Christianity's Challenge Joh

John Shelby Sprong is the Anglican (Episcopal) Bishop of Newark, New Jersey and a prolific writer whose books present an approach to Christianity that is unique and contemporary while remaining fully rooted in what could be characterized as the "Gospel of Love." In Why Christianity Must Change or Die, Sprong (ix) offers what he calls "a work of faith and conviction" from a person "who desires to worship as a citizen of the modern world and to be able to think as I worship." The thesis to be examined in this book review is that Sprong (xix) does "write out of my faith commitment as a Christian" in arguing that fundamentalism, whether Christian or not, is not in keeping with the message and meaning of Christ's life.

Sprong (198) argues throughout his text that "the theistic patterns of yesterday continue to decline and a non-theistic way of approaching the holy begins to beckon us to worship." What this means is that Sprong (118-119) believes in both the human and the divine nature of Jesus Christ and is calling upon Christians to abandon those biases, prejudices and stereotypes emerging from the Old Testament and to focus on the love that Christ called for among men. Religions that reject those who are different on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, or other attributes are seen by this Anglican bishop as religions that have failed to understand what Christ meant by His life and His sacrifice. Sprong (119) maintains

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at heaven "is not a place but a symbol standing for the limitlessness of Being itself" (220). Throughout his narrative, Sprong continues to reinforce his sense that Jesus Christ, the human and divine Son of God was a "God presence" (224). He calls for locating God in Jesus and in every person that one encounters. The God that is located in every person is the Holy Spirit in Sprong's (224) view. In addition, he states that "this spirit inevitability creates a community of faith that will come, in time, to open this world to God as the very Ground of its life and Being" (224). Central to Sprong's discussion is his sense that it is impossible to remain members of the Church while still functioning as a thinking person. Consequently, human beings to be true Christians must confront issues regarding the role of women in the Church and the unfair treatment of homosexuals and the perils of fundamentalism. There is a strong strain of Oriental mysticism running throughout his book û evident in terms such as "Divine Ground." Man must look for goodness in himself and in others and must move beyond bias and prejudice (both of which are rooted in Old Testament fundamentalism and ethnocentrism) to become more open in response to
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Approximate Word count = 1455
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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