--- product_id: 198603587 title: "Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers In Exile" price: "24.75 DT" currency: TND in_stock: false reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/198603587-why-christianity-must-change-or-die-a-bishop-speaks-to store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers In Exile **Price:** 24.75 DT **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers In Exile - **How much does it cost?** 24.75 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/198603587-why-christianity-must-change-or-die-a-bishop-speaks-to) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description An important and respected voice for liberal American Christianity for the past twenty years, Bishop John Shelby Spong integrates his often controversial stands on the Bible, Jesus, theism, and morality into an intelligible creed that speaks to today's thinking Christian. In this compelling and heartfelt book, he sounds a rousing call for a Christianity based on critical thought rather than blind faith, on love rather than judgment, and that focuses on life more than religion. Review: A Godsend for Christians in Exile - To paraphrase Tony Curtis’ character in “Some Like it Hot,” John Shelby Spong is a genius—his opinions exactly coincide with mine. For years, decades in fact, I have been a "Christian in exile," but didn’t know it until reading "Why Christianity Must Change or Die." This book is a godsend (possibly literally) for people who have grown up in the Christian tradition and desperately believe in the holiness of the spirit and person of Jesus, but have found it impossible to reconcile contemporary rationality with a confusing and myth-filled explanation of thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of a group of believers of two-thousand years ago. Bishop Spong lays out the difficulties with the Christian religion in the modern era, the sources of conflict and confusion, and suggests ways in which we believers can reconcile ourselves with the original intention of Jesus and still call ourselves Christians. Finally, we can know we are still following the faith even though we recognize mythology and allegory in the foundational writing and traditions of the faith. So far, I have only read one other book by Bishop Spong, "Liberating the Gospels: Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes; Freeing Jesus from 2,000 years of Misunderstanding," and I highly recommend it also to help the “Christian in exile” understand the beliefs and traditions of the authors of the Bible. Only by understanding the society and worldview of the authors can one understand the intention behind their words. Both books are written with the knowledge of a scholar and the craftsmanship of an artist of the English language. They are compelling, to the point, and beautifully written. Ideas are presented clearly, logically, and explained in a way that flows naturally and organically from one to the next. If you’re a fundamentalist, one who needs to understand the Bible literally, you will not find comfort in Bishop Spong’s ideas. But anyone else, whether “Christian in exile,” Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or any other faith, even atheist, will find these two books compelling and eye opening. Review: It Will Make You Think - The most remarkable thing about this book is that an Episcopalian Bishop wrote it. Neither the ideas nor the (constructive) criticism are radical by today’s standard, only that the author was an Episcopalian bishop when he wrote it. I don’t mean to be dismissive of Spong’s effort, when it was initially published I think it was constructive and controversial, but now it’s old news. Nevertheless, I think it's worth reading because it will make you think. Since Spong published this book the decline in membership of the mainline protestant churches and the Catholic church has continued and even accelerated. The early Christian mantra was “the end is near”; well maybe it is but it’s not the end they had in mind. At some point the decline in membership translates to reduced giving, and when that intersects with “fixed costs” for facilities and clergy the whole thing starts collapsing. Regrettably, I don’t see Spong’s ideas for the way ahead, or how to resolve the crisis, as useful or particularly Christian. I know little about Buddism, but his ideas seem Buddistic to me. Unfortunately Google informs me that Buddist membership is declining in much the same way as Christian membership, so if a Buddistic approach to religion is the solution someone should tell the Buddists. This whole issue deserves a lot of clear thinking and frank discussion. Plainly there are major intellectual issues that need to be resolved. Spong has made a down payment in that regard. I think this book will stimulate your thinking and you may find yourself involved with the discussion as a result of reading it. And if you like Spong's book(s) you might also like to read Marcus Borg or Paul Tillich. I found Borg, in particular, to be very accessible - but still no plain and clear answers. The desertcart transaction was excellent. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #613,369 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #150 in Christian Literature & Art (Kindle Store) #340 in Christian New Testament Criticism #590 in Apologetics Christian Theology | ## Images ![Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers In Exile - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51iaHtK8i6L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Godsend for Christians in Exile *by D***D on September 4, 2016* To paraphrase Tony Curtis’ character in “Some Like it Hot,” John Shelby Spong is a genius—his opinions exactly coincide with mine. For years, decades in fact, I have been a "Christian in exile," but didn’t know it until reading "Why Christianity Must Change or Die." This book is a godsend (possibly literally) for people who have grown up in the Christian tradition and desperately believe in the holiness of the spirit and person of Jesus, but have found it impossible to reconcile contemporary rationality with a confusing and myth-filled explanation of thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of a group of believers of two-thousand years ago. Bishop Spong lays out the difficulties with the Christian religion in the modern era, the sources of conflict and confusion, and suggests ways in which we believers can reconcile ourselves with the original intention of Jesus and still call ourselves Christians. Finally, we can know we are still following the faith even though we recognize mythology and allegory in the foundational writing and traditions of the faith. So far, I have only read one other book by Bishop Spong, "Liberating the Gospels: Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes; Freeing Jesus from 2,000 years of Misunderstanding," and I highly recommend it also to help the “Christian in exile” understand the beliefs and traditions of the authors of the Bible. Only by understanding the society and worldview of the authors can one understand the intention behind their words. Both books are written with the knowledge of a scholar and the craftsmanship of an artist of the English language. They are compelling, to the point, and beautifully written. Ideas are presented clearly, logically, and explained in a way that flows naturally and organically from one to the next. If you’re a fundamentalist, one who needs to understand the Bible literally, you will not find comfort in Bishop Spong’s ideas. But anyone else, whether “Christian in exile,” Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or any other faith, even atheist, will find these two books compelling and eye opening. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It Will Make You Think *by D***S on July 27, 2015* The most remarkable thing about this book is that an Episcopalian Bishop wrote it. Neither the ideas nor the (constructive) criticism are radical by today’s standard, only that the author was an Episcopalian bishop when he wrote it. I don’t mean to be dismissive of Spong’s effort, when it was initially published I think it was constructive and controversial, but now it’s old news. Nevertheless, I think it's worth reading because it will make you think. Since Spong published this book the decline in membership of the mainline protestant churches and the Catholic church has continued and even accelerated. The early Christian mantra was “the end is near”; well maybe it is but it’s not the end they had in mind. At some point the decline in membership translates to reduced giving, and when that intersects with “fixed costs” for facilities and clergy the whole thing starts collapsing. Regrettably, I don’t see Spong’s ideas for the way ahead, or how to resolve the crisis, as useful or particularly Christian. I know little about Buddism, but his ideas seem Buddistic to me. Unfortunately Google informs me that Buddist membership is declining in much the same way as Christian membership, so if a Buddistic approach to religion is the solution someone should tell the Buddists. This whole issue deserves a lot of clear thinking and frank discussion. Plainly there are major intellectual issues that need to be resolved. Spong has made a down payment in that regard. I think this book will stimulate your thinking and you may find yourself involved with the discussion as a result of reading it. And if you like Spong's book(s) you might also like to read Marcus Borg or Paul Tillich. I found Borg, in particular, to be very accessible - but still no plain and clear answers. The Amazon transaction was excellent. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ponderous Beginning, Beautiful Ending *by K***T on February 11, 2012* The Preface gives a good overview of Spong's books up to 2000 and addresses his controversial reputation. The first chapter is spent debunking the Apostles Creed that is not emphasized much in mainstream Protestant churches. Chapter length decreases from 21 or 20 pages to an average of 15.5 pages for the interior chapters and they get increasingly more interesting and useful, following the intellectual, Western, reductionistic research model. A viable and beautiful alternative is given for the external, rescuing, literal, intervening God, calling heavily upon Paul Tillich's Ground of All Being. The logic and scriptural support for showing how Christian traditions were made more and more literal, concrete, external, narrative and supernatural the later the Gospels were written down and placed earlier in the life of Jesus, from Paul's first writings proclaiming Christ and then attempting to explain the proclamation in the words and concepts of the time, is impeccable. Spong shows how prayer, the church architecture, worship and concepts about God and the church have changed, are changing and will probably change in the future. Anyone trained in science has given up the three tiered universe, and the liturgies and concepts based upon it must and will change, according to Spong. Other topics that he addresses, but that did not interest me as much as the above or were seemingly not as well argued were exile, atheism, Jesus as rescuer, Jesus as a spirit person, divinity, and ethics. His last chapter on eternal life gave me the best hope and enthusiasm to keep on learning and trying to live abundantly that I have ever had. Well done! As a life long Episcopalian and powerful and influential Bishop, he cannot quite get away from dwelling extensively on the Eucharist (Mass), and admits that he still sings the hymns, says the creeds and repeats the words that he finds archaic and non-sensical, even from the revised Book of Common Prayer. You train up a child in the way you want it to go and it cannot easily break the mold. The Epilogue is the best piece of contemporary religious writing that I have ever read. Spong sees the church clinging to outmoded thought even to its death, but is hopeful that it will reemerge, "not to convert the world, but to call all who are also part of the creation into the fullness of life." Richard Buckner, Ph.D. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/198603587-why-christianity-must-change-or-die-a-bishop-speaks-to](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/198603587-why-christianity-must-change-or-die-a-bishop-speaks-to) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-05-30*