Eternal Life: A New Vision

Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell

John Shelby Spong

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN:
  9781554689286
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christianity

Drawing on a lifetime of wisdom, New York Times bestselling author and controversial religious leader John Shelby Spong continues to challenge traditional Christian theology in Eternal Life: A New Vision. In this remarkable spiritual autobiography about his lifelong struggle with the questions of God and death, he reveals how he ultimately came to believe in eternal life.

INDEX

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Above Us Only Sky (Cupitt), 151

accidental lives

biological science on, 21

insights into our, 23–27

macro side of, 21–22

micro side of, 22–23

See also human life

Adam and Eve story, 37, 56, 111

See also original sin doctrine

Adams, Maynard, 195

Adler, Mortimer, 198

afterlife. See life after death concept

aging

cosmetic industry manifesting fear of, 78–79

physical effects of, 218–20

presented as source of death, 42

as source of anxiety, 77–80, 116

See also human life cycle

Allah, 85

alpha point, 20

Altizer, Thomas J. J., 139

America (Catholic weekly), 5

American Association of Retired People (AARP), 217

American Civil Liberties Union, 120

Amos, 95

Andromeda galaxy, 124

animals

animating spirit of, 88

laws of nature and, 74–75

myth of stewardship over, 74, 130

response to death by, 75

Victorian mentality distancing humans from, 130–31

See also living organisms

animism, 88–89, 90, 192

anthropomorphism, 29, 160

anti-Nazi resistance movement, 140

anxiety

aging as source of, 77–80, 116

as childhood response to death, 42–43

religion as human creation to cope with, 84–96

religious manipulation to receive divine favor to overcome, 99–104, 106

self-consciousness leading to, 36–37, 70–71, 95

soliciting divine favor to come to our aid, 99, 104–6

See also coping devices

Aristotle, 111

Arius, 110

Armstrong, Karen, 84

ascension, 182

Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 97

Australia

mangrove trees of, 68–69

Uluru (aboriginal holy ground) of, 67–68

“the authority of the church”

as alternative to biblical fundamentalism, 2–3

as inadequate authority, 3

authority figures

human tactic of flattery given to, 100–102

self-denigration as part of recognizing, 100, 102–3

Ayers Rock (Australia), 67

Ayers, Sir Henry, 67

Bach, Richard, 201

Baruch, Bernard, 73

Benny, Jack, 76

Bhagavad Gita, 11

Bible

Adam and Eve story in the, 37, 56

childhood introduction to the, 56–58

claims for inerrancy of the, 85

death penalty standards of the, 222

genuine study and questioning of, 192, 196–97

Jesus Seminar inquiries into the, 198

questioning literal interpretation of the, 56–58

See also Hebrew scriptures; New Testament; Old Testament; scriptures

Bible Belt, 189–90

biblical fundamentalism

“the authority of the church” alternative to, 2–3

declining influence of, 132

defense of old religious paradigm by, 140–41

evangelical security system of, 2, 84

rejecting scientific understanding, 132–33

biological clock, 24

birthday celebrations, 76–78

birth process, 24–26

Blanda, George, 218

“Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine” (hymn), 2

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, 140

Book of Common Prayer, 62

Book of the Dead (Tibetan Buddhism), 11

born-again theology, 160–61

A Brief History of Time (Hawking), 195

Bronfman, Edgar, 204

Brown, Raymond, 198

Bruno, Giordano, 193

Bryan, William Jennings, 129

Buber, Martin, 154

Buddha (Siddartha Gautama), 39, 86

Bultmann, Rudolf, 140

Bunyan, John, 140

Calvin, John, 13

Carlin, George, 76, 77, 78

Catholic League, 5

Charlotte Observer, 58

childhood death-related events

conversations about death, 42–43, 46–49

death of dog Pupa, 45–47

death of father, 47–51, 55–56

early memories of death, 39–52

prayer, sleep, and death association, 43–44

programmed for early death through, 51–52

choice to die

debate over physician-assisted death and, 221–27

existential examination of, 223–27

medical science providing, 220–22

modern and new opportunities related to, 217

See also death; human life cycle

Chopra, Deepak, 172, 173

chosen people concept, 94–95

Christ-experience, 182–84, 201–2, 208–9

Christianity

born-again theology of, 160–61

fulfillment images of heaven in, 115–18

hell punishment and heaven reward ideas of, 9–10, 50–51, 110, 112–13, 159

life after death hope within, 107–8

“new being” and evolving, 200, 204

standards establishing for etern...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• PREFACE
• ONE SETTING THE STAGE—A NECESSARY PERSONAL WORD
• TWO LIFE IS ACCIDENTAL
• THREE ALL LIFE IS DEEPLY LINKED
• FOUR DANCING WITH DEATH: THE DISCOVERY OF MORTALITY
• FIVE THE LURE OF RELIGION
• SIX LIFE’S DOMINANT DRIVE: SURVIVAL
• SEVEN RELIGION’S ROLE IN THE FEAR OF DEATH
• EIGHT THE FACES OF RELIGION
• NINE THE TOOLS OF RELIGIOUS MANIPULATION
• TEN RIDDING RELIGION OF BOTH HEAVEN AND HELL
• ELEVEN PUTTING AWAY CHILDISH THINGS: THE DEATH OF RELIGION
• TWELVE THE SHIFT OF THE RELIGIOUS PARADIGM
• THIRTEEN WHO AM I? WHAT IS GOD?
• FOURTEEN THE APPROACH OF THE MYSTICS
• FIFTEEN RESURRECTION: A SYMBOL AND A REALITY
• SIXTEEN HIDING—THINKING—BEING
• SEVENTEEN I BELIEVE IN LIFE BEYOND DEATH
• EPILOGUE
• NOTES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX
• Books by John Shelby Spong
• Copyright
• About the Publisher