Every institution places its ultimate weight on preserving its own life. That is why the Church emphasizes loving God over loving one’s neighbor…. The push for justice on the other hand might be at the center of the Gospel but it also attacks the balance of power in the society. Since the rich always exploit the poor, to give the poor power, dignity and humanity makes them less pliable, less cooperative.
—John Shelby Spong
Topics: Justice, Christianity
The great biblical tradition says that loving God and loving one’s neighbor are not two separate actions but two sides of the same action. It was the prophet Amos who bore witness to the fact that divine worship is nothing but human justice being offered to God and human justice is nothing but divine worship being lived out.
—John Shelby Spong
Topics: Justice
I … look at Jesus and see a humanity open to all that God is—open to life, open to love and open to being.
—John Shelby Spong
Topics: Christianity
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
- Emanuel Swedenborg Swedish Mystic, Theologian, Scientist
- Soren Kierkegaard Danish Philosopher, Theologian
- John Rawls American Philosopher
- Christopher Hitchens Anglo-American Social Critic
- Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach German Philosopher
- Auguste Comte French Philosopher
- Masanobu Fukuoka Japanese Buddhist Polymath
- Pierre Bayle French Philosopher
- Friedrich Schleiermacher German Theologian
- Mikhail Bakunin Russian Anarchist
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