"[T]he discovery of an empty tomb would never have issued in an Easter faith. If there had been a tomb, and if that tomb had been found empty, it would have meant only that one more insult had been delivered to the leader of the tiny Jesus movement. The disciples, whoever they were, would have concluded that not even the dead body of this Jesus had been spared degradation. No Easter faith would have resulted from an empty tomb. Therefore such a tradition could not have been primary. It was but a story incorporated later into the narrative."
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Episcopalians from the United StatesNon-fiction authors from the United StatesFeministsNaturalists from the United StatesEpiscopalian Bishops
Original Language: English
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p. 228 – as quoted by Keith M. Parsons in "Why I Am Not a Christian" (Freethought Press, 2000)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong
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John Shelby Spong
John Shelby "Jack" Spong (June 16, 1931 – September 12, 2021) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church. From 1979 to 2000 he was Bishop of Newark (based in Newark, New Jersey). He was a liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator and author. He called for a fundamental rethinking of Christian belief away from theism and traditional doctrines.
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