Next Sunday's Class, 1 June 2014 "Heart of Christianity" Class at San Diego First United Methodist Church

Next Sunday's Class, 1 June 2014 "Heart of Christianity" Class at San Diego First United Methodist Church
Hi to All:
This next Sunday, June 1, we'll finish Spong's book: The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic.  We'll discuss the last chapter (32), the Epilogue.  Here are some issues and questions to ponder for our discussion.
1. P. 305.  As a prelude to our discussion, go back to the ending of the preceding chapter (31) and read the last paragraph and couple it with the penultimate line on p. 307.
2. P. 308, last parag. and continuing on to pages 309, 310 and first half of 311.  In you opinion, does Spong do a good job of explaining John, Chap. 21 (the Epilogue) and its disconnect from John, Chapters 1-20?  Explain.
3. P. 309, end of 2nd parag and p. 311, 1st line of 2nd half of page and continuing until the end of the top half of 312.  Spong writes about a harmonizing motif included in the Epilogue.  Do you agree with Spong that the harmonizing motif just does not materialize?  Explain.
4. P. 312, last parag and continuing to p. 313, 1st half.  Do you agree with Spong that the Epilogue had to have been written sometime before John finished his gospel and then put it at the end as Chap. 21?  Explain.
5. P. 313, first full parag and continuing on until the end of the 1st full parag on p. 314.  Do you agree with Spong that the experience of Easter and the explanation of Easter are two drastically different phenomena and should be appreciated as such?  Explain.
6. Pp. 314-315.  Do Spong's answers to his four questions satisfy you?  Explain.
7. P. 315, four lines up from bottom parag.  Spong starts his summary of his explanation of resurrection with the words: "So resurrection, I conclude..."  Please read it again to see if you gain any more insight into the concept of resurrection.
8. P. 315, bottom parag and continuing on to the next page (See particularly lines 7-13, p. 316).  Is Spong's explanation of what the resurrection means in sync with yours?  Explain.
9. P. 316, middle parag.  Here Spong writes: "Jesus is the one who achieved the mystical oneness with the God who is the source of life, the source of love and the Ground of Being."  As we complete this book, what would you say about Spong's analysis of John's gospel?  Is John (or whoever wrote this text) as mystical as we are lead to believe?  Your thoughts?
10. As I was finishing these questions today (Wed., May 28), my computer signaled to me that the Church's eNEWS was delivered to my email account.  I opened it and read Rev. Craig's message of "Relocation" and Pentecost.  My mind started to mull over his message, and I connected it to the resurrection.   If you still have that message on your computer, can you make the same connection?  Why?
11. Finally, look back on the Table of Contents at the beginning of his book, pick out a favorite chapter, and tell the class why it's your favorite.  Maybe you can't decide on just one chapter, but maybe you can pick a favorite section of chapters.  We'll discuss why Spong is so compelling or why not!
As always, I look forward to our discussion next Sunday.  I anticipate that it will be a robust and enlightening discussion.  Until then, best wishes and hasta domingo.  Ben
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