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As the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, Jack Spong ordained the first openly gay Episcopal priest in 1989. He has claimed that over 50 percent of Roman Catholic priests are gay and that even the Apostle Paul was homosexual. For these and other opinions, his opponents have called Spong a heretic. His latest book, Sins of the Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love (HarperSanFrancisco), brings a new round of criticism.

Having retired from the diocese in 2000, Spong is now a full-time writer (he has a weekly column at watersidemedia.com), lecturer, and thorn in the side of conservative Christianity.

Q. You don't believe in virgin birth. You don't believe in the Resurrection. You don't believe that Jesus is the son of God. What kind of Christian are you?

A. I'm a God-intoxicated, nontraditional thinker. God is very real, but to portray God as a supreme being who lives up in the sky is a very primitive view of God. Jesus is a lens, a doorway, a window, and a path to God for me. I don't ever want to abandon that.

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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon