This reflection is the second in a series of responses to John Shelby Spong’s book ‘Why Christianity Must Change or Die.’ I have read the book on several occasions and, together with other books by Spong and other more liberal Christian theologians, it was responsible for shifting me away from hard line evangelicalism towards my current self- identification as thinking evangelical. This does not mean that I agree with Spong about everything.
Chapter 4 of Why Christianity Must Change or Die is entitled ‘Discovering Anew the Jesus of the New Testament’. In this chapter John Shelby Spong speculates on how Jesus became the Son of God. I use the word speculates very deliberately because Spong takes what is speculation on his part and treats is as solid fact. In fact an absence of solid fact characterises this chapter of Spong’s book.
To start with, Spong is very cavalier in his statements about the dating of the gospels. He treats as established fact the notion that they were written between 40 and 70 years after the death of Jesus. This is far from established fact! The suggested dates for the writing of the different gospels vary widely and it is possible that Mark’s gospel was written as early as 63AD, about 30 years after Jesus death. John’s gospel is thought to be the last to be written and most agree a date of 85AD, within about 50 years of Jesus’ death and one or two scholars have even suggested a much earlier date of around 50AD (within about 15 years of Jesus’ death) and certainly no later than 70AD (within about 35 years of Jesus’ death) so Spong’s confident assertion that the gospels were written 40 to 70 years after Jesus’ death is at best questionable. This is an important point because he bases much of his argument on the dating of the gospels; postulating a developing early Christology that doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny.
Spong begins his analysis of Jesus identity by trying to cast doubt on the Gospel records of his life. He implies, without actually coming out and saying so, that he believes the Gospels do not stem from eyewitness accounts but were the products of communities of faith; he won’t even allow single authorship of each gospel. Many Biblical scholars do recognise eyewitness evidence in both Marks’ and John’s gospels and so Spong is dismissing a section of scholarly opinion, presumably because it does not fit in with what he wants to say. He also states his own opinion as if it is commonly accepted fact, which it is not.
The main message of this chapter of Spong’s work is that Jesus was not seen as being co-equal with God by the very early Christians and that the development of Jesus as being identified as fully human and fully divine happened over a period of about 70 years; a period of time that might not exist if Spong’s opinion of the dates of the Gospels is wrong.
Spong identifies in Paul’s epistles a developing Christology. He quotes from Romans 1:4; ‘God had designated Jesus Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.’(I think, ESB Bible) Spong suggests that by this Paul means that Jesus only became the Son of God when he was raised from the dead. The NIV has ‘declared with power to be the Son of God.’ The English-Greek interlinear New Testament also translates the word as ‘declared’ ;as does the King James Version. Good News Bible uses the word ‘shown’ as does the New Living Translation. Now the word designated could imply that Paul did not think Jesus became God’s Son until the resurrection, but declared and shown imply that the resurrection was a recognition of that which was already the case. Spong’s argument that ‘Presumably Jesus was not thought of as God’s son prior to that moment’ is based on one word that can be legitimately translated and interpreted in more than one way.
Spong then traces what he sees as a development of Jesus becoming Christ earlier and earlier, at his baptism by John in Mark’s gospel, at his conception in Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels and as always having pre-existed as the word of God in John’s gospel. It is possible to see such a pattern, but it depends on late dates for the gospels, with John having been written 70 years after Jesus’ death, something that is far from established fact. It is also possible to interpret this progression in another equally plausible way: that what is reflected is a growing understanding of the truth of who Jesus actually was and is rather than a developing concept with no basis in truth.
Spong has also failed to mention a very early piece of Christian writing that does indeed identify Jesus with God and that may predate all of Paul’s epistles. Most scholars think that in his letter to the Philippians, dated around AD62, Paul is quoting in chapter two a very early Christian hymn. The style is different from Paul’s writing and it is obvious he is quoting to make an appeal to the Philippians. Some scholars have suggested the hymn bears signs of having been composed in Aramaic, making it very early indeed. If Spong wants to argue that the very earliest Christians did not see Jesus as God he has to explain away Philippians 2:5-11.
I’ll finish by quoting this hymn in full from the New International Version, a hymn that makes it clear who Jesus was and still is.
Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very form of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,
in heaven and earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very form of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,
in heaven and earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
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