John Shelby "Jack" Spong (June 16, 1931 – September 12, 2021) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church, born in Charlotte, North Carolina.

[2] Spong was a contributor to the Living the Questions DVD program and was a guest on numerous national television broadcasts.

[7] Spong held visiting positions and gave lectures at major American theological institutions, most prominently at Harvard Divinity School.

[10] A recipient of many awards, Spong was a contributor to the Living the Questions DVD program and was a guest on numerous national television broadcasts (including The Today Show, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, Dateline, 60 Minutes, and Larry King Live).

[citation needed] Spong's views on the Bible, God, and Jesus Christ challenged traditional Christian beliefs.

[1] He rejected the historical truth claims of some Christian doctrines, such as the virgin birth[14] and the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

"[18][failed verification] Spong debated Christian philosopher and apologist William Lane Craig on the resurrection of Jesus on March 20, 2005.

[12] He believed in a nuanced approach to scripture, informed by scholarship and compassion, which he argued can be consistent with both Christian tradition and a contemporary understanding of the universe.

[12] He is representative of a stream of thought with roots in the medieval universalism of Peter Abelard and the existentialism of Paul Tillich, whom he called his favorite theologian.

[22] Spong's influence on the theological debate can be seen in the work of other theologians, such as Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, and Karen Armstrong, who also challenged traditional Christian beliefs and called for a more inclusive and progressive faith.

[23][page needed] New Testament Catholic scholar Raymond E. Brown was critical of Spong's scholarship, referring to his studies as "amateur night".

I hope I am not ungracious if in return I remark that I do not think that a single NT author would recognize Spong's Jesus as the figure being proclaimed or written about.

"[9] Spong's ideas have been criticized by some other theologians, notably in 1998 by Rowan Williams, the Bishop of Monmouth, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury.

[27] By contrast, Phillip Aspinall, the Primate of Australia, invited Spong in 2007 to deliver two sermons at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane.

But the irony was that as he was making his case, modernity was ending and postmodernity starting, and his rationalist perspective became passé.

"[28] Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, described Spong's teaching as constituting the historic definition of heresy.