be rewarded or punished. There is also no way that life can be made to be fair or that a divine figure can be blamed for its unfairness.... Life is lived at the whim of luck and chance, and no one can earn the
good fortune of luck and chance." (pp. 121-122)Although this looks like a thorough disavowal of God, he affirms his continued belief in God just a few lines later on when he says affirms what he calls the reality of his "God experience."Spong's view of Jesus is likewise paradoxical. Jesus was thoroughly human, yet he became divine because of the extent of his humanity. Somehow we are expected to believe that "the pathway into the divine is to become human and the pathway into eternity is to accept death as natural." (p. 184)Such paradoxes point to the mystical emphasis in Spong's approach. He even argues that the gospel of John is best read from a mystical point of view that glosses over what appears to be an incarnational emphasis in John.Many readers will agree with Spong's attack on religion as grasping for security rather than seeking truth. Some may agree with his mystical emphasis and find meaning in his paradoxical affirmation of the divinity of Jesus and life eterna
l. Not being inclined to mysticism, the paradoxes seemed to me to fall short of being convincing. What remains, in my opinion, is a devastating critique of religion and an exposé of traditional beliefs about God.The book ends on a note that Spong seems to think is invigorating but seems to me to sum up his negativity when he says a new religionless humanity needs to realize that purpose and meaning are only given to life by human beings and that picturing a world beyond the grave belongs to the childhood of humanity. It is amazing that he can openly defend his concept of life eternal while completely debunking any concept of life after death.

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