Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written

by Marcus J. Borg

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.

Genres: Religion, Christianity, Nonfiction, History, Theology, Christian, Spirituality

593 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Borg was born into a Lutheran family of Swedish and Norwegian descent, the youngest of four children. He grew up in the 1940s in North Dakota and attended Concordia College, Moorhead, a small liberal arts school in Moorhead, Minnesota. While at Moorhead he was a columnist for the school paper and held forth as a conservative. After a close reading of the Book of Amos and its overt message of social equality he immediately began writing with an increasingly liberal stance and was eventually invited to discontinue writing his articles due to his new-found liberalism. He did graduate work at Union Theological Seminary and obtained masters and DPhil degrees at Oxford under G. B. Caird. Anglican bishop N.T. Wright had studied under the same professor and many years later Borg and Wright were to share in co-authoring The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, an amicable study in contrast. Following a period of religious questioning in his mid-thirties, and numinous experiences similar to those described by Rudolf Otto, Borg became active in the Episcopal Church, in which his wife, the Reverend Canon Marianne Wells-Borg, serves as a priest and directs a spiritual development program at the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Portland, Oregon. On May 31, 2009, Borg was installed as the first canon theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

Marcus J. Borg is Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, OR. Internationally known in both academic and church circles as a biblical and Jesus scholar, he was Hundere Chair of Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University until his retirement in 2007.

Described by The New York Times as "a leading figure in his generation of Jesus scholars," he has appeared on NBC's "Today Show" and “Dateline,” PBS's "Newshour," ABC’s “Evening News” and “Prime Time” with Peter Jennings, NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, and several National Geographic programs. A Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, he has been national chair of the Historical Jesus Section of the Society of Biblical Literature and co-chair of its International New Testament Program Committee, and is past president of the Anglican Association of Biblical Scholars. His work has been translated into eleven languages: German, Dutch, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, Russian, and French. His doctor's degree is from Oxford University, and he has lectured widely overseas (England, Scotland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Israel and South Africa) and in North America, including the Chautauqua and Smithsonian Institutions.

Reviews

[Lon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know if I'll ever read the New Testament in its canonical order again! Borg's ordering--chronologically by most likely date of composition--provides the clearest window into how the first followers of the Jesus movement understood him and how that understanding evolved over time. With lucid preface, Borg explains how each text reflects contemporaneous dynamics between the early Christians and the communities and power structures with which they found themselves in tension. As time went on, new ways of understanding Jesus emerged. As Borg presented the scholarly consensus on the authorship of certain pseudepigraphic epistles, so many lightbulbs went off in my head. Ideas I'd ascribed to Paul that accommodate institutional slavery, submission to authority, and the subjugated roles of women make so much more sense once I understood how the Christ followers found it more and more advantageous to assimilate to Roman power structures--they became less radical and more domesticated.

The book deeply enriched my appreciation for early Christian history and for each of these scriptural texts.

[Malum · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
I thought this book was a discussion about the order in which the new testament books were written and what that meant for the theology of the developing church. Instead, this is literally just the new testament books presented in a different order.

Each book is accompanied by a brief introduction that looks at each book from a historical rather than theological perspective, and for that alone this book is worth checking out for me. I just wish the entire book was more of the introduction information and less of the actual books.

[Laura Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a read it through in one sitting kind of book, but I am so pleased to have it. I had actually been reading through the New Testament in chronological order using a list I found on the Internet. I did it that way because this book didn't exist. How much easier to just pick this up. I am enjoying the introductions to each book that put them in historical context. I always respond to Borg's interpretation. I have been going back and retroactively reading the introductions for the books I previously read in my own project.

[Lisa Ard · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting way to approach the Bible - in the order it was written. Borg lays out who wrote which passages, in what timeframe, in what conditions, giving context to these passages and allowing for interpretation.

[Lee Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a big book, 593 pages, but over half of it is a reprint of scripture. After an introduction, Borg goes book-by-book through the New Testament, providing a few pages of overview for each, primarily discussing its historical context, and then presenting the Biblical text. Borg's contributions are a little sparse and offered without much argument, so if you're looking for exhaustive commentary, that's not his purpose.

Also, do not imagine that scholars have some kind of universal agreement about when each of the N.T. books were written! Borg humbly admits there is no consensus, and in places, admits his opinion differs from the majority. In general, Borg dates many of the books just a little later than I do. For example, he follows the recent trendy dating of Luke/Acts well into the second century, while I remain unconvinced and still date these two books around 85-95. And, of course, we won't agree on Revelation, since in my own book I rely heavily on a historical-critical interpretation to place its date right around the year 80 CE, which differs from almost every New Testament scholar.

But while there's no exact consensus, that's not really the point. The point of Borg's book is to portray how Christianity evolved in its earliest years, as evidenced in the writings we have in our Bible. Indeed, the New Testament itself is an evolutionary outgrowth of the Old Testament. Quite a bit of the discussion centers on Paul, and on the letters written in his name, as this is where the most serious change occurs over the span of the New Testament ... issues like the role of women in the church and of how to regard Christian slaves like Philemon.

Overall, I enjoyed the book but found few surprises, and the reading went fast since I didn't take time to reread all of the scripture.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the vast majority of this book is simply the New Testament text, this is an important and helpful book aside from that. The books in the New Testament are presented in the order in which they were written, not in the typical order in which they appear. Or at least, they are presented in the order they are suspected to have been written, or scholars' best educated guesses in some cases. We simply do not know. Still, to see and read the books in at least a semblance of their chronological history does give one a sense of how the Christian message, or at minimum the subjects Christian writers were dealing with, evolved over the first 100 years or so of the Church. A couple opening essays and short, clear, helpful introductions to each book add real value. An important book for any student of the Bible to have in their library.

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2022 bk 194. If you are a reader of the Bible and have not read the books in the order they were written, rather than the order created and changed through the years, it is time to do so. I recommend Borg's Evolution of the Word as he provides a historic overview that provides background to the time period specific to each book, and provided the how and why it was written. His knowledge of Biblical Genre is extensive and he provides a clear definition for each of the genres (gospel, letter/epistles, apocolyptic) that enhances the reading. Again, this was a text for my New Testament class, it is a text I will keep and read over. I feel this is such an important variation that I've just moved my other copies of the New Testament to the donation box.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dust cover showing Borg's timeline for the writing of New Testament books, with key names and events marked, is the best part. The introductions to each NT book are worth reading for his rationale for the sequencing he proposes, with transparency that other theories may be equally probable.

My reading experience would have been more positive if I hadn't forced myself to actually read each of the NT books again for the umpteenth time, which I couldn't bring myself to do without also reading all the related notes in Boring & Craddock's Peoples Commentary (to which I give five stars, no matter how many times I read it). That's my problem, not the author's.

[Tom Brennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this super helpful for understanding both the texts themselves and the historical context behind them. The chronological arrangement, along with the explanations and contextualisation before each document, made it much more obvious how the ideas would have developed over time. I thought Borg’s dating of Luke later than John was interesting, though I would have liked a bit more to support it, as I believe he is arguing against the general scholarly consensus there. Still, the explanations were clear and comprehensive, and I came away with a much better sense of how these documents evolved and connected.

[Cyndie Dyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this from the public library but am definitely buying a copy. Clears up so many misuses of verses taken out of context. If you are fairly familiar with the New Testament then i would recommend reading just his introductions to each book the first time through. He doesn't say the current order of the New Testament is "wrong" for anyone that would find that troubling. He just explains how the historical context affects the writing and shows at what point the "Christian" movement is for each document.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book arranges the book of the New Testament in the approximate order in which they were written in order to give a better idea of the context in which they were written. I say approximate because scholars do differ somewhat on the order. Much of the book is actually the texts of the New Testament books.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge Marcus Borg fan, have heard him speak several times and love his approach to Scripture.
Being a former history teacher, I enjoy reading his analysis of Biblical text and, in my view, the most realistic approach to what can be a very distorted and explosive (read narrow perspective)interpretation of this work.....a great read!

[Scott Kenefake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge Borg fan--a must read for the literate Christian or anyone who simply wants to learn about how the NT developed historically.

[Paul Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the books of the New Testament in the chronological order they were written. Watch how conservatives toned down the earlier, more liberal/radical message over time. Worth the read.

[Greg Reimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great tool for deconstructing misconceptions about how the Bible came to be!

You will learn so many incredible things from Borg's introductions and his ordering of the New Testament. While I am not fully convinced of all conclusions that biblical historians have on dating and authorship, I was incredibly encouraged while reading this book. It gave me a continued awareness of the importance of context and understanding each text from the perspective of each Bible writer.

I do not personally hold to the view that if a letter addresses itself to be from Paul, yet appears to have later theology, that the letter must not be written by Paul. This comes from a (perhaps biased) belief that this is deceptive, especially considering that the author of these letters proceed to mention particular people and personal events in Paul's life as if they are current and are his own. And yet, in spite of this conservative belief, I found this book to be a huge encouragement. I read through the last 3rd of it in one week and it really helped me see familiar passages in light of the whole book.

Please consider reading this book, and while you do so, read each document in one sitting or two. It helped give clarity to understanding the unified thoughts of the author. I found myself moved to tears many times as themes were repeated, Jesus divinity was proclaimed, and the story of the Gospel's spreading gave way to suffering and death. The New Testament truly is a witness of a broken people crying out for a hope to guide them into healing.

May you be as encouraged as I was by this retelling of an ancient story.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a hard time rating this book.

Most of that difficulty comes from the marketing. The subtitle of the book, "The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written," is very literal. The bulk of the content is, word-for-word, the text of the New Testament. The title, cover, and back-of-the-book blurbs do not make that clear.

However, the content around the New Testament texts is very fascinating. The opening chapters provide some overview, and each New Testament text has a few pages of introduction about its dating, content, and context.

I occasionally disagreed with the author's final conclusions, but I hardly begrudge him that. The author does an excellent job of summarizing counter-opinions, and explaining why he reached his conclusions. One of my favorite explanations is in the introduction to the three letters of John, where he decided to keep the three texts "together without any particularly good reason to do so, just as there is no particularly good reason to separate them chronologically." (page 405)

The original content of the book is great. It is just a shame that most of the content is copied from other books that I have already read.

[Caleb Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great resource which takes the books of the New Testament and re-orders them chronologically based on current understanding of when they were written. Borg writes wonderful introductions to each book describing scholarly understanding on authorship, historical context, and major themes - much like other study Bibles. He is very open with his decisions on ordering, where scholarly consensus is found or isn't found on dates/topics, and justifies his ordering. He discusses how Christianity evolved over time, how historical forces influenced it, and how early Christ-communities developed early Christian understanding as these books were written. He is fair in discussing how when modern scholarship questions authorship that it does not undermine the books as genuine and valuable artifacts of early Christian thought. Borg includes summary essays/notes about this ordering as well as what it can demonstrate about Christianity which are useful for quick reference.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read the part of this book I was most interested in currently, covering the first seven books of the New Testament, those books that are believed to be the authentically written letters of Paul. Marcus Borg, a Biblical scholar, first writes about his reasons for writing a book that looks at the books of the New Testament in the chronological order in which they were written. Each book is examined for it's historical context, the audience for whom it was written, the writer's perspective at the time, and how that book relates to others in the Bible. Each book of the New Testament is included in it's entirety, giving the reader the opportunity to quickly recognize the content being referenced by the author. Exploring these books in this fashion allowed me to see much more clearly the development of these communities of early Christianity.

[Jemini Willis]

Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written by Marcus J. Borg

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.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not really finished because I need to go back and read Luke-Acts--two long books. Otherwise I have read through Borg's introductions and through the books of the New Testament themselves. It was a very good experience to do this--to read the letters as if they were letters and not collections of proof texts. To read the gospels as the entire story from birth to death to resurrection--again not just as the passage or text for a sermon. Borg gave me things to look for--themes and notes. I bought the book because I wanted to take my time to do one book each day. I will finish my project soon with Luke-Acts.

Reading the New Testament in what Borg thinks was the chronological order of writing gives one a fresh perspective on what are sometimes such familiar words.

[Garth Mailman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written
Marcus J. Borg

The Word in question is the New Testament and the issue at hand is the order in which the “books” were written. Up for debate is what it means to say that any part of the Bible is “The inspired Word of God”. There are 4 Gospels including Acts which is an extension of Luke; The Epistles arranged in order of length; and Revelation. Another assertion is that Paul wrote only 7 genuine letters and the rest were written in his style. Those letters include the acceptance of slavery and the misogynistic pronouncements.

Who the authors were, where and when the lived, and to whom they wrote is all part of Borg’s discussion. Included is the text of each “book”.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Borg uses as his text the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). I found the overall introductory matter, as well as the prefaces to the various books to be enlightening. Thematic, linguistic, historical and theological information was most welcome. Concurrently with the reading of this text I also read the appropriate text using various study bibles using the NRSV as well as a study bible using the Common English Bible (CEB) translation. Reading the New Testament in the order written (as proposed by Dr. Borg) shed a different light on Christianity as often times known.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been trying to read a bit of the Bible each day for several years. I've been through several "day by day" Bibles, but this year I decided I wanted to concentrate on the New Testament and found this New Testament which is ordered by the chronological order they were written, at least as believed by many biblical historians. It includes historical introductions to each book and then the text of each book with footnotes to different translations. I didn't quite make it last a full year, but I gave it a good shot. I found it a useful study guide.

[Marcia Huntting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borg's introductions to each Bible book was very interesting, some were quite fascinating. He includes his reasoning for placing each in the order that he did and tells whether most scholars agree or disagree with his choice.
Some of the toughest books for me to accept are those putting women and slaves 'in their place', but now I see that they were written much later. The earliest books are true to Jesus' teaching of equality among all beings.
Very useful.

[Pearl Loewen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love anything Borg has written. While I did not read the accompanying Scriptures, I enjoyed Borg's commentaries on the "books" in the New Testament, and tracking the developments in the traditions of the Christian communities was most interesting. Borg's comments on 2 Timothy 3:16 were also most insightful.

[Glauber Ribeiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's very enlightening to read the New Testament books in the order they were written, and watch the evolution of the ideas.

Borg's succinct and readable introductions are well worth the cost of the book, and the inclusion of a high quality translation of the texts themselves (NRSV) makes this an ideal book to read from cover to cover.

[Matt Hession · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good presentation of the historical development of the early Christian writings that made it into the canon. However, I wish there was more commentary of the Biblical text. The introductions are great, but leave the reader wanting more explanation of different developments.

[Megan Devlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to put each book of the New Testament in its historical context, including in chronological relation to the other books. It made me want to read a history of how the different books were chosen for inclusion in the Christian Bible.

[Sam Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and researched.

I have read several books by Marcus Borg and this is one of the best. He is very knowledgeable in his field.

[Krystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the New Testament of the Bible in chronological order starting with Paul's letters to the church. Before each gospel, the author gives a little background info on each gospel.