Here I Stand: My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity, Love, and Equality

...from a deeply committed, brilliant and passionate man. Reading this book made me aware of just how much has changed in the world, in the church, and for so many groups of people just in Bishop Spong's lifetime. It has also made me aware of how far we have to go!I know many find him disturbing, "out there", a heretic, one who seeks the limelight for its own sake. The Bishop Spong who emerges in these pages, however, is one deeply, passionately, and irrevocably dedicated, to inclusiveness, justice, fairness, and the gift of love in Christ. His willingness to provide a voice for the disenfranchised, to put his career and life on the line, time and again; and to use his considerable intellectual, spiritual and leadership gifts toward these ends is nothing short of heroic. The saga of the 1998 Lambeth Conference was heartbreaking: what sadness for Bishop Spong to have to end his active career on such a note. History will be the judge, however. His bravery, commitment and dedication to unpopular and difficult causes will be long remembered. An excellent, surprisingly personal, autobiography.

"At the expense of truth and scholarship..." writes Mr. Marshall. I'll admit it: when I first heard of Bishop Spong, I wrote him off as a touchy-feely, "everything goes" theologian who was completely wrong. I tried very hard to feel as Mr. Marshall does when reading the first few pages of this book. But as I walked with the Bishop along the road that he did, I found myself sympathizing with him, rejoicing with him, and even (gasp) agreeing with him. Bishop Spong is often portrayed as harmful, imposing, and harsh. This book allowed me to see his humanness and his deep Anglican spirituality. As a 20-year-old Episcopalian who is currently going through the process for the priesthood, I have come to respect Bishop Spong as a human, as a dedicated and caring priest, and as an example of Christ's love. Maybe Spong teaches the very "truth and scholarship" that some of us need to embrace.Thank you Bishop Spong--for opening my eyes and my mind.

I got this book originally because of my husband's interest in Spong's theological viewpoint--to present to him as a gift. The fact that a rabid fundamentalist also reviewed this book so scathingly also compelled me to buy it. The book itself is a study of an extraordinary life lived in the service of the pursuit of good. His dicussion of his life is smooth and gentle--never too despairing or too pious. I see this book as more of a biography than a study of theology. While his theology is fascinating and something to be admired, there are numerous other books by Spong that go into far more detail about his theology. (a theology that makes fundamentalists so defensive that they cling to their faith like barnacles on a ship)All in all, this is an excellent autobiography of an excellent life--a life in love with a God that is all loving for all His children.

In HERE I STAND, Jack Spong shares with his readers the development in his theology as he lives into his Christian faith as one who thinks and is open to the experiences of the world in which he lives. I have read all of Jack Spong's books and it was enlightening to experience the what,how and why as each book and its reason for being unfolded. From his rearing in the conservative South to a leader of a broader more liberal Christian understanding, the reader becomes a fellow traveler with Jack Spong as he finds himself on the cutting edge of theology as it is lived out in the post modern world. Jack Spong was and is unafraid to question his faith and its very foundational concepts and in doing so has opened the gospel (good news) to thousands, if not millions, of those in exile who seek a spiritual relationship with the God of all. HERE I STAND gives the reader the opportunity to share this journey toward truth and freedom.

Last year I read John Shelby Spong's book, "Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers in Exile" and was moved. I had thought that about the most I could expect from the Anglican tradition was a good cup of coffee after the service and yet here was an Episcopal bishop whose book fed me intellectually and, rarest of all, spiritually. In December I learned that his autobiography was to be published and bought it as soon as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed "Here I Stand: My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity, Love and Equality". The book moves along at a fast pace, blending the facts of his life with the stories that give them meaning. And the stories are fascinating. We read of the experiences that shaped him as a child, as a youth, as a young man. The racial conflicts he sought to ease in his early years as a priest. His stimulating approaches to preaching and education. His acceptance of gay and lesbian people and his support of them even at personal cost. And throughout the book, insightful looks into the workings of the Episcopal Church in America and the worldwide Anglican Communion. I like the way he looks at himself, indeed it is his frank portrayal of his own weaknesses and mistakes that makes his descriptions of the weaknesses and mistakes of others believable. Spong closes his book by saying, in part, "But above all else, I was throughout my life and am still today deeply convinced of the reality of God. Indeed, I am more deeply convinced of this reality at this moment than I have ever been before. I walk inside the wonder of this God in every experience of life. I have become more of a mystic than I ever thought possible for a rationalist like me. I still meet this God in the life of the one I call Lord and Christ, who is supremely important to my spiritual journey".A wonderful man, a great book.