[toddst]

I can't answer your questions about Emory. However, perhaps you and others will find it interesting that Bishop Sprague has angered a large segment of the United Methodist Church with his public rejection of Jesus Christ's eternal deity, virgin birth, bodily resurrection and unique atonement for the sins of the world.

This comes from the "UM Action Briefing" dated April, 2003. I will look to see whether the newsletter is available online.

I believe Bishop Sprague is in deep trouble with the Methodist Church and may be forced to resign. There is a movement under way to get this done, per the following:

". . . it is fundamentally fraudulent for him (Sprague) to attack the traditional Christian faith while serving as Bishop of a Christian church. Decency and integrety require his resignation or removal."

As a member of the United Methodist Church I will contribute financially and as a volunteer worker to get Joe Sprague removed as Bishop.

[AnAmericanMother]

Gosh, he sounds like OUR homegrown loonybird, Bishop Spong of Newark. But none of the bishops in the Episcopal Church ever had the guts to chastise him. He retired and at last report was writing a cybersex column (I kid you not).

C.S. Lewis knocked these guys off in one in The Great Divorce. His apostate bishop publicly rejects the Creed and it brings him worldly fame, book deals, etc. Given a last chance to repent by a friend who is sent to rescue him from Hell, he turns his back on salvation and goes back to Hell to write a book on how Jesus would have adopted the bishop's views "if he had lived."

Gee, their names even begin with the same two letters. Suppose there's a connection there . . . ? nah. ;-)

[Corin Stormhands]

I believe Bishop Sprague is in deep trouble with the Methodist Church and may be forced to resign.

I'm pretty sure that went down in flames (no pun intended).

But there are strong movements in the UMC to get the church back to where it belongs. Groups such as "Good News" the Renewal Movement and the Confessing Movement in the UMC are much more conservative and are trying to undo the harm done by liberals like Sprague.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

As a member of the United Methodist Church I will contribute financially and as a volunteer worker to get Joe Sprague removed as Bishop.

Ad my name to that list, a United Methodist from Arkansas.

[AlGone2001]

"I believe Bishop Sprague is in deep trouble with the Methodist Church and may be forced to resign. There is a movement under way to get this done....."

Perhaps the safest thing for him to do would be to declare himself gay. This would almost guarantee him a job.

[Krodg]

I'm saving this thread while I look for an article from a conference where a female (I think she was a Methodist minsiter but will wait until I find the article)said "we should do away with the story of redemption because who wants to look at a bloody cross"!

[Republic]

While your at it-get your church and other Methodist Churches OUT of the National Council of Churches. It is a communist organization overloaded with socialists, pacifists, communists, homosexuals and is so PC it no longer relates to Methodist doctrine, whatsoever. Get your church to stop contributing-we left because ours would not.