Borg and crossan reveal a figure who, nor misogynist, besides being neither anti-Semitic, anti-sex, stresses social and political equality among Christians and between them and others. Borg—two of the world’s top-selling christian scholars and the bestselling authors of The Last Week and The First Christmas—once again shake up the status quo by arguing that the message of the apostle Paul, considered by many to be the second most important figure in Christianity, has been domesticated by the church.

A refreshing and heartening exculpation of a still routinely maligned figure of the first importance to culture and civilization. Booklist starred review John Dominic Crossan and Marcus J. Borg and crossan turn the common perception of Paul on its head, revealing him as a radical follower of Jesus whose core message is still relevant today.

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Days of Awe and Wonder: How to Be a Christian in the Twenty-first Century

Borg helped shape an enlightened modernist view of Christianity. 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.

Borg, the late spokesman for progressive Christianity and one of the most revered and influential theologians of our time. In his acclaimed books, speaking christian, and Convictions, including classics such as Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, The Heart of Christianity, Marcus J. Showcasing some of his most enduring and insightful writings, including many previously unpublished works, a concise and illuminating introduction to Marcus J.

Provocative and uplifting, his understanding of conviction and fulfillment, this anthology illuminates Borg’s explorations of the miraculous and wonderful, and his contention that we must keep an open mind and question assumptions and certainties in all our religious journeys. Now, comes the days of awe and wonder, a selection of his writing, including many never before published works, two years after the liberal theologian’s death, that explores the Christian faith and what it means to be a Christian in the twenty-first century.

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.

Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most

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. 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. 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.

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary 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. 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, but in a life of spiritual challenge, 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, compassion, and community.

In straightforward, bringing alive the many levels of Jesus' character: spirit person, teacher of alternative wisdom, Borg looks at the major findings of modern Jesus scholarship from the perspective of faith, social prophet, accessible prose, 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, 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, doubters, and reluctant unbelievers alike, 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. ".

The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Final Days in Jerusalem

The last week depicts jesus giving up his life to protest power without justice and to condemn the rich who lack concern for the poor. The first entry, that of Roman governor Pontius Pilate leading Roman soldiers into the city, symbolized military strength. Borg and john dominic Crossan join together to reveal a radical and little-known Jesus.

The second heralded a new kind of moral hero who was praised by the people as he rode in on a humble donkey. Informed, and inspired, we not only meet the historical Jesus, challenged, but meet a new Jesus who engages us and invites us to follow him. In this vein, at the end of the week Jesus marches up Calvary, offering himself as a model for others to do the same when they are confronted by similar issues.

As both authors reacted to and responded to questions about Mel Gibson's blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, they discovered that many Christians are unclear on the details of events during the week leading up to Jesus's crucifixion. Using the gospel of mark as their guide, Borg and Crossan present a day-by-day account of Jesus's final week of life.

They begin their story on Palm Sunday with two triumphal entries into Jerusalem. The jesus introduced by borg and Crossan is this new moral hero, a more dangerous Jesus than the one enshrined in the church's traditional teachings. Top jesus scholars Marcus J.

Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography

The controversial, bestselling Account of What We Can Know About the Life of Jesus.

The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith

Borg shows how we can live passionately as Christians in today's world by practicing the vital elements of Christian faith. For the millions of people who have turned away from many traditional beliefs about God, and the Bible, but still long for a relevant, nourishing faith, Jesus, Borg shows why the Christian life can remain a transforming relationship with God.

Emphasizing the critical role of daily practice in living the Christian life, he explores how prayer, worship, Sabbath, pilgrimage, and more can be experienced as authentically life-giving practices. Borg reclaims terms and ideas once thought to be the sole province of evangelicals and fundamentalists: he shows that terms such as "born again" have real meaning for all Christians; that the "Kingdom of God" is not a bulwark against secularism but is a means of transforming society into a world that values justice and love; and that the Christian life is essentially about opening one's heart to God and to others.

World-renowned Jesus scholar Marcus J.

In Search of Paul: How Jesus' Apostle Opposed Rome's Empire with God's Kingdom

Reed, like jesus, reveal through archaeology and textual scholarship that Paul, an expert in biblical archaeology, focused on championing the Kingdom of God––a realm of justice and equality––against the dominant, worldly powers of the Roman empire. Against the concrete backdrop of first–century grego–roman and jewish life, and a just society under God's rules, In Search of Paul reveals the work of Paul as never before, not Rome's, caring for the poor, showing how and why the liberating messages and practices of equality, were so appealing.

Using archaeological and textual evidence, greece, and syria, turkey, crossan and Reed show that Paul was a fallible but dedicated successor to Jesus, and taking advantage of recent major discoveries in Italy, carrying on Jesus's mission of inaugurating the Kingdom of God on earth in opposition to the reign of Rome.

John dominic crossan, the eminent historical Jesus scholar, and Jonathan L. Readers interested in paul as a historical figure and his place in the development of Christianity •Readers interested in archaeology and anthropology. Many theories exist about who Paul was, what he believed, and what role he played in the origins of Christianity.

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Reading the Bible Again For the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally

Answering this modern dilemma, acclaimed author Marcus Borg reveals how it is possible to reconcile the Bible with both a scientific and critical way of thinking and our deepest spiritual needs, leading to a contemporary yet grounded experience of the sacred texts. This seminal book shows you how to read the Bible as it should be examined—in an approach the author calls "historical-metaphorical.

Borg explores what the Scriptures meant to the ancient communities that produced and lived by them. Reading the bible again for the first Time provides a much-needed solution to the problem of how to have a fully authentic yet contemporary understanding of the scriptures. The author argues that the conventional way of seeing the bible's origin, authority, and interpretation has become unpersuasive to millions of people in our time, and that we need a fresh way of encountering the Bible that takes the texts seriously but not literally, even as it takes seriously who we have become.

Borg traces his personal spiritual journey, describing for readers how he moved from an unquestioning childhood belief in the biblical stories to a more powerful and dynamic relationship with the Bible as a sacred text brimming with meaning and guidance. He then helps us to discover the meaning of these stories, providing the knowledge and perspective to make the wisdom of the Bible an essential part of our modern lives.

Many mistakenly believe there are no choices other than fundamentalism or simply rejecting the Bible as something that can bring meaning to our lives. Using his own experience as an example, he reveals how the modern crisis of faith is itself rooted in the misinterpretation of sacred texts as historical record and divine dictation, and opens readers to a truer, more abundant perspective.

This unique book invites everyone—whatever one's religious background—to engage the Bible, wrestle with its meaning, explore its mysteries, and understand its relevance.

The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Birth

Who could argue with the message the authors draw from the Bible’s Christmas stories? Light in the darkest time of the year, hope in a period of creeping despair—these are powerful and universal themes that can give everyone a stake in Christmas. Usa today in the First Christmas Marcus J. Basing their interpretations on the two nativity narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Borg and Crossan focus on the literal story—the inner truth rather than the historical facts—to offer a clear and uplifting message of hope and peace.

Borg and john dominic crossan—top jesus scholars and authors of The Last Week—help us see the real Christmas story buried in the familiar Bible accounts. With the first christmas readers get a fresh, deep, and new understanding of the nativity story, enabling us to better appreciate the powerful message of the Gospels.

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How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis Through Revelation

He challenges christians to fully participate in this dialogue, reflectively, thereby shaping their faith by reading deeply, and in community with others who share their uncertainty. The acclaimed bible scholar and author of the historical jesus and god & empire—“the greatest New Testament scholar of our generation” John Shelby Spong —grapples with Scripture’s two conflicting visions of Jesus and God, and one of a vengeful God, one of a loving God, and explains how Christians can better understand these passages in a way that enriches their faith.

Many portions of the new testament, introduce a compassionate Jesus who turns the other cheek, loves his enemies, and shows grace to all. Which is the true revelation of the messiah—and how can both be in the same Bible?How to Read the Bible and Still be a Christian explores this question and offers guidance for the faithful conflicted over which version of the Lord to worship.

But the jesus we find in Revelation and some portions of the Gospels leads an army of angels bent on earthly destruction. Often these books are explicitly competing against another, opposing vision of God from the Bible itself. Crossan explains how to navigate this debate and offers what he believes is the best central thread to what the Bible is all about.

John dominic crossan reconciles these contrasting views, revealing how different writers of the books of the Bible not only possessed different visions of God but also different purposes for writing. Only then, he advises, will Christians be able to read and understand the Bible without losing their faith.