[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fzmN4XfB21E68LGYyyKcn8ygvMx8P6iMvuBUlLiJ9vzg":3,"$f4uc5Gs_EAx1-Z4fcg1__EMxy_dDEbU7vzgzGMfIGPn8":31},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},39194,"John Shelby Spong","J",277,null,"john-shelby-spong",[12,16,20,24,27],{"tag_id":13,"tag_name":14,"tag_count":15},56,"thinking",26,{"tag_id":17,"tag_name":18,"tag_count":19},254,"christian",8,{"tag_id":21,"tag_name":22,"tag_count":23},91,"jesus",6,{"tag_id":25,"tag_name":26,"tag_count":23},382,"children",{"tag_id":28,"tag_name":29,"tag_count":30},102,"religion",5,{"quotes":32,"pagination":95},[33,41,47,53,59,65,71,77,83,89],{"id":34,"quote_text":35,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":36,"author":37,"source":38,"quote_tag":39,"commentary":40},3158803,"Prayer is rather the activity that enables each of us to be givers to and receivers from one another of the deepest meaning of life – a meaning I call God.",false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nJohn Shelby Spong, a renowned Anglican bishop and theologian, penned this quote in his book \"Why Christianity Must Change or Die\" (1991). This work was a culmination of Spong's efforts to redefine Christianity in the face of modernity, science, and the changing social landscape. As he navigated the complexities of faith in a postmodern world, Spong sought to reclaim the essence of spirituality for a new generation.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe quote reveals a counter-intuitive truth about prayer: it's not about receiving answers from a distant authority, but about participating in a reciprocal exchange of meaning with others. This perspective flips the traditional notion of prayer on its head, suggesting that the act of praying is not a one-way conversation with God, but a dynamic, communal process.\n\n**How to Use This**\nIn today's fast-paced, interconnected world, we can apply Spong's insight by embracing a more collaborative approach to problem-solving and personal growth. By recognizing that our individual struggles and triumphs are intertwined with those of others, we can cultivate a sense of communal prayer, where we listen, learn from, and support one another in our pursuit of deeper meaning and purpose.",{"id":42,"quote_text":43,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":36,"author":44,"source":45,"quote_tag":46,"commentary":9},3158802,"To read the gospels properly, I now believe, requires a knowledge of Jewish culture, Jewish symbols, Jewish icons and the tradition of Jewish storytelling. It requires an understanding of what the Jews called “midrash.” Only those people who were completely unaware of these things could ever have come to think that the gospels were meant to be read literally.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":48,"quote_text":49,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":36,"author":50,"source":51,"quote_tag":52,"commentary":9},3158801,"There’s no way a human being can escape his or her human-ness to be able to imagine God. We can talk about how we’ve experienced God, not what or who God is.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":54,"quote_text":55,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":36,"author":56,"source":57,"quote_tag":58,"commentary":9},3158800,"God is. Because God is, I live, I love, I am. Does that mean that God exists? I do not know what that question means. I experience God; I cannot explain God. I trust my experience.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":60,"quote_text":61,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":36,"author":62,"source":63,"quote_tag":64,"commentary":9},3158799,"When any human group decides that they can define God, the outcome is always predictable. The “true faith,” once defined, must then be defended against all critics, and it must also then be forced upon all people – “for their own good, lest their souls be in jeopardy.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":66,"quote_text":67,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":36,"author":68,"source":69,"quote_tag":70,"commentary":9},3158798,"In Yom Kippur, the status of being unclean fades before the divine presence. Yet if one cannot distinguish between God and Satan, if one calls evil good, if one’s religion places limits on the love of God, if one claims that being God’s chosen means that all others are God’s rejected, then there can be no atonement, and Yom Kippur is a failure.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":72,"quote_text":73,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":36,"author":74,"source":75,"quote_tag":76,"commentary":9},3158797,"You learn that you either are going to have a police state where you don’t have any freedom left, or you’re going to build a world that doesn’t create terrorists – and that means a whole different way of ‘getting along.’",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":78,"quote_text":79,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":36,"author":80,"source":81,"quote_tag":82,"commentary":9},3158796,"I want the traditional family upheld, but I don’t want it upheld to the detriment of other people.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":84,"quote_text":85,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":36,"author":86,"source":87,"quote_tag":88,"commentary":9},3158795,"I don’t want a God that would go around killing people’s little girls. Neither do I want a God who would kill his own son.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":90,"quote_text":91,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":36,"author":92,"source":93,"quote_tag":94,"commentary":9},3158794,"I have become convinced that we must put an end to atonement theology or there will be no future for the Christian faith. This.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"currentPage":96,"totalPages":97,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":98},1,28,10]