Marcus J. Borg

Everyone knows the New Testament begins with the Gospel of Matthew, but how many know Matthew was actually one of the later books to be written? (It wasn't even the first Gospel ) But Evolution of the Word is not your typical New Testament.Marcus J. Borg, esteemed Bible scholar and bestselling author, shakes up the order of the New Testament as we know it by putting the books in a completely new order--the order in which they were written. By doing so, Evolution of the Word allows us to read these documents in their historical context. For the first time, see how the core ideas of Christianity took shape and developed over time.Borg surveys what we know of the Jewish community of Jesus followers who passed on their stories orally. Into this context emerges the apostle Paul, whose seven authentic letters become the first collected writings that would later become the New Testament. Borg offers helpful introductions for each book so that as we read through these biblical documents, spanning over a century in time, we see afresh what concerns and pressures shaped this movement as it evolved into a new religion.In this groundbreaking format, Borg reveals how a radical and primitive apocalyptic Jewish faith slowly became more comfortable with the world, less Jewish, and more pre- occupied with maintaining power and control. Evolution of the Word promises to change forever how we think about this historic work.

Showcasing some of his most enduring and insightful writings, including many previously unpublished works, a concise and illuminating introduction to Marcus J. Borg, the late spokesman for progressive Christianity and one of the most revered and influential theologians of our time.In his acclaimed books, including classics such as Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, The Heart of Christianity, Speaking Christian, and Convictions, Marcus J. Borg helped shape an enlightened modernist view of Christianity. A leading scholar of the historical Jesus acclaimed for his ability to speak about Christianity in the context of contemporary society, Borg offered profound wisdom and inspiration a new way of seeing and living the Christian life for believers, students, and lay readers. Ultimately, he taught us that by developing a deeper understanding of Jesus and the New Testament, we can discover a more authentic way of being. Yet Borg himself was always conscious of a greater truth beyond what he could explain: the wonder of God. Now, two years after the liberal theologian s death, comes The Days of Awe and Wonder, a selection of his writing, including many never before published works, that explores the Christian faith and what it means to be a Christian in the twenty-first century. Provocative and uplifting, this anthology illuminates Borg s explorations of the miraculous and wonderful, his understanding of conviction and fulfillment, and his contention that we must keep an open mind and question assumptions and certainties in all our religious journeys."

On the occasion of his seventieth birthday, the renowned scholar Marcus J. Borg shares how he formed his bedrock religious beliefs, contending that Christians in America are at their best when they focus on hope and transformation and so shows how we can return to what really matters most. The result is a manifesto for all progressive Christians who seek the best path for following Jesus today.With each chapter embodying a distinct conviction, Borg writes provocatively and compellingly on the beliefs that can deeply ground us and guide us, such as: God is real and a mystery; salvation is more about this life than an afterlife; the Bible can be true without being literally true; Jesus's death on the cross matters--but not because he paid for our sins; God is passionate about justice and the poor; and to love God is to love like God.Borg calls all American Christians to reject divisiveness and exclusivity and create communities that celebrate joy, possibility, and renewal. Throughout, he reflects on what matters most, bringing to earth the kingdom of God Jesus talked about and transforming our relationships with one another. Rich in wisdom and insight, Convictions is sure to become a classic of contemporary Christianity.

Marcus J. Borgin vuonna 2003 ilmestynyt ja kulttimaineen saanut menestyskirja The Heart of Christianity Rediscovering a Life of Faith, nyt kirjailijapappi Kari Kuulan innoittavana käännöksenä ja emerituspiispa Wille Riekkisen esipuheella. "Borg osoittaa, että uskon voi yhdistää nykyiseen tieteelliseen maailmankuvaan. Eikä vain mahdollista, hän väittää. Se on jännittävää ja haastavaa, sillä se kutsuu ihmisen muutokseen." KG Hammar, Ruotsin evankelis-luterilaisen kirkon emeritusarkkipiispa "Teoksessaan Kristinuskon sydän Borg tarjoaa kokonaisesityksen siitä, miten ajatteleva ihminen voi ymmärtää kristinuskon ja sitoutua siihen... Löytämisen ja kertomisen palo tuntuu tässä kirjassa joka sivulla." Kari Kuula, teologian tohtori "Marcus Borgin uraauurtava teos Kristinuskon sydän pohjautuu hänen mittavaan uraansa Raamatun arvostettuna tutkijana...Ihailtavaa on että hän ei lankea ala-arvoisesti nimeämään ja mitätöimään toisinajattelijoita." Wille Riekkinen, emerituspiispa Marcus J. Borg (1942-2015) oli pohjoisamerikkalainen raamatuntutkija, jolla oli ruotsalaiset juuret. New York Times sijoitti hänet sukupolvensa johtavien Jeesus-tutkijoiden joukkoon..

Discusses the key concepts and values of the Christian faith, exploring how prayer, partaking of the sacraments, and raising Christian children can be life-affirming practices and explaining the difference between true Christianity and fundamentalism. Reprint. 40,000 first printing.

Growing number of Christians both inside and outside the organized church are unwilling to abandon the modern world of science and critical thinking in order to believe, and are searching fro an enlightened, modern way to understand their faith and the Bible. Leading biblical expert Marcus Borg offers them a bold new understanding of scripture that respects both tradition and reality. Covering all the essential texts of the Old and New testaments, Borg demonstrates how such stories as Adam and Eve, the Sacrifice of Isaac, the Gospel miracles, and even the Resurrection are not historical reports as much as vital teaching stories about our relationship with God and Jesus. Moving away from the narrow literalism that drives so many away from the profound richness of the Bible, this groundbreaking book blends the best of biblical scholarship with a profound concern for authentic Christian faith and how it can be lived today.About the Author:Marcus J. Borg is the best-selling author of The God We Never Knew and the Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion at Oregon State University. He lives in Portland, OR.

Of the many recent books on the historical Jesus, none has explored what the latest biblical scholarship means for personal faith. Now, in Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg addresses the yearnings of those who want a fully contemporary faith that welcomes rather than oppresses our critical intelligence and openness to the best of historical scholarship. Borg shows how a rigorous examination of historical findings can lead to a new faith in Christ, one that is critical and, at the same time, sustaining. "Believing in Jesus does not mean believing doctrines about him," Borg writes. "Rather, it means to give one's heart, one's self at its deepest level, to . . . the living Lord." Drawing on his own journey from a naive, unquestioning belief in Christ through collegiate skepticism to a mature and contemporary Christian faith, Borg illustrates how an understanding of the historical Jesus can actually lead to a more authentic Christian life--one not rooted in creeds or dogma, but in a life of spiritual challenge, compassion, and community. In straightforward, accessible prose, Borg looks at the major findings of modern Jesus scholarship from the perspective of faith, bringing alive the many levels of Jesus' character: spirit person, teacher of alternative wisdom, social prophet, and movement founder. He also reexamines the major stories of the Old Testament vital to an authentic understanding of Jesus, showing how an enriched understanding of these stories can uncover new truths and new pathways to faith. For questioning believers, doubters, and reluctant unbelievers alike, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time frees our understanding of Jesus' life and message from popular misconceptions and outlines the way to a sound and contemporary faith: "For ultimately, Jesus is not simply a figure of the past, but a figure of the present. Meeting that Jesus--the living one who comes to us even now--will be like meeting Jesus again for the first time."

"This book could start a revolution. Borg cracks open the encrusted words of faith and pops them into fresh language that people can understand and trust. The last time this happened, we got the Reformation." --Anne Sutherland Howard, executive director of The Beatitudes Society In a revolutionary argument vital to every person of faith in the English-speaking world, acclaimed Bible scholar Marcus Borg--author of "Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time"--argues that the very language Christians use has become dangerously distilled, distorted, and disconnected from the beliefs which once underpinned it. Stating a case that will resonate with readers of N. T. Wright's "Simply Christian," Borg calls for a radical change to the language we use to invoke our beliefs--the only remedy that will allow the Church's words to once again ring with truth, power, and hope.

By presenting the New Testament books in the order they were written, bestselling Bible scholar Marcus Borg reveals how spiritually and politically radical the early Jesus movement began and how it slowly became domesticated. "Evolution of the Word "is an incredible value: not only are readers getting a deeply insightful new book from the author of "Speaking Christian "and "Jesus," but also the full-text of the New Testament--and one of the only Bibles organized in chronological order and including explanatory annotations that give readers a more informed understanding of the Scripture that is so close to their hearts and lives.

As with French, German or Spanish, learning the basic vocabulary of Christianity is a vital first step in understanding what it means and how it works. We think of words like 'faith', 'forgiveness', 'salvation', 'sin' and 'heaven'. But how can we be sure that we understand them correctly? Over the centuries all sorts of different meanings have grown up around these words, and sometimes those meanings can obscure or distort the way the words were originally used in the Bible. In Speaking Christian, Marcus Borg takes some of the key words in the Christian dictionary and exposes the negative and unhelpful connotations they still carry today. At the same time, he goes back to the Bible and unpacks their meaning in a way that is both more faithful to the teaching of Jesus and more relevant to his followers today.

"We all know that Marcus Borg is a gifted teacher, biblical scholar, and writer of nonfiction, but it turns out that he's a master storyteller, too." - Brian D. McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity Bestselling author, Bible scholar, and theologian Marcus Borg (Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, The Heart of Christianity, The Last Week) uses his core teachings on faith and the Bible to demonstrate their transformative power and potential in Putting Away Childish Things: the moving, inspirational story of a college professor, her students, and a crisis of faith.

A rounded and compelling portrait of Jesus as charismatic healer, sage, and prophet, a man living in the power of the spirit and dedicated to radical social change.

Marcus Borg offers the fruit of a lifetime's research and reflection on the Gospel of Mark. Ideal both for new Christians and for those who would like a fresh perspective on Mark's portrait of Jesus. Includes questions for group study or private reflection.

Meet Paul Again . . . for the First TimeContinuing in the tradition of The Last Week and The First Christmas, world-renowned New Testament scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to expose the church's conspiracy to silence Jesus's most faithful disciple, the apostle Paul.

Most Christians are familiar with the story told in Mark's gospel, from the fishermen leaving their nets, to the miracle of the loaves and fishes, to the political rumblings and the crucifixion. But no one knows who Mark really was or why this gospel was written or why it's charged with such a sense of immediacy. For noted Jesus scholar Marcus Borg, reading Mark is like meeting Jesus again for the first time. Individual readers and parish study groups will learn about this earliest gospel from the perspective of an important Anglican theologian.Conversations with Scripture is the umbrella title of the Anglican Association of Biblical Scholars Study Series. Written in accessible language and sensitive to those who have little or no experience in reading the Bible, each book in the series focuses on exploring the historical and critical background, plus modern application of the texts. Other books in the series focus on the Gospel of John, Revelation, the Law, the Parables, and 2 Isaiah.

Presents an account of Jesus' final week of life. This book depicts Jesus giving up his life to protest power without justice and to condemn the rich who lack concern for the poor.

In "The Meaning of Jesus" two leading Jesus scholars with widely divergent views go right to the heart of these questions and others, presenting the opposing visions of Jesus that shape our faith today. In alternating chapters, Marcus Borg, the most popular revisionist voice on Jesus and a member of the Jesus Seminar, and N.T. Wright, the most prominent standard-bearer for the traditional stance and an outspoken critic of the Jesus Seminar, present their views of who Jesus was, what he taught, and what he did. Candid, spirited, and thoughtfully debated, this compelling discourse will stimulate fresh ideas and intense dialogue among anyone concerned with what it means to be a Christian today. This new edition will include an updated dialogue from the two authors and other bonus materials.