Jesus for the Non-Religious
John Shelby Spong
Hardcover, $24.95
HarperSanFrancisco

JESUS for the Non-Religious represents the culmination of Bishop Spong’s lifelong scholarly pursuit of the man Jesus and his efforts to interpret his life and message for modern readers, whether believers or non-believers. Most of Spong’s twenty books address conventional Christian perspectives of Jesus’ life and religious ideas. In essence this book sums up Spong’s objections to traditional Christian beliefs and presents a different portrayal of Jesus. His depiction is one that emphasizes Jesus’ iconoclastic stance against the mainstream ideas of his day and how his followers attempted to explain the experience of Jesus to others.

Spong sets the stage by separating the human Jesus from the myths that have resulted in the dogmas and doctrines of traditional religion. He presents a fascinating and entirely new way of understanding Jesus’ birth, his parents and original disciples, the miracle stories, and finally the crucifixion and resurrection narratives. He eloquently explains the truth inside these myths and then takes us back to the original images of Jesus; i.e. the oral tradition preceding the gospel accounts, how Jesus was understood as the new Passover, the Jewish symbolism that was incorporated into the experience of Jesus, the images of the “Son of Man” and the suffering servant.

Only after discarding the old myths and revealing the original image of Jesus does Bishop Spong present us with a portrait of one who encountered God at depth and who broke tribal boundaries, sundered prejudices and stereotypes, and erased religious boundaries. This journey culminates in a new appreciation of the meaning of Jesus’ death and the symbolism of the cross, which Spong calls “a human portrait of the love of God.” It is an exciting trip and Bishop Spong’s eloquence and forceful literary style inspire us to a new understanding of this man for the ages.

www.Greenworld.org
I THINK that I shall never see/A poem lovely as a tree.” Most of us recall these beginning lines to Joyce Kilmer’s sentimental poem, “Trees.” Since that poem was written—nearly a century ago— rapidly worsening climates are forcing us to look upon trees in a more sober and conservationist way—enter www.Green world.org. This well-constructed and informative website tells us what some dedicated and experienced individuals are doing to reduce that trend and make our world greener.

On a daily basis deforestation claims one hundred thousand acres of woodlands and the effects can be devastating: The soil is eroded, wells and streams dry up, and people and wildlife are displaced. Trees provide many vital functions; one of their most important is to absorb carbon dioxide, the primary contributor to global warming.

Green World works in conjunction with Trees for the Future (TFTF), founded some thirty years ago by a former Peace Corps worker. They have worked with villagers in fifty-eight countries to plant 50 million new trees each year. Not only is this changing the complexion of the land, but these newly planted trees pull about 115 million tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere each year!

If you’re concerned about the environment, Green World would encourage you to contact your local government offices about planting a symbolic tree in a public place. Recently a large social club in Los Angeles funded a dance party where the proceeds they raised were used to plant thirty thousand trees in Ethiopia.

Donations can be made directly through www.greenworld. org ($50 buys 500 trees). The present goal, in conjunction with TFTF, is to plant half a billion trees a year, provided donations are available. Personally, I can’t think of a better investment.

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