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You must be speaking of a different Spong...! On 8/14/10 2:10 PM, Shane Mage wrote: > On Aug 14, 2010, at 1:14 PM, C. G. Estabrook wrote: > > > >> Rowan Williams - an Anglican bishop, poet, and theologian (and > >> the current Archbishop of Canterbury) does not regard the story > >> of crucifixion "as an edifying fable" (and surely not that it > >> "must be recaptured from the mass of Pauline falsification"). > >> > >> John Shelby Spong once accused Williams of being a "neo- > >> medievalist," preaching orthodoxy to the people in the pew but > >> knowing in private that it is not true ... Williams responded: "I > >> am genuinely a lot more conservative than he would like me to > >> be. Take the Resurrection. I think he has said that of course I > >> know what all the reputable scholars think on the subject and > >> therefore when I talk about the risen body I must mean something > >> other than the empty tomb. But I don't. I don't know how to > >> persuade him, but I really don't." > > > > Whatever Williams's innermost secret thoughts might be, Pullman > > certainly treats the Gospel narrative as an edifying fable and > > Williams fully accepts that as the basis for his criticism when he > > likewise treats questions of historical fact as irrelevant. If > > the narrative is not based on historical fact, what can it be if > > not edifying fable? That Williams is (by virtue of his job) > > compelled to assert belief in "the Resurrection" is no surprise (do > > bears shit in the woods?). But if he had any remotely rational > > grounds for belief that the "Resurrection" story is historically > > accurate he would have found it easy to persuade Spong that he, > > rightly or wrongly, actually believed it. ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
