By Jim Brown and Jody Brown
August 15, 2002
(AgapePress) - A conservative Protestant leader says Christians should be upset, but not unduly concerned with yet another United Methodist bishop's rejection of biblical authority.
In January, Methodist Bishop Joseph Sprague of Chicago delivered a speech at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, entitled "A Fully Human Jesus." In that speech, he questioned the orthodoxy of such things as Christ's virgin birth, physical resurrection, and plan of salvation.
For example, Sprague stated that "the myth of the virgin birth was not intended as historical fact but was employed by Matthew and Luke in different ways to appoint poetically the truth about Jesus as experienced in the emerging church." He added that to treat that "myth" as historical fact runs the risk of idolatry.
Sprague also stated that while he believes God's eternal plan for salvation through Jesus Christ is "unique and normative," it is not the only way to salvation.
Read the full transcript of Sprague's speech at Iliff
 Mark Tooley |
"He in essence has rejected ... most of the core beliefs about who Jesus Christ is within our faith," Tooley says, "specifically, Jesus' virgin birth, His physical resurrection from the dead, the atoning death on the cross for the sins of humanity, and His eternal deity and quality with God the Father."
According to Tooley, Sprague likely received a warm reception at Iliff. He says the school -- "one of Methodism's most liberal seminaries" -- does not value biblical authority. "And I suspect that it would be fair to say that most of their faculty probably would be in agreement with Bishop Sprague's rejection of Christian orthodoxy," he says.
Tooley says the United Methodist Church ought to be examining how in the future the denomination can elect orthodox bishops who will not only be church administrators, but above all, defenders of the faith.
© 2002 AgapePress all rights reserved.
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