"If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I'd type a little faster." --Isaac Asimov

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Book review: Eternal Life: A New Vision, by John Shelby Spong


Three and a half stars. This is the first Spong book I've read, and I skimmed a lot of it, except for Chapter 5, which was the highlight for me. A lot of the concepts resonated with me, and I think the subtitle of the book sums it up: Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell. I was reluctant to read this book at first, but the cover blurb intrigued me, especially coming from a retired Episcopal bishop. Unfortunately, like many of the theology and apologetics books I've read, this one could have been condensed to about a tenth of its size and not lost any of the essence. The writing tended to ramble, and seemed unfocused at times. Still, the fact that Spong has traveled a similar path to mine--through religion and beyond--made this book worth reading. I might even go back and take a look at some of his earlier books.
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2 comments:

Terri said...

Your comments echo what I have heard others say about Spong. He rambles. But curiously enough, in the Episcopal Church he is no longer seen as "radical" or cutting edge, he's kind of old school. LOL...

kdoyle said...

That's interesting...I'd guess his views would be pretty radical for most mainstream denominations.

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