Product Description

Growing numbers 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 for 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1025508 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

Review
"This welcome book removes many of the barriers that separate thoughtful people from the wisdom of the Bible." --Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of "When Bad Things Happen to Good People"Borg is one of the very few New Testament scholars of our age whose learning is so lucid that it takes the Bible back from the specialists and makes it in all its complexity and splendor available to the thoughtful reader: nothing short of a blessing, even a miracle!"--Peter J. Gomes, author of "The Good Book: Reading the Bible With Heart and Mind"In a literal-minded age, when people read texts only for information and have lost the ability to read scripture in the traditional way, this book will make an invaluable contribution. Borg's analysis is profound, challenging and engrossing; it will enable readers to use scripture creatively once again and truly make it a bridge for the divine." --Karen Armstrong, author of "A History of God"Marcus Borg's "Reading the Bible Again for the First Time is an easy, wise and deeply spiritual stroll through the Mother of all Books. Borg deftly guides the reader-Christian and Jew, conservative and liberal alike-around the landmines and toward the treasures strewn over the biblical landscape. Here is a superb introduction for the beginning and intermediate student. Borg's teaching resonates with the counsel of the ancient rabbis that eachperson standing at the foot of Mount Sinai heard a revelation uniquely tailored for his or her own level of awareness and life-situation."--Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, author of "Invisible Lines of Connection; Eyes Remade for Wonder

About the Author
Marcus J Borg is the bestselling author of THE GOD WE NEVER KNEW and the Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion at Oregon State University, USA.

Customer Reviews

Uplifting Experience
Borg repeats some of the opinions he has given in previous books. Most important is that being Christian is not about believing in the Bible or about believing in Christianity. It is instead about having a relationship with the God to whom the Bible points. The Bible itself contains a combination of history and metaphor. Critical thinking allows the reader to integrate the Bible stories into a larger whole. Although the Bible speaks with many voices, a major theme throughout is the conflict between the royal theology of pharaohs, kings and caesars and the prophetic protest against it by Moses, the prophets, Jesus, Paul and John of Patmos.

Borg never fails to provide an uplifting experience for me. It helps that he writes with so much clarity.

A God of Justice and Compassion
READING THE BIBLE AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME gives the reader a fresh look at the Scriptures. Borg points out that the gospels make extraordinary claims about Jesus such as that He is one with God and the revelation of God. Jesus lifts the Christian out of death and into life. The Christian, according to Borg, can make such claims without saying that God is known only through Jesus.

Borg states the Bible can teach us that God is not only real, but knowable and He is a God of justice and compassion. Furthermore, our lives can be made whole by living in a conscious relationship with the mystery of the Lord. The latter is the most important benefit we can receive from reading the Bible again with a new outlook.

Social and Political Protest in the Ancient World
In many ways this book has the feel of a history of social and political protest in the ancient world. Borg's emphasis on what he refers to as 'opposition to systems of domination' is repeated often and he points out in his chapter on Paul that Christianity is the only major religion whose two most influential personalities were put to death by established authority. The clear implication then is that the messages of Jesus and Paul may be very threatening to systems of domination.