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John Shelby Spong, liberal Episcopal bishop and LGBTQ advocate, dies at 90
Obituaries
John Shelby Spong, liberal Episcopal bishop and LGBTQ advocate, dies at 90
By Harrison Smith
September 14, 2021 at 9:04 p.m. EDT
The Right Rev. John Shelby Spong, a liberal theologian and former bishop who shook up the modern Episcopal Church, championing the inclusion of women and LGBTQ people in the clergy while promoting a nonliteral interpretation of scripture, died Sept. 12 at his home in Richmond. He was 90.
The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, where Bishop Spong had preached early in his ministry, confirmed his death but did not give a specific cause. Friends said his health had declined after he was hospitalized for a stroke in 2016.
Bishop Spong was an outspoken leader of the church’s liberal wing, known for his efforts to open the faith to marginalized groups and preach a message of love and justice that would resonate in an increasingly secular age. He acquired an international profile while writing more than two dozen books, appearing on TV shows such as “Oprah” and “Larry King Live,” and serving as bishop of Newark, where he was the spiritual leader of some 40,000 northern New Jersey Episcopalians from 1979 to 2000.
Bishop Spong in his office at the Episcopal Diocese of Newark. (Episcopal Diocese of Newark)
As a theologian, he was known for questioning some of Christianity’s fundamental doctrines, including the virgin birth, the resurrection of Jesus and the existence of miracles. Those views infuriated Christian leaders who labeled him a heretic, although he was part of a long tradition of theologians who argued that taking the Bible literally was to miss the truth behind its teachings.
{snip}
John Shelby Spong was born in Charlotte on June 16, 1931. His father was a salesman who struggled with alcoholism and died when Bishop Spong was 12. A cousin, William Spong Jr., later went into politics as a Virginia Democrat, serving in the U.S. Senate from 1966 to 1973.
{snip}
By Harrison Smith
Harrison Smith is a reporter on The Washington Post's obituaries desk. Since joining the obituaries section in 2015, he has profiled big-game hunters, fallen dictators and Olympic champions. He sometimes covers the living as well, and previously co-founded the South Side Weekly, a community newspaper in Chicago. Twitter https://twitter.com/harrisondsmith
John Shelby Spong, liberal Episcopal bishop and LGBTQ advocate, dies at 90
By Harrison Smith
September 14, 2021 at 9:04 p.m. EDT
The Right Rev. John Shelby Spong, a liberal theologian and former bishop who shook up the modern Episcopal Church, championing the inclusion of women and LGBTQ people in the clergy while promoting a nonliteral interpretation of scripture, died Sept. 12 at his home in Richmond. He was 90.
The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, where Bishop Spong had preached early in his ministry, confirmed his death but did not give a specific cause. Friends said his health had declined after he was hospitalized for a stroke in 2016.
Bishop Spong was an outspoken leader of the church’s liberal wing, known for his efforts to open the faith to marginalized groups and preach a message of love and justice that would resonate in an increasingly secular age. He acquired an international profile while writing more than two dozen books, appearing on TV shows such as “Oprah” and “Larry King Live,” and serving as bishop of Newark, where he was the spiritual leader of some 40,000 northern New Jersey Episcopalians from 1979 to 2000.
Bishop Spong in his office at the Episcopal Diocese of Newark. (Episcopal Diocese of Newark)
As a theologian, he was known for questioning some of Christianity’s fundamental doctrines, including the virgin birth, the resurrection of Jesus and the existence of miracles. Those views infuriated Christian leaders who labeled him a heretic, although he was part of a long tradition of theologians who argued that taking the Bible literally was to miss the truth behind its teachings.
{snip}
John Shelby Spong was born in Charlotte on June 16, 1931. His father was a salesman who struggled with alcoholism and died when Bishop Spong was 12. A cousin, William Spong Jr., later went into politics as a Virginia Democrat, serving in the U.S. Senate from 1966 to 1973.
{snip}
By Harrison Smith
Harrison Smith is a reporter on The Washington Post's obituaries desk. Since joining the obituaries section in 2015, he has profiled big-game hunters, fallen dictators and Olympic champions. He sometimes covers the living as well, and previously co-founded the South Side Weekly, a community newspaper in Chicago. Twitter https://twitter.com/harrisondsmith
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