Bishop John Shelby Spong, whose books have sold more than a million copies, will give a free public lecture in Portland as the 2005-2006 Kritikos Professor in the Humanities. His lecture, “Can 21st Century People Believe in God with Integrity?” will be held at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 25, in the Mayfair Ballroom of the Benson Hotel, 309 Southwest Broadway. A reception preceding the lecture will begin at 5 p.m. and is open to the public.

In this lecture Bishop Spong will explore these questions: “Who is God for us today? Is there a God experience that can be understood in a new way by postmodern people? How does this new God concept relate to the idea of God that is still present in traditional religious settings?”

John Shelby Spong was the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001. He is considered a champion of an inclusive faith by many both inside and outside the Christian church. In his latest book, The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible’s Texts of Hate to Discover the God of Love (Harper San Francisco, April 2005), the visionary thinker seeks to introduce people to a proper way to engage the holy book of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

A committed Christian who has spent a lifetime studying the Bible and whose life has been deeply shaped by it, Bishop Spong says he was not interested in Bible-bashing. “I am a believer who knows and loves the Bible deeply. But I also recognize that parts of it have been used to under gird prejudices and to mask violence.”

Established in 1993 with a generous gift from David B. Stern and Nancy Guitteau, the Kritikos Professorship brings to the university and to the state distinguished scholars, critics, and leaders in the humanities. This lectureship was created to foster the education of University of Oregon students and faculty, and to promote intelligent, critical, public discourse across Oregon.

For more information about Bishop Spong’s lecture, including disability accommodations, call the University of Oregon Humanities Center at
541-346-3934.