John Shelby Spong, Retired Episcopal Bishop of Newark, NJ and author of Jesus for the Non-Religious

In this interview, John Shelby Spong demonstrates why he is widely regarded as a provocative Christian theologian. 

He wrote the book, he says, because much of the Christian world today defines the faith in a way that does not make sense to 21st century Christians, and many have opted out of religion altogether.  He wrote for them, trying to present an image of Jesus that gets to the essence of his being and his message without the use of fear, control and guilt.

He critiques both biblical inerrancy in the Protestant tradition and papal infallibility in the Catholic tradition as attempts to establish certainty where there is none.  For him, real faith requires a tolerance of ambiguity.

Institutional religion, he says, is necessary to pass on the faith, but it may at the same time, put Christianity in a straightjacket. 

When asked about his doubts about the virgin birth, the historicity of all 12 Apostles and the reality of miracles, he readily says that these are not of the essence of Christianity, and urges listeners become more familiar with contemporary biblical scholarship to deal with questions like these. 

He does not believe that God sent Jesus to die for the sins of humankind (the doctrine of the atonement) because that makes an “ogre” out of God, a victim out of Jesus, and helpless dependents out of us. 

Rather, he says that the life and person of Jesus shows a man who knew himself so deeply, and loved so fully, that he could forgive those who crucified him.  The message of Jesus, he says, calls us to be fully human, to live lives of love, giving and compassion.  He was a person who broke barriers of all kinds: tribe and ethnicity, gender, even religion.  And therein, he believes, is a message for the followers of Jesus. 

The Challenges of Interfaith Marriage

Mary Helene Rosenbaum, Executive Director of the Dovetail Institute, and co-author of Celebrating our Differences: Living Two Faiths in One Marriage

Mary Helene Rosenbaum, a Catholic married to a Jewish husband, runs the Dovetail Institute which counsels those in interfaith marriages on how to handle its challenges.

Those challenges begin with the wedding service itself, a time when the couple must begin to face the critical questions as they develop the ritual. 

Raising children in one faith or the other, or letting them be “God wrestlers” and chose for themselves, are all options, and each couple must decide their own paths.  Her own children, she notes, were “God wrestlers.”

Dealing with feast days first requires separating culture from religion, e.g., the Christmas tree from the manger scene.  Then, the couple talks through how to observe special days in a way that respects the religious traditions of each.

If one member of a couple tries to convert the other, or insists that the other must change, Mary Helene suggests they re-think the relationship.  If in-laws do not respect the choices made by a couple, she advises speaking to the in-laws about ceasing their meddling.

The most basic challenge facing interfaith couples is the same as the gift of an interfaith relationship: having to think about things that other people don’t have to think about! 

Half Life: Jewish Tales from Interfaith Homes

Laurel Synder, poet and writer, editor of Half Life: Jewish Tales from Interfaith Homes

Laurel Snyder first discusses how children of interfaith homes often wrestle with religious identity, and she cites a writer in her book named Daphne Gottlieb, who also faced questions of sexual identity.  She was bi-sexual, just as some children feel like they are “bi-religious,” and find themselves “in the middle.”  Daphne was an example of that “half life” existence, a reality that nonetheless helps people develop themselves in the arts and philosophy, Laurel believes. 

Jewish people, she says, have been deeply concerned about the 50%+ rate of intermarriage among Jews.  At an institution called Hillel, Reform Jews decided to try to engage and convert the non-Jewish partner to Judaism, but Laurel could not abide that policy and left.  Although she loves being Jewish herself, there is a difference, she says, between invitation, and suggesting that one way (Judaism, in this case) is the only right way. 

Children of interfaith homes should not feel like an “issue,” she says; adults should discuss interfaith problems outside the earshot of children.   What is most important in families is a loving relationship with other family members.  That’s why, for example, people change wedding ceremonies to please parents or in-laws…love comes first.