Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time

This is the second book by Marcus J. Borg, and I was pleasantly surprised, or rather I had my high expectations (set by the first book) met, by Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The historical Jesus and the heart of conetmporary faith. 

Published in 1994, this book is still relevant and probably ought to be more widespread than it is. One of the back cover praises for the book  from Walter Wink, of Auburn Theological Seminary, says this, "In every generation there is a handful of writers of whom it can be said, 'Read everything they write.' Marcus Borg is one of those today." I agree. This is evidenced by the fact that I'm currently reading his latest work and first novel.

However, I must offer a humble warning of sorts. Borg, is not for the theologically faint of heart. Be ready to have some of your preconcieved theological notions challenged if not reoriented. If you're looking to defend your own beliefs by citing Bible verses and examples from history, I'm afraid you'll find you've brought a knife to a gun fight. It's likely that most Christians will disagree or find tension with something Borg writes at some point; however, if one reads his works looking for weaknesses, faults lines and ways to disprove or debate hit theses, one will greatly miss the greater points Borg makes.

I don't want to put words into his mouth, but I believe that if you ask Dr. Borg directly, you would find that he does not believe in certain things which many Christians find foundational to Christian belief such as: the virgin birth, Jesus' divinity as being the same substance/essence of God, literal birth narratives, or a literal second coming of Jesus among some of the other more miraculous parts of the New Testament. However, I've found that by getting past differences in belief, it opens up a whole new world, so to speak, of learning. And Marcus Borg has much to teach.

In Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time readers are offered a fresh look at the man Jesus as an historical figure, religious teacher, movement starter and as the subversive wisdom of God. Borg puts you back into the pre-medeival mindset allowing you to see Jesus in ways that his original audience may have seen him. Borg writes, "The most crucial fact about Jesus was that he was a 'spirit person,' a 'mediator of the sacred,' one of those persons in human history to whom the Spirit was an experiential reality."

One of the overarching messages in this book is a reorientation of our view of the Christian life from one that necessitates belief as the primary goal to one of relationship; for example, "The image of Jesus as a spirit person has implications for how we think of the Christian life. It shifts the focus of the Christian life from believing in Jesus or believing in God to being in relationship to that same Spirit that Jesus knew."

Borg offers fact after historical fact about the world of antiquity helping us gain an understanding of the first century Jewish mindset. He repeatededly discusses the myriad of ways in which Jesus and his message were subverting the dominant culture of religious requirements and subverting the system of conventional (cultural) wisdom with the power of the wisdom of compassion. "For Jesus, compassion was the central quality of God and the central moral quality of a life centered in God." Agreed.

Borg teaches on the didactical (teaching) sayings and the parables of Jesus in ways which make too much sense to ignore. He offers a need-to-be-heard image as Jesus as the wisdom of God, and he presents alternative ways in seeing the Christian story, which do not suplant the dominant image as Jesus as sacrifice for our sins but rather images that add to it.

Borg needs to be read by more mainstream Christians than are currently reading his works. Note: he will offend many, but the issues he discusses need more dicussion from our pulpits. He's a good non-fiction writer, and one can easily detect his professor side when reading his words. He's clear and concise, leaving little or no question of meaning in the minds of this reader. I give Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time a solid Nathan-two-thumbs-up.

Check back for a review of him as a fictional author. Adios.