Institutional Christianity seems fearful of inquiry, fearful of freedom, fearful of knowledge – indeed, fearful of anything except its own repetitious propaganda, which has its origins in a world that none of us any longer inhabits.  The church historically has been willing to criticize, marginalize, or even expel its most creative thinkers.  The list would stretch fom Origen through Erasmus to Hans Kung.  This institution seems far more eager to expend its energy defending its limited truth than to see its holy words for what they are – mere pointers toward the reality that limited words always distort and can never finally capture.  This simple conclusion becomes inescapable as soon as the creeds themselves begin to spell out their affirmations and our questions shout to be heard.

John Shelby Spong

“Why Christianity Must Change or Die”

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