 [Larger view] | The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith
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 Worth reading, but somewhat one-sided | |
| In The Heart of Christianity Marcus Borg clearly describes two distinctly different, incompatible, and somewhat extreme visions of Christianity. His earlier (literal) paradigm and emerging (metaphorical) paradigm, while relying on the same sacred texts, have little else in common. In juxtaposing such contrasting beliefs, he doesn't acknowledge the great number of Christians whose beliefs fall somewhere in-between.
The idea that the heart cannot commit to belifs the mind doesn't accept is one of the most interesting issues Borg explores. For this reason, many people have trouble with the earlier paradigms literal interpretation of the Bible. Borg offers an alternative - an emerging paradigm, which considers extraordinary Biblical events to be metaphors. How to interpret extraordinary Biblical events is a question that is older than Christianity. Borg heavily promotes the emerging paradigm's answer to this question. The earlier paradigm and other views of Christianity also have value that he doesn't give due credit. Literal interpretation is difficult for the mind to accept, but when we open ourselves to the possibility of the most unbelievable things happening we truly open ourselves to our own spiritual possibilities. Extraordinary Biblical events have metaphorical value, but limiting their value as metaphorical starts us down the path of setting boundaries on what we believe is possible through God. This might make Christianity more acceptable to some. However, it takes the spirituality out of it for others. While there is transformational power that can be derived from Biblical metaphors, it doesn't match the power of being open to extraordinary possibilities. It's much like free speech. You might not like what someone says, but you can celebrate their right to say it. You might have trouble getting your mind around a virgin birth or a physical resurrection, but in some ways celebrating the birth and resurrection of Jesus as described by Biblical witnesses is celebrating that anything is possible through God. It's that "anything is possible" attitude that is behind all human advancement, spiritual or otherwise. Borg also has some gaps in his understanding of the earlier paradigm, although he articulates the emerging paradigm exceptionally well. For example, he introduces the terms pre-Easter Jesus and post-Easter Jesus to differentiate between the human and divine Jesus. He does this as if Christian theology doesn't already have a concept of Jesus as fully human/fully divine. This is a gross oversight. Additionally, in Christian theology the divine Jesus has existed since the beginning where Borg's Jesus appears to come into existance with the birth of the human Jesus. Borg misses another important point in his discussion of Jesus dieing for our sins. At the time of Jesus people believed disabilities, illness, accidents, and misfortune were retribution for sin - people were just getting what they deserved. In dieing for our sins, Jesus, in effect, wiped out the idea that sin and misfortune are necessarily coupled. Without this decoupling, it would be acceptable to discriminate against disabled and impoverished people. Unlike Borg, I believe Jesus thought he was dieing for our sins; he was telling us we should not think our misfortunes are retribution for sin - that is not the nature of God. One final thought, our hearts and our minds don't agree when it comes to many things, especially human relationships. It seems perfectly natural that our hearts and minds would also disagree when it comes to a spiritual relationship. It's important to keep them both open, not to make them agree. | |
 Best Borg yet. | |
| Marcus Borg has really done a good job of talking about the existing and emerging paradigms in Christianity. Without looking down on what most folks believe is traditional, Borg explains why the Christianity that most folks know from childhood doesn't adequately connect with many newcomers to the faith. | |
| Life Changing | |
| For churches facing dwindling congregations and spiritual seekers who feared zeal and intellect could not coexist, Borg offers salvation.
Many Christians who accept his premise -"We cannot easily give our hearts to something our mind rejects" - abandon the faith simply because they can no longer pretend to believe propositions they find ludicrous or immoral. Borg offers an alternative - a coherent and transformational vision for the Christian life that includes authentic individual recommitment and political zeal. Drawing on the bible as a metaphor and a sacrament, he grounds his principles on the "emerging paradigm" that is thriving in response to religious diversity and other modern challenges. He identifies faith, the bible and Jesus as the heart of the spiritual tradition and then sets out an alternative framework of devotion. Incompatible with bigotry and pettiness, it stems from a fresh, more profound understanding of concepts like being "born again", the "Kingdom of God", resurrection, sin and salvation. Rather than flee from the faith, Borg reminds us that in the search for truth, it is wiser to raise the courage and creativity to go deep rather than wide, by investing afresh in the tradition to which we already belong. He gives an example: if serious about reaching water, "better to dig one well sixty feet deep than to dig six wells ten feet deep." This excellent book is profoundly relevant for our time. It challenges us to return with renewed vigor to a spirit of true Christianity which calls us to a higher standard of service and morality than ever before. |
