John Shelby Spong, the whistleblower bishop?

By: Geneviève Delrue

Publicity

World Religions - Sunday May 31, 2020 - 11:10 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Paris time)

John Shelby Spong  , 88, was a bishop in the Episcopalian church until 2000. During his priesthood, he sought to understand why Christians in search departed from, or found themselves in, the traditional faith comfortable because of doctrines, rites, language or positions deemed obsolete. He came to the conclusion that if Christianity did not abandon creeds that had become more credible for the man of the 21st century, it would be bound to disappear. John Shelby Spong is the author of several books published in France by  Karthala . Robert Ageneau, founder of this publishing house, looks back on the study day which was devoted in the fall of 2019 to the work of the American bishop and exegete, a day which was the subject of a book published in the Sens et conscience collection  "For a Christianity of the future".

The resumption of worship in France:  Severely affected by the gathering in Mulhouse of the Christian Open Door, in mid-February 2020, megachurch stigmatized at the start of the pandemic by the prefect of the Great East, the evangelicals are very cautious for a return normal celebrations.

Romain Choinet, head of communications at Cnef , the National Council of Evangelicals in France.

And about the urgent request from officials of the Catholic hierarchy exercised with the government to reopen places of worship before the beginning of June 2020 in order to allow the faithful to commune,  Father François Glory, priest of MEP (Missions Foreigners of Paris ), gives another point of view on the subject and recalls that in Amazonia, where he lived 35 years, the Eucharist every Sunday was not the priority.

Newsletter Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

Follow all international news by downloading the RFI application

• Religion

On the same subject

World religions

1. "The Resurrection: myth or reality?", By John Shelby Spong