Title: Eternal Life: A New Vision
Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell
Author: John Shelby Spong
Publisher: ...
Copyright: 2009
Review Score: 3.00 
Summary:
Eternal Life: A New Vision explores the concept of death. Author John Shelby Spong is the former Episcopalian bishop in Newark, NJ. The combination of his background as professional clergyman and being 79 years old inspired Spong to more fully understand death and to prepare for the death experience that is coming to us all. While Spong makes a point of positioning Eternal Life as his "spiritual autobiography," his sharing of life experience is not all that revealing or intimate. For example, we do not fully understand how Spong morphed from a passionate Christian fundamentalist to a chief knocker of organized religion. Spong tends to leave the juicy, messy details out of his story and summarizes the impact his important personal relationships into neat and tidy conclusions. This robs the story of human interest and leads to a sometimes bland, whitewashed reading experience.
Message of Love:
Death is transcended by love
Score: 3.00
For me, the best and most useful part of Eternal Life began with chapter 14, "The Approach of Mystics." This is the point where Spong begins to talk about the solution to the problem, which is the enhancement of life and transcendence of death through love. We are reminded that the task of faith is not to convert or to believe the unbelievable. Rather, our work is the transformation of Self into living, loving and being. "...We are increasingly aware that we are part of what God is and we are at one with all that God is." Ultimately Spong sees Jesus as role model of a human who goes beyond human limits, including death.
Inspiration:
Score: 3.00
Spong has the ability to persuade the reader to see the ugly underbelly of religion, and this is clearly his greatest strength. The first half of the book is devoted to making the case that religion is a human rather than divine creation. We come to understand that religion controls behavior; that it provides us with a false sense of security; and that it's the most preferred coping device for dealing with death. Is there really an afterlife where we are relieved of sorrow, sadness and endless work? Will we really be united with loved ones? Spong forces us to acknowledge that a lot of God-talk is a dulling narcotic at best and pretending at worst. Then he challenges us to re-examine the widely held belief that there's a deity that watches over us and "calls us home."
Practicality/Relevance:
Score: 3.00
Spong gives us the unique opportunity to look death straight in the eye without fear, propaganda or flinching.
Organization/Readability:
Score: 3.00
This is not the book for everyone. For one thing, Eternal Life is not a light and breezy, feel-good kind of read. And for another, Spong can be confusing and hard to follow. He rambles and is a little disorganized in his presentation of material. This means you have to work at reading the book. Also, Spong spends a lot of time bashing Christianity, and but then he selects and reinterprets certain aspects of it that are okay. This is sort of like stepping on the gas and the brake at the same time. Spong believes he must "go through" Christianity to find an answer, and this is the rut he is stuck in.
That said, Eternal Life is highly recommended to people facing death and to disillusioned Christians.
