Wednesday, 31 October 2007 @ 20:00pm

Mixael presents

BravoBrava Personality of the Week, with controversial US Bishop Shelby Spong, who was the important cleric, publicly to question the literal interpretation of Biblical passages and, to point out how damaging these have been to gay and lesbian people over two millenia.

Spong, 75, whose books have sold more than a million copies, was the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001. A longtime champion of progressive Christianity, Spong is a visionary voice in the religious community, calling people to step beyond boundaries of tribe, prejudice, gender and even religion to create a new humanity. His latest book, Jesus for the Non-Religious (Harper San Francisco, March 2007), expands his vision for a radically reformed Christianity, peeling away dogma to reveal the essence of Jesus. It is a new, deeper and more powerful exploration of the Jewish Jesus, about which he first wrote in his classic This Hebrew Lord.
A visiting lecturer at Harvard and at universities and churches worldwide, Bishop Spong delivers more than 200 public lectures each year to standing-room only crowds. His bestselling books include The Sins of Scripture, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, A New Christianity for a New World, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, and his autobiography, Here I Stand. That book has been turned into a play entitled A Pebble in My Shoe, written by Los Angeles playwright Collin Cox and is now touring the country. His weekly column, distributed online by Waterfront Media, is read by thousands.
His extensive media experience includes a profile segment on “60 Minutes” and other appearances on “Good Morning America,” “Fox News Live,” “Politically Incorrect,” “Larry King Live,” and “The O’Reilly Factor.”
Bishop Spong and his wife, Christine Mary Spong, have five children and six grandchildren. They live in New Jersey.

In the discussion group afterwards, there were will be a panel discussion of gay and lesbian spirituality. If the listener would like to join in these discussions, the lines will be open from about 22:00 onwards. Our stsduion number is 089 110 2003, our email address is mixaeld@gmail.com, our cell number is 071 226 8063 and, you may write to us at PO Box 85414, Emmarentia, 2029, Johannesburg, South Africa.