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Reading the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously but Not Literally
One of the vital challenges facing thoughtful people today is how to read the Bible faithfully without abandoning our sense of truth and history. 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. Many mistakenly believe there are no choices other than fundamentalism or simply rejecting the Bible as something that can bring meaning to our lives. 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. 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. 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. 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. Borg shows us how to encounter the Bible in a fresh way that rejects the limits of simple literalism and opens up rich possibilities for our lives.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2001
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About the author
Marcus J. Borg
48 books355 followersBorg 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 277 reviews
February 18, 2008
I've read this book again and again. At a time when I could no longer read the Bible as a divine product, literal and inerrant, Marcus Borg gave the Bible back to me in a powerful and vibrant way. Borg is a leader in the emergent church. He's progressive, but unlike many of his peers, he attempts to pull together the poles. The premise of this book is reading the Bible as a human product, written by people who had real experiences of God. Borg has departed from a strictly historical-critical method which seeks to sift through the Biblical texts, preserving what's historically verifiable and tossing the rest. His method is historical-metaphorical. In the end, it is ALL sacred scripture--it's still the centerpiece of the faith, something that we experience God through. We get to keep it all, while trying to grasp the original purpose. He will say, "Believe what you want about whether this story really happened, let's talk about what it MEANS." Amen. It's all about the story--and why the writer chose to say things in this way. In the gospels, for instance, what sort of man must Christ have been in order to compel people to speak about him in this way? If they weren't trying to state facts, what were they trying to say? Borg points out that FACTS are often confused with TRUTH. There is a difference. Facts are one way truth is told. Stories, parables, myths, and metaphor can also tell the truth. He won me over with his mantra that metaphor and myth means MORE not LESS than a literal reading. Borg unfolds his method throughout the Biblical genres: law, prophets, wisdom, gospel, letters, apocalypse.
June 26, 2015
This is the stuff that people in mainline Christian seminaries and divinity schools are talking about, but you don't hear it from the pulpit Sunday morning because churches are tied to traditional doctrines and don't want to overwhelm people with too much scholarly jargon. The subtitle pretty much says it all: taking the Bible seriously but not literally. (Obviously some people will take offense immediately and presumably they won't bother reading the book). We live in a culture where "fact" and "truth" are interchangeable, and when we use the word "myth" it's generally a putdown. Borg points out that the authors of Biblical texts lived in a time when there were no scientists or historians, only storytellers. To try to dissect their stories into fact vs. fiction (or dump them entirely into one or the other category) can cause us to totally miss the point. I think he did a nice job of working through the highlights of the Bible, honoring its authors as exceptionally spiritual and gifted writers, but humans in a human context just like we as readers are. It was especially nice to learn what a powerful strand of social justice there is in the Old Testament, since many people are inclined to dismiss that portion as all bloodthirsty conquest and vengeance.
February 9, 2009
I know that many of us were raised as Christians and have since left the religion. I'm aware of the many arguments in particular leftists make against religion. I was happy to see a sensible way of reading the Bible that made more sense than "Some of this is the word of god and some of this is human error - you choose!" But what I found even more exciting was the argument of Christianity having a God as a liberator who destabilizes the political order in favor of the oppressed. Good stuff.
September 28, 2024
It's hard to describe in how many ways this is a poor book. I'm not interested in writings a tome here, so here are just a few:
1) Scholarly ineptitude. Borg makes very few references to other works and certainly none to works of repute that disagree with his premise. Any book positing itself as a potential textbook - as this claims to - must have better referencing to have any credibility.
2) Arrogant. A 'thinking man's book'? For 'thoughtful readers'? Throughout this work are markers that indicate that if you don't agree with Borg, you haven't thought about it enough.
3) Positing hypothesis as fact. Borg consistently names dates of writings as if they are factual (eg Proverbs WAS WRITTEN IN...). Of course we don't know, we have archaeological and biblical references to help, but that's all. Again - how do we take this book seriously?
Now the important stuff. Borg does not exegete. The text says what he wants it to - a great example is his conviction that the prophets were primarily about social justice. What we read in he he bible is that they, like Jesus, were about calling Israel back into right relationship with God. They challenged preconceived notions of how to do this, which certainly included justice, but it was only one way. Another example is how Borg will call us not to take the bible literally, but then condemn Proverbs for being too pithy and not complete enough! Unbelievable hypocrisy and inconsistency.
Borg also, in my view, is simply wrong in a number of areas.
Is this to say there's nothing of value here?
Almost. But not quite.
It IS helpful to consider the historical/metaphorical narrative, particularly (in my opinion - a phrase Borg could learn to use) in the first 13 chapters of Genesis, Job and a few others. Borg makes some helpful observations, but unfortunately they're so deeply mired in scholarly falsehoods and eisegesis that they are hard to find.
My final conclusion? Borg's style of biblical interpretation tries very hard to remove historical credibility from the Bible. It downplays the miracles of Jesus - part of the whole gospel of Christ - and ultimately, leaves the reader wondering what hope there is in Jesus.
I would concur. There isn't much hope in Borg's Jesus.
Luckily there is a lot of hope in the biblical one.
My hope is that readers of this review would take Marcus Borg literally. But not seriously.
1) Scholarly ineptitude. Borg makes very few references to other works and certainly none to works of repute that disagree with his premise. Any book positing itself as a potential textbook - as this claims to - must have better referencing to have any credibility.
2) Arrogant. A 'thinking man's book'? For 'thoughtful readers'? Throughout this work are markers that indicate that if you don't agree with Borg, you haven't thought about it enough.
3) Positing hypothesis as fact. Borg consistently names dates of writings as if they are factual (eg Proverbs WAS WRITTEN IN...). Of course we don't know, we have archaeological and biblical references to help, but that's all. Again - how do we take this book seriously?
Now the important stuff. Borg does not exegete. The text says what he wants it to - a great example is his conviction that the prophets were primarily about social justice. What we read in he he bible is that they, like Jesus, were about calling Israel back into right relationship with God. They challenged preconceived notions of how to do this, which certainly included justice, but it was only one way. Another example is how Borg will call us not to take the bible literally, but then condemn Proverbs for being too pithy and not complete enough! Unbelievable hypocrisy and inconsistency.
Borg also, in my view, is simply wrong in a number of areas.
Is this to say there's nothing of value here?
Almost. But not quite.
It IS helpful to consider the historical/metaphorical narrative, particularly (in my opinion - a phrase Borg could learn to use) in the first 13 chapters of Genesis, Job and a few others. Borg makes some helpful observations, but unfortunately they're so deeply mired in scholarly falsehoods and eisegesis that they are hard to find.
My final conclusion? Borg's style of biblical interpretation tries very hard to remove historical credibility from the Bible. It downplays the miracles of Jesus - part of the whole gospel of Christ - and ultimately, leaves the reader wondering what hope there is in Jesus.
I would concur. There isn't much hope in Borg's Jesus.
Luckily there is a lot of hope in the biblical one.
My hope is that readers of this review would take Marcus Borg literally. But not seriously.
May 20, 2009
The author's position in this book is culturally conditioned. His claims are not to be considered the ultimate words on reality and it is very probable that his position will be set aside and considered archaic with the passage of time. Therefore it must be discarded. The sooner the better.
Then, Borg's claims come mostly, as he aknowledges, from his own subjective experience. The book does not reflect factual reality but only some subjective opinions that are subject to error of interpretations influenced by cultural and historical conditions.
Having regard that the position of the author (p. 18) is one for the understanding of "metaphors and metaphorical narratives [that:] can be profoundly true even if they are not literally or factually true" (p. 17), his ideas from this book must not be taken literally or as truths but as the bearer of a "deeper truth", that may be very different to what the author is actually saying, maybe even in contradiction to what is actually saying. :D
Then, Borg's claims come mostly, as he aknowledges, from his own subjective experience. The book does not reflect factual reality but only some subjective opinions that are subject to error of interpretations influenced by cultural and historical conditions.
Having regard that the position of the author (p. 18) is one for the understanding of "metaphors and metaphorical narratives [that:] can be profoundly true even if they are not literally or factually true" (p. 17), his ideas from this book must not be taken literally or as truths but as the bearer of a "deeper truth", that may be very different to what the author is actually saying, maybe even in contradiction to what is actually saying. :D
March 2, 2015
I started this book when Marcus Borg was still alive, after having a conversation about him with my sister. I was interested in what he had to say, so I started with this book as it was relatively short and I was able to get it inter-library loan.
There isn't enough room in this book for anything in-depth. It's a look at how to read the Bible in a non-literal fashion while still having faith. (Taking the Bible Seriously but Not Literally is the tag line on the cover.) The sections are like teasers - I'd like to read more of what Borg has to say on the subject but he has to move on to the next section. There is a good bibliography.
And footnotes. Lots and lots of footnotes. I often find footnotes more interesting than the actual text. There are some good notes in here.
I came away from this book learning how important the experience of God was in Borg's life and how the message of social justice permeates the Old and New Testament. I was aware of that, but in a more vague sense. Social justice is often overlooked in modern day American Christianity. I was also aware of that, too, and I appreciated Borg's view on that.
There isn't enough room in this book for anything in-depth. It's a look at how to read the Bible in a non-literal fashion while still having faith. (Taking the Bible Seriously but Not Literally is the tag line on the cover.) The sections are like teasers - I'd like to read more of what Borg has to say on the subject but he has to move on to the next section. There is a good bibliography.
And footnotes. Lots and lots of footnotes. I often find footnotes more interesting than the actual text. There are some good notes in here.
I came away from this book learning how important the experience of God was in Borg's life and how the message of social justice permeates the Old and New Testament. I was aware of that, but in a more vague sense. Social justice is often overlooked in modern day American Christianity. I was also aware of that, too, and I appreciated Borg's view on that.
June 25, 2021
My reaction to reading a book that was about the Bible not being literally true was interesting. I had no problem with the story of Job being a metaphor but when it came to the miracles of Jesus being metaphors, I was like, 'that's not true, they really happened!" which was an affirming fact about my faith to discover.
I learned a lot. It was a very interesting perspective, even if I didn't agree with everything. Loved the reframe of Paul (I've always struggled with him) and also liked the explanation of revelations. I found his emphasis on prophets as social justice warriors, so fascinating.
I learned a lot. It was a very interesting perspective, even if I didn't agree with everything. Loved the reframe of Paul (I've always struggled with him) and also liked the explanation of revelations. I found his emphasis on prophets as social justice warriors, so fascinating.
July 12, 2008
Marcus Borg’s historical-metaphorical approach is fascinating—it’s everything they didn’t teach (but should have taught) you in Sunday school.
Topics that most interested me were: how some literature gains sacred status and what that means, seeing religion as a “cultural-linguistic world,” and Borg’s idea of “postcritical naivete,” in which one hears the biblical stories once again as true stories, even as one knows that they may not be factually true and that their truth does not depend upon their factuality.
If you only read two chapters, I’d recommend
(1) “Reading the Creation Stories Again.” Brilliant, beautiful interpretations of the “primal act” (aka “the fall”).
(2) “Reading Isreal’s Wisdom Again.” I’m amazed that I never saw the clash between the conventional wisdom of Proverbs and the alternative wisdom of Job and Ecclesiastes. The Ecclesiastes bit was profound, probably my favorite part.
A few lines I thought worthy of underlining (among dozens)
---Indeed, the modern Western culture is the only culture in human history that has identified truth with factuality. We are ‘fact fundamentalists’: if a statement isn’t scientifically or historically factual, it isn’t true.
---calling the Bible the Word of God refers not to its origin but to its status and function
---they often mythologized their history (again, for the sake of expressing meaning), while we have tended to literalize their mythology.
---myths are necessary if we are to speak at all about the world’s origin and destiny in God. We have no other language for such matters….myth and reality go together, myth being the language for talking about what is ultimately real.
Topics that most interested me were: how some literature gains sacred status and what that means, seeing religion as a “cultural-linguistic world,” and Borg’s idea of “postcritical naivete,” in which one hears the biblical stories once again as true stories, even as one knows that they may not be factually true and that their truth does not depend upon their factuality.
If you only read two chapters, I’d recommend
(1) “Reading the Creation Stories Again.” Brilliant, beautiful interpretations of the “primal act” (aka “the fall”).
(2) “Reading Isreal’s Wisdom Again.” I’m amazed that I never saw the clash between the conventional wisdom of Proverbs and the alternative wisdom of Job and Ecclesiastes. The Ecclesiastes bit was profound, probably my favorite part.
A few lines I thought worthy of underlining (among dozens)
---Indeed, the modern Western culture is the only culture in human history that has identified truth with factuality. We are ‘fact fundamentalists’: if a statement isn’t scientifically or historically factual, it isn’t true.
---calling the Bible the Word of God refers not to its origin but to its status and function
---they often mythologized their history (again, for the sake of expressing meaning), while we have tended to literalize their mythology.
---myths are necessary if we are to speak at all about the world’s origin and destiny in God. We have no other language for such matters….myth and reality go together, myth being the language for talking about what is ultimately real.
July 29, 2017
For starters, I recommend this book to Christians who are beginning to question the modern interpretations of sacred scripture or even the so-called “spirituality” of the church. However, I must add a few cautions due to my own experiences.
To begin with, Marcus Borg describes a “sacred” experience in many of his books, and I am familiar with what he is describing. I had a powerful, spiritual experience when I was a teenager, but, being only a teenager, I did not have the vocabulary to describe it. I ended up using words like “ultimate reality” and “out of body experience” that got me ostracized and even censored within the church for being “new age”. What is interesting is that, at this time, Borg was teaching at the college where I was on the path to attend after I graduated from High School, but powerful forces intervened (more on this later in this review), and I never had the chance to take his class. For decades I felt like this had been a diabolical twist of fate, but now I suspect otherwise.
Borg’s “sacred” experience happened in his 30s, after his mind had already been molded by education. As a result, he did what all other experiencers of the “sacred” did: he bent the experience to fit his pre-existing interpretation of the world. In his case, it blended with his liberal, education-induced-agnostic world-view. Had I studied under Borg, I most definitely would have recognized him as having shared that same “sacred” experience, and I would have molded my own experience to his teachings. Since that did not happen, I have had a few decades to discover the truth on my own. This gives me the opportunity to discern the personal interpretations which Borg has inserted into his theology.
Borg and his educated colleagues, who obviously influenced his writing, do not have any footing on which to stand and say that the Old Testament laws are somehow irrelevant in this modern world. The only thing irrelevant is the interpretation. Of course, the main theme of this book is to re-read scripture with a different interpretation, and I am largely in agreement with the way Borg sees the Bible. However, having been spared the university indoctrination that Borg obviously suffered, I noticed a few things he seems to have left out (unless he simply was not allowed to share them).
The first grain of salt I would like to pass on to other readers is one I have repeated in my other discussions of Borg’s writings, as well as with most liberal interpretations of scripture: The Kingdom of Heaven is not a democracy. I don’t know why liberal Christianity does not understand this. Jesus is King. Jesus is not going to be corrupted or coerced to change a stance on morality just because the majority wants him to. If something is wrong in God’s eyes, it’s going to stay wrong. Get used to it.
It is evident to me, especially after reading several of his other books, that Borg was at least restricted—if not outright censored—by the liberally-biased publishing world in which he was based. He has been required, for instance, to put a pro-gay paragraph in each of his books that I have read—each time as an “example” of a place in the Bible where he feels the scripture is no longer relevant. This is something I feel I must address, not because I am homophobic, but because I am very much concerned with the buffet-line approach to selecting only the passages of the Bible that we want to believe are true.
Another example of this is Borg’s obviously liberal slant toward Evolution. He essentially assumes that modern scientific theory is Rock-Solid-Truth in the same way that many Creationists believe the Genesis mythology is absolutely How-It-Happened. Supposedly, modern scientists were “there to watch it happen” in the same way Creationists insist that the author of Genesis was there to see God form the earth from the void. My own spiritual walk takes both of these approaches with a grain of salt. Having been raised to love both science and faith, I have discovered that science is finding more and more proof that the Genesis story may have truth in it after all—just not the literal, seven-day interpretation favored by the hard-core Creationist camp. (I could write my own book on my studies of Creationism—and in fact, I have written fiction inspired by my studies—but here is not the place to even attempt a summary.) Suffice it to say, I have discovered in my own spiritual journey that “authentic” science points us more and more to the nature of God, and by pursuing this knowledge, we grow closer to our Creator.
Borg states early on that he sees the Bible as a human response to God, which, in his opinion, rules out any possibility that certain passages might be divinely inspired. Being a writer myself, and experiencing divine inspiration in my own work, I cannot accept this view. Borg asserts that the authors did not know how God “saw” things, yet throughout the rest of his book, his argument for social justice is based on the prophets’ vision of “God’s heart” for the people. In fact, a lot of this book returns to Borg’s often-solicited theme of “social justice”, a theological argument that, as I write this in 2017, did not age very well.
All societies follow what I call “laws of congregation”. This is, in fact, a universal law that applies to other aspects of the physical world. Essentially, all gathering bodies follow protocols or laws by which they may congregate into much denser “organisms” without creating chaos. Moses’ laws were no different. As a nomadic, agricultural society formed into a nation with crowding cities, the increasing congregation of individuals required a set of protocols with which society could efficiently interact with each other. Hence the laws on cleanliness, social justice, and personal behavior. Sadly, most Christians read these scriptural passages with the assumption that God is angry and the purpose for “God’s laws” were primarily to keep us from making God even angrier. This assumption has led to the decay of Christianity and Judaism, as well as the rise of Islam.
On the other side of the coin, we have Christians who have thrown congregational laws to the wind because their teachings now focus on “Messianic Salvation”. In effect, it has become okay to make an absolute mess of civilization because “Jesus will fix it.” I explored this contrast quite well in my book, "The Lucky and the Strong", so I will not delve further here. Suffice it to say, Borg takes a somewhat middle-of-the-road approach, describing the Kingdom of Heaven as something we can strive toward in this life, not waiting for Jesus to come again before doing our part to make the world a better place as we live in it. I do share this vision, but I must caution readers not to lean so far toward human definitions of social justice that the “Kingdom of Heaven” becomes just another liberal, socialist dictatorship.
A good example of Borg’s liberal leaning can be found in his interpretation of the Good Samaritan, a parable that, he claims, is about compassion. In fact, this is a parable quite obviously told to answer the question: “Who is my neighbor?” While it is true that compassion is used to identify the neighbor, this is not a story about a man who was so compassionate that he ran back out and gave even more of his wealth to those poor, disadvantaged bandits who robbed the traveler in the first place. As I am seeing modern Liberalism evolve, this is now the way that story has come to be told.
Before I conclude, I need to mention Borg’s obvious avoidance of the issue of Spiritual Warfare. This was another big flag to me. My spiritual journey has been one fraught with the supernatural: witchcraft, strange visions, and spiritual battles hard-fought within my home, my church, and my community. I am very familiar with the many passages within the Bible that deal with this subject. My life has been shaped by diabolically unfortunate events, and I cannot simply ignore the presence of the supernatural battle raging around me. Consequently, it has become startlingly obvious that Borg’s writing intentionally skirts around this issue. While I cannot conclude whether it was his own beliefs that prompted this, or the urgings of his publisher, I can state with certainty that this was a terrible mistake. If anything else, the absence of any warning to his readers against the Princes of this broken world should be seen as a warning to take everything else with a grain of salt.
In summary, I want to caution readers as to the dangers of reading a book that is founded on truth, but interspersed with deception. This is how honest spirituality gets twisted into evil religions. This is how churches get seduced into becoming cults. The Princes of this dark world are smart enough not to build their masterpieces of deception on lies that will easily crumble; the greatest of their deceptions have always been those based on a foundation of truth. In this case, Borg’s foundation is his true encounter with spirituality and the very real revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven as God designed it to be. Unfortunately, because his vision was twisted by his liberal education, I am reluctant to trust—or to pass on—the rest of his teachings without a healthy dose of discernment.
To begin with, Marcus Borg describes a “sacred” experience in many of his books, and I am familiar with what he is describing. I had a powerful, spiritual experience when I was a teenager, but, being only a teenager, I did not have the vocabulary to describe it. I ended up using words like “ultimate reality” and “out of body experience” that got me ostracized and even censored within the church for being “new age”. What is interesting is that, at this time, Borg was teaching at the college where I was on the path to attend after I graduated from High School, but powerful forces intervened (more on this later in this review), and I never had the chance to take his class. For decades I felt like this had been a diabolical twist of fate, but now I suspect otherwise.
Borg’s “sacred” experience happened in his 30s, after his mind had already been molded by education. As a result, he did what all other experiencers of the “sacred” did: he bent the experience to fit his pre-existing interpretation of the world. In his case, it blended with his liberal, education-induced-agnostic world-view. Had I studied under Borg, I most definitely would have recognized him as having shared that same “sacred” experience, and I would have molded my own experience to his teachings. Since that did not happen, I have had a few decades to discover the truth on my own. This gives me the opportunity to discern the personal interpretations which Borg has inserted into his theology.
Borg and his educated colleagues, who obviously influenced his writing, do not have any footing on which to stand and say that the Old Testament laws are somehow irrelevant in this modern world. The only thing irrelevant is the interpretation. Of course, the main theme of this book is to re-read scripture with a different interpretation, and I am largely in agreement with the way Borg sees the Bible. However, having been spared the university indoctrination that Borg obviously suffered, I noticed a few things he seems to have left out (unless he simply was not allowed to share them).
The first grain of salt I would like to pass on to other readers is one I have repeated in my other discussions of Borg’s writings, as well as with most liberal interpretations of scripture: The Kingdom of Heaven is not a democracy. I don’t know why liberal Christianity does not understand this. Jesus is King. Jesus is not going to be corrupted or coerced to change a stance on morality just because the majority wants him to. If something is wrong in God’s eyes, it’s going to stay wrong. Get used to it.
It is evident to me, especially after reading several of his other books, that Borg was at least restricted—if not outright censored—by the liberally-biased publishing world in which he was based. He has been required, for instance, to put a pro-gay paragraph in each of his books that I have read—each time as an “example” of a place in the Bible where he feels the scripture is no longer relevant. This is something I feel I must address, not because I am homophobic, but because I am very much concerned with the buffet-line approach to selecting only the passages of the Bible that we want to believe are true.
Another example of this is Borg’s obviously liberal slant toward Evolution. He essentially assumes that modern scientific theory is Rock-Solid-Truth in the same way that many Creationists believe the Genesis mythology is absolutely How-It-Happened. Supposedly, modern scientists were “there to watch it happen” in the same way Creationists insist that the author of Genesis was there to see God form the earth from the void. My own spiritual walk takes both of these approaches with a grain of salt. Having been raised to love both science and faith, I have discovered that science is finding more and more proof that the Genesis story may have truth in it after all—just not the literal, seven-day interpretation favored by the hard-core Creationist camp. (I could write my own book on my studies of Creationism—and in fact, I have written fiction inspired by my studies—but here is not the place to even attempt a summary.) Suffice it to say, I have discovered in my own spiritual journey that “authentic” science points us more and more to the nature of God, and by pursuing this knowledge, we grow closer to our Creator.
Borg states early on that he sees the Bible as a human response to God, which, in his opinion, rules out any possibility that certain passages might be divinely inspired. Being a writer myself, and experiencing divine inspiration in my own work, I cannot accept this view. Borg asserts that the authors did not know how God “saw” things, yet throughout the rest of his book, his argument for social justice is based on the prophets’ vision of “God’s heart” for the people. In fact, a lot of this book returns to Borg’s often-solicited theme of “social justice”, a theological argument that, as I write this in 2017, did not age very well.
All societies follow what I call “laws of congregation”. This is, in fact, a universal law that applies to other aspects of the physical world. Essentially, all gathering bodies follow protocols or laws by which they may congregate into much denser “organisms” without creating chaos. Moses’ laws were no different. As a nomadic, agricultural society formed into a nation with crowding cities, the increasing congregation of individuals required a set of protocols with which society could efficiently interact with each other. Hence the laws on cleanliness, social justice, and personal behavior. Sadly, most Christians read these scriptural passages with the assumption that God is angry and the purpose for “God’s laws” were primarily to keep us from making God even angrier. This assumption has led to the decay of Christianity and Judaism, as well as the rise of Islam.
On the other side of the coin, we have Christians who have thrown congregational laws to the wind because their teachings now focus on “Messianic Salvation”. In effect, it has become okay to make an absolute mess of civilization because “Jesus will fix it.” I explored this contrast quite well in my book, "The Lucky and the Strong", so I will not delve further here. Suffice it to say, Borg takes a somewhat middle-of-the-road approach, describing the Kingdom of Heaven as something we can strive toward in this life, not waiting for Jesus to come again before doing our part to make the world a better place as we live in it. I do share this vision, but I must caution readers not to lean so far toward human definitions of social justice that the “Kingdom of Heaven” becomes just another liberal, socialist dictatorship.
A good example of Borg’s liberal leaning can be found in his interpretation of the Good Samaritan, a parable that, he claims, is about compassion. In fact, this is a parable quite obviously told to answer the question: “Who is my neighbor?” While it is true that compassion is used to identify the neighbor, this is not a story about a man who was so compassionate that he ran back out and gave even more of his wealth to those poor, disadvantaged bandits who robbed the traveler in the first place. As I am seeing modern Liberalism evolve, this is now the way that story has come to be told.
Before I conclude, I need to mention Borg’s obvious avoidance of the issue of Spiritual Warfare. This was another big flag to me. My spiritual journey has been one fraught with the supernatural: witchcraft, strange visions, and spiritual battles hard-fought within my home, my church, and my community. I am very familiar with the many passages within the Bible that deal with this subject. My life has been shaped by diabolically unfortunate events, and I cannot simply ignore the presence of the supernatural battle raging around me. Consequently, it has become startlingly obvious that Borg’s writing intentionally skirts around this issue. While I cannot conclude whether it was his own beliefs that prompted this, or the urgings of his publisher, I can state with certainty that this was a terrible mistake. If anything else, the absence of any warning to his readers against the Princes of this broken world should be seen as a warning to take everything else with a grain of salt.
In summary, I want to caution readers as to the dangers of reading a book that is founded on truth, but interspersed with deception. This is how honest spirituality gets twisted into evil religions. This is how churches get seduced into becoming cults. The Princes of this dark world are smart enough not to build their masterpieces of deception on lies that will easily crumble; the greatest of their deceptions have always been those based on a foundation of truth. In this case, Borg’s foundation is his true encounter with spirituality and the very real revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven as God designed it to be. Unfortunately, because his vision was twisted by his liberal education, I am reluctant to trust—or to pass on—the rest of his teachings without a healthy dose of discernment.
August 27, 2012
This book is addressed to the faithful. I didn't finish it because trying to read the next word while the past words hung unresolved over my head was exhausting. I have a new baby and I don't have time for this crap.
Look. This is what it comes down to. If the Bible is something that does not have a finite amount of correct interpretations, then all interpretations are valid. If all interpretations are valid, then no interpretation is authoritative. If no authoritative interpretation exists, then why should I bother using the Bible as my holy-book-and-guide-to-life? What is better about the Bible or Christianity than any other religion? This goes unanswered because the author assumes that that question doesn't bother the reader as the reader is, as I said, one of the faithful. Or maybe it does get answered. I don't know because I have no time to do anything that isn't 100% engaging of what pittance of free time I can scrape together. A book that blithely mentions (IN A FOOTNOTE) that dealing with the world using science and fact is wrong is not engaging.
So much for that.
Look. This is what it comes down to. If the Bible is something that does not have a finite amount of correct interpretations, then all interpretations are valid. If all interpretations are valid, then no interpretation is authoritative. If no authoritative interpretation exists, then why should I bother using the Bible as my holy-book-and-guide-to-life? What is better about the Bible or Christianity than any other religion? This goes unanswered because the author assumes that that question doesn't bother the reader as the reader is, as I said, one of the faithful. Or maybe it does get answered. I don't know because I have no time to do anything that isn't 100% engaging of what pittance of free time I can scrape together. A book that blithely mentions (IN A FOOTNOTE) that dealing with the world using science and fact is wrong is not engaging.
So much for that.
Read
August 22, 2022Back to Borg. It didn't take me long, since Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time was extremely eye-opening for me. This book is as insightful as its predecessor, but it lacks a level of cohesion that made Meeting Jesus special. It's very possible that this is an inherent weakness of any book that sets out to analyze the entire Christian Bible. Despite a relative lack of coherence, Borg does return again and again to the idea of conventional wisdom vs. alternative wisdom, which is a central idea of Meeting Jesus.
Borg treats the Bible in six sections: creation myths, the Pentateuch, and the prophets for the Hebrew Bible; gospels, Pauline epistles, and Revelation for the New Testament. Of these six, I found the analysis of the prophets and Paul's letters to be most insightful.
Borg argues that Christianity has for centuries tamed the prophets into Messiah-predicting sages instead of the social justice advocates that they were.
Similarly, in his analysis of Paul, he highlights the intrinsic anti-imperial character of the early Jesus movement. Speaking of Paul's execution, he writes:
These quotes point to my biggest takeaways from the book: a clearer understanding of the centuries-long conflict between conventional and alternative wisdom in the Bible, the side of that conflict that defined early Christ communities, and the importance of anti-imperialism to those early "Christians."
Borg treats the Bible in six sections: creation myths, the Pentateuch, and the prophets for the Hebrew Bible; gospels, Pauline epistles, and Revelation for the New Testament. Of these six, I found the analysis of the prophets and Paul's letters to be most insightful.
Borg argues that Christianity has for centuries tamed the prophets into Messiah-predicting sages instead of the social justice advocates that they were.
The domestication is to a large extent the product of Christendom, the wedding of Christianity with Western culture... During the centuries that Christianity slept with the dominant culture, it did not (and in a sense could not) see the prophets as voices of radical social protest against domination systems. And so the prophets were made "safe"...
Similarly, in his analysis of Paul, he highlights the intrinsic anti-imperial character of the early Jesus movement. Speaking of Paul's execution, he writes:
We who live after centuries of Christian accommodation with imperial systems are inclined to think that Rome simply made a mistake--that Rome failed to recognize that Christianity is harmless to empire. But what happened to Jesus and Paul should give us pause. Christianity is the only major religion whose two most formative figures were executed by established authority. Accident? Plan of God? Or is there in Jesus and Paul a vision and a program, a message and a mission, that should cause systems of domination, ancient and modern, to tremble?
These quotes point to my biggest takeaways from the book: a clearer understanding of the centuries-long conflict between conventional and alternative wisdom in the Bible, the side of that conflict that defined early Christ communities, and the importance of anti-imperialism to those early "Christians."
April 21, 2021
Marcus Borg was introduced to me 20+ years ago as a "dangerous heretic," so I found myself constantly surprised as I read this book at how reasonable and insightful it is. (Granted, I've changed, but also a good reminder to read something for yourself rather than take someone else's word.) I found this book more engaging and helpful than Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, primarily because of its subject matter and Borg's scholarship.
Borg begins by considering the "lens" through which we read the Bible, distinguishing between "natural literalism" (a state in which "the Bible is read and accepted literally without effort") and a "historical-metaphorical approach," which accounts for cultural and historical context and does not insist on every word of scripture being literally true (hence the subtitle, "Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally"). The rest of the book considers the Bible through that historical-metaphorical lens, as Borg makes the case for moving from "precritical naivete" ("an early childhood state in which we take it for granted that whatever the significant authority figures in our lives tell us to be true is indeed true") to "postcritical naivete," the "ability to hear the biblical stories once again as true stories, even as one knows that they may not be factually true and that their truth does not depend upon their factuality."
If this all sounds dry and academic, that was not my experience reading it, especially when Borg dives into the creation narrative, the historical exodus, and most of all the prophets. ("I speak of [prophets] as God-intoxicated voices of radical social criticism and God-intoxicated advocates of an alternative social vision. Their dream is God's dream.") One need not agree with everything Borg does to find this a worthwhile read.
Borg begins by considering the "lens" through which we read the Bible, distinguishing between "natural literalism" (a state in which "the Bible is read and accepted literally without effort") and a "historical-metaphorical approach," which accounts for cultural and historical context and does not insist on every word of scripture being literally true (hence the subtitle, "Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally"). The rest of the book considers the Bible through that historical-metaphorical lens, as Borg makes the case for moving from "precritical naivete" ("an early childhood state in which we take it for granted that whatever the significant authority figures in our lives tell us to be true is indeed true") to "postcritical naivete," the "ability to hear the biblical stories once again as true stories, even as one knows that they may not be factually true and that their truth does not depend upon their factuality."
If this all sounds dry and academic, that was not my experience reading it, especially when Borg dives into the creation narrative, the historical exodus, and most of all the prophets. ("I speak of [prophets] as God-intoxicated voices of radical social criticism and God-intoxicated advocates of an alternative social vision. Their dream is God's dream.") One need not agree with everything Borg does to find this a worthwhile read.
October 1, 2022
I am a woman of faith who believes in, reads, and studies the Bible; however, I am not a literalist. This book gave me a deeper understanding of the reasoning behind this point of view and how to explain it to myself and others. Putting the Bible into its rightful historical context seems both intuitive and necessary to understanding it fully. This does not minimize the power of the Word for me; it enhances and explains it.
I read this book as part of a church book discussion group and we certainly found a lot to discuss! I love that because I learn so much and grow in my faith when I am around Christian friends.
The book is a bit old now, so I did wonder about newer historical research. Also, to me, Borg goes a bit far when he questions the historical authenticity of Jesus's miracles. Obviously we can't prove miracles happened, but we also know that they came from somewhere and it seems disingenuous to me to insist the authors of the Gospels were making them up just to make symbolic points about Jesus's teachings. I personally have experienced a miracle in my life which humbled me and allowed me to accept supernatural events beyond my understanding.
As Borg always states, there is Truth in the Bible and that is far more important than getting hung up on whether any individual event really happened as written or not.
Well worth reading.
I read this book as part of a church book discussion group and we certainly found a lot to discuss! I love that because I learn so much and grow in my faith when I am around Christian friends.
The book is a bit old now, so I did wonder about newer historical research. Also, to me, Borg goes a bit far when he questions the historical authenticity of Jesus's miracles. Obviously we can't prove miracles happened, but we also know that they came from somewhere and it seems disingenuous to me to insist the authors of the Gospels were making them up just to make symbolic points about Jesus's teachings. I personally have experienced a miracle in my life which humbled me and allowed me to accept supernatural events beyond my understanding.
As Borg always states, there is Truth in the Bible and that is far more important than getting hung up on whether any individual event really happened as written or not.
Well worth reading.
February 20, 2014
This is an excellent work, full stop, period. Prof. Borg is thoughtful, pragmatic and passionate about the Bible and his commitment to getting it right (in his view) is both evident and appreciated. His insights are as plentiful as they are insightful and his reverence for the subject matter helps the reader to appreciate just how much opportunity there is in studying the Christian Scripture critically.
As is obvious from the subtitle, Prof. Borg does indeed take the Bible seriously and not literally. In so doing, he is quite fair in analyzing it, pointing out its flaws when required but also being far more focused on its abundant and still-relevant meaning. And he treats the perspectives of others - specifically, those of the literalist and fundamentalist bent - with respect, even as he disagrees with their views and mines the material to find greater/deeper meaning in the text.
As he works his way through the Bible, it's clear that Prof. Borg loves and respects his subject. He identifies numerous "voices" in the work and sometimes within (a section of) a Testament he identifies that there are different/opposing ones. His analysis of the conventional vs. alternative wisdom in the work of the Old Testament prophets is spectacular and compelling. My newfound and deep appreciation for the dissenting, 'heretical' viewpoints within these works is one of the gifts from this book.
So, too, is his treatment of Paul. In the spirit of full disclosure, I had read another of his books on the work of Paul, but this analysis brought more new insights to the fore. Among other things, his explanation for why Paul often seems to deal with both the meaningful and the esoteric is quite convincing and helps a critical reader to appreciate wisdom therein that might otherwise have been missed. Further, his focus on context and how important this is to understanding the Apostle's message correctly is illuminating. And, finally, his acknowledgment that some parts of Paul's message - especially those that can seem, for example, misogynistic - are difficult for us is helpful. Then, when he follows this acknowledgment with the analysis of the consensus (/genuine) Pauline texts vs. those that are likely non-Pauline, the conclusion that most of the concerning and/or offending statements are contained in the latter Epistles is a valuable and inspiring revelation indeed.
I could go on about the many different parts of the book that contain a wealth of insight and inspiration, but I'll begin to close here by sharing a bit about his analysis of Revelation, which, frankly, is the best that I've ever read. To be frank, I am so much not a fan of the last book of the New Testament ... or, at least, I used not to be so. But after considering Prof. Borg's treatment carefully, I am persuaded by his arguments, including that the book is largely about an apocalypse that the author John of Patmos expected in his own time and that it is actually a letter written to seven Christian communities in the Diaspora (and addresses issues in each of them before warning of the expected apocalypse, which he thought would be the fall of the Roman Empire coinciding with Christ's return). History tells us that John of Patmos was, in fact, wrong: Christ never returned in that era and the Roman Empire didn't fall for another three hundred years or so (and not because of the triumph of heavenly Christian forces). But, as the Prof. Borg points out, Revelation is so much more than a mistaken prediction of the end of the world; in fact, it's one of the most deeply symbolic and lyrical books in the entire Bible and thus has much to offer if one can read/assess it correctly. To put it bluntly, if Prof. Borg can convert me into a fan of Revelation, he is really, truly doin' somethin'! :-)
Lest I give the impression that it's a perfect book, it's not. Though generally quite well-written and -edited, there are some glaring and unnecessary repetitions in the penultimate chapter on Revelation. Also, at times one gets the sense that Prof. Borg is bending too far over backward to be fair to and not to offend those of the literalist/fundamentalist bent. While I appreciate the restraint, if sometimes feels as if he's pulling his punches analytically, so to speak. But these are minor quibbles. Perhaps they take the book down from an A+ to a high A, but that's about it.
OK, I can't resist - one more comment on the author's Epilogue: simply put, it's brilliant ... in large part because it's so personal (vs. reflecting the intellectual detachment appropriate in the rest of the book) and thus it's compelling. His synthesis of his analysis from the book with his own life experience and beliefs is both inspiring and revelatory. The way that he crystallizes his key themes and how they play out in his practice of his own faith - or how they should play out in the practice of our faith - is as profound as it is impressive. To put it simply, I found myself writing notes in almost every bit of margin space in this brief but powerful chapter ... and those notes reflect learnings that I intend to incorporate into my conception of my own faith. I could literally share a dozen or more examples, but I suspect that you get the point: the dude is accessible, deep, perceptive and illuminating and this book is a great and rewarding experience of this.
So I'll close by recommending this book highly to everyone interested in finding incredibly profound meaning in the Good Book, in having his/her appreciation for the Bible enhanced in myriad ways and in enjoying learning while being inspired. This book will open the Bible to you in powerfully meaningful ways. I seriously doubt that your appreciation for its wisdom will be unaffected and am quite confident that it will be enhanced immeasurably. Enjoy!
As is obvious from the subtitle, Prof. Borg does indeed take the Bible seriously and not literally. In so doing, he is quite fair in analyzing it, pointing out its flaws when required but also being far more focused on its abundant and still-relevant meaning. And he treats the perspectives of others - specifically, those of the literalist and fundamentalist bent - with respect, even as he disagrees with their views and mines the material to find greater/deeper meaning in the text.
As he works his way through the Bible, it's clear that Prof. Borg loves and respects his subject. He identifies numerous "voices" in the work and sometimes within (a section of) a Testament he identifies that there are different/opposing ones. His analysis of the conventional vs. alternative wisdom in the work of the Old Testament prophets is spectacular and compelling. My newfound and deep appreciation for the dissenting, 'heretical' viewpoints within these works is one of the gifts from this book.
So, too, is his treatment of Paul. In the spirit of full disclosure, I had read another of his books on the work of Paul, but this analysis brought more new insights to the fore. Among other things, his explanation for why Paul often seems to deal with both the meaningful and the esoteric is quite convincing and helps a critical reader to appreciate wisdom therein that might otherwise have been missed. Further, his focus on context and how important this is to understanding the Apostle's message correctly is illuminating. And, finally, his acknowledgment that some parts of Paul's message - especially those that can seem, for example, misogynistic - are difficult for us is helpful. Then, when he follows this acknowledgment with the analysis of the consensus (/genuine) Pauline texts vs. those that are likely non-Pauline, the conclusion that most of the concerning and/or offending statements are contained in the latter Epistles is a valuable and inspiring revelation indeed.
I could go on about the many different parts of the book that contain a wealth of insight and inspiration, but I'll begin to close here by sharing a bit about his analysis of Revelation, which, frankly, is the best that I've ever read. To be frank, I am so much not a fan of the last book of the New Testament ... or, at least, I used not to be so. But after considering Prof. Borg's treatment carefully, I am persuaded by his arguments, including that the book is largely about an apocalypse that the author John of Patmos expected in his own time and that it is actually a letter written to seven Christian communities in the Diaspora (and addresses issues in each of them before warning of the expected apocalypse, which he thought would be the fall of the Roman Empire coinciding with Christ's return). History tells us that John of Patmos was, in fact, wrong: Christ never returned in that era and the Roman Empire didn't fall for another three hundred years or so (and not because of the triumph of heavenly Christian forces). But, as the Prof. Borg points out, Revelation is so much more than a mistaken prediction of the end of the world; in fact, it's one of the most deeply symbolic and lyrical books in the entire Bible and thus has much to offer if one can read/assess it correctly. To put it bluntly, if Prof. Borg can convert me into a fan of Revelation, he is really, truly doin' somethin'! :-)
Lest I give the impression that it's a perfect book, it's not. Though generally quite well-written and -edited, there are some glaring and unnecessary repetitions in the penultimate chapter on Revelation. Also, at times one gets the sense that Prof. Borg is bending too far over backward to be fair to and not to offend those of the literalist/fundamentalist bent. While I appreciate the restraint, if sometimes feels as if he's pulling his punches analytically, so to speak. But these are minor quibbles. Perhaps they take the book down from an A+ to a high A, but that's about it.
OK, I can't resist - one more comment on the author's Epilogue: simply put, it's brilliant ... in large part because it's so personal (vs. reflecting the intellectual detachment appropriate in the rest of the book) and thus it's compelling. His synthesis of his analysis from the book with his own life experience and beliefs is both inspiring and revelatory. The way that he crystallizes his key themes and how they play out in his practice of his own faith - or how they should play out in the practice of our faith - is as profound as it is impressive. To put it simply, I found myself writing notes in almost every bit of margin space in this brief but powerful chapter ... and those notes reflect learnings that I intend to incorporate into my conception of my own faith. I could literally share a dozen or more examples, but I suspect that you get the point: the dude is accessible, deep, perceptive and illuminating and this book is a great and rewarding experience of this.
So I'll close by recommending this book highly to everyone interested in finding incredibly profound meaning in the Good Book, in having his/her appreciation for the Bible enhanced in myriad ways and in enjoying learning while being inspired. This book will open the Bible to you in powerfully meaningful ways. I seriously doubt that your appreciation for its wisdom will be unaffected and am quite confident that it will be enhanced immeasurably. Enjoy!
November 12, 2023
4.5 - I learned so much about myself and my faith through this book. I read it, plus my pastor preached about each section, then we had small group discussions about it.
If I learned anything, it's that I advise anyone reading this to start with the last chapter first, which is about reading Revelation again for the first time. My mouth literally fell open in wonder and surprise.
The first few chapters were above my head, so I had a rough start. I can't decide if the part about Paul or Revelation is my favorite.
I'll be reading this one again and highlighting my favorite passages. Highly recommend this to anyone interested in the history of the Bible.
It's a wealth of digging in deep and turning what you think you know upside down.
Invigorating!
If I learned anything, it's that I advise anyone reading this to start with the last chapter first, which is about reading Revelation again for the first time. My mouth literally fell open in wonder and surprise.
The first few chapters were above my head, so I had a rough start. I can't decide if the part about Paul or Revelation is my favorite.
I'll be reading this one again and highlighting my favorite passages. Highly recommend this to anyone interested in the history of the Bible.
It's a wealth of digging in deep and turning what you think you know upside down.
Invigorating!
August 31, 2025
This book had some interesting concepts that are interesting to ponder. The format was pretty dry so it took me forever to finish it.
August 6, 2016
As Borg summarizes at the end of the first section of the book, "we will explore what it means to read the Bible as a combination of history and metaphor. Using the tools of historical criticism, we will seek to illuminate the ancient meanings of biblical texts by setting those passages in their historical context." He differentiates between history and metaphor, making the point that the Bible isn't necessarily 100% What Happened, but that some sections are metaphors about what happened or how to see the world.
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I'd give this about 2.5 stars if I could, or maybe even 3, but Goodreads' definition of 3 stars is "liked it," and I just can't say that truthfully about this book. The premise is great: How to read the Bible seriously, but not *literally*. Not every story in the Bible Happened The Way It Was Written. Great premise! I'd like to know which stories he thinks are parables/folk tales/metaphors (as he refers to the non-historical stories). That's a superb premise! But then he falls short. WAY short. There are definitely sections where this theme is obvious, namely in the third of the book where he talks about the Hebrew Bible. You've got the creation stories (What? Stories? More than one? How can there be more than one if it's what really happened? Wait... ahhhh... at least one of them is a metaphor? Got it.), and the story of Israel, the exodus, etc. He does really well explaining how those are or could be metaphors. Great, I'm totally on board with you.
But then when he gets to the section about the New Testament, he lost me. It seemed to me like he was doing more explaining about the whos and whats of the stories rather than the stories themselves and how they are or could be metaphors. The section about Paul is interesting, but it had nothing to do with how the Bible stories are metaphors. It was a lot of history of Paul and his writings, but not how the book of Paul (himself? or his letters?) is a metaphor. If anything, it seemed like Borg started sprinkling the word "metaphor" into the last few chapters because he realized he hadn't made the connection between those Bible sections and metaphors. Or maybe I just completely fell asleep when he made those connections.
So the book gets 2 stars from me: Great premise, poor follow-through.
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I'd give this about 2.5 stars if I could, or maybe even 3, but Goodreads' definition of 3 stars is "liked it," and I just can't say that truthfully about this book. The premise is great: How to read the Bible seriously, but not *literally*. Not every story in the Bible Happened The Way It Was Written. Great premise! I'd like to know which stories he thinks are parables/folk tales/metaphors (as he refers to the non-historical stories). That's a superb premise! But then he falls short. WAY short. There are definitely sections where this theme is obvious, namely in the third of the book where he talks about the Hebrew Bible. You've got the creation stories (What? Stories? More than one? How can there be more than one if it's what really happened? Wait... ahhhh... at least one of them is a metaphor? Got it.), and the story of Israel, the exodus, etc. He does really well explaining how those are or could be metaphors. Great, I'm totally on board with you.
But then when he gets to the section about the New Testament, he lost me. It seemed to me like he was doing more explaining about the whos and whats of the stories rather than the stories themselves and how they are or could be metaphors. The section about Paul is interesting, but it had nothing to do with how the Bible stories are metaphors. It was a lot of history of Paul and his writings, but not how the book of Paul (himself? or his letters?) is a metaphor. If anything, it seemed like Borg started sprinkling the word "metaphor" into the last few chapters because he realized he hadn't made the connection between those Bible sections and metaphors. Or maybe I just completely fell asleep when he made those connections.
So the book gets 2 stars from me: Great premise, poor follow-through.
May 14, 2020
A relationship with God and your lasting fidelity. We either choose to follow God or follow Man that's it.
November 9, 2014
I feel often people have this image that the Bible was a golden book that fell from the sky from God and was bestowed upon man. Marcus Borg tries to show the individual works as they were intended by each individual author of each work. This is probably the best book I can suggest for someone wanting to understand the Bible through a modern perspective and as I believe, many people of the day saw each work. Borg is able to address books from Genesis to Revelation, examining many of the controversial topics like The Creation, The Exodus, The Flood, The Gospels, Paul, Minor Prophets, Major Prophets, and Revelation. Borg tackles most of the main issues and gives thought-provoking summaries to help guide each reader with how a work is viewed and should be viewed. Borg takes many things as they are best seen through sometimes literal and sometimes historical-metaphorical approaches. Someone reading this and not liking it is probably benighted towards the realm of scholarship or simply cannot comprehend the time and historical setting of the people the letters (or books) were addressed to. I'd ask anyone that gives this an honest read to refrain from prejudice and listen to what is being said. I think it is a bridge that can get us all across to know just exactly what the biblical writers had in mind at the time and what they hoped for with regards to their people going forth into the future.
December 17, 2015
I personally find Borg to be remarkably encouraging and pastoral in his writing, though many lump him in with the "skeptical, Jesus Seminar, liberal scholars," I consistently am surprised by his gentle passion for following Jesus and knowing God. This book directly spoke to many questions and tensions I feel when reading scripture, but am unable to address in my predominantly Evangelical-conservative Christian communities.
This all being said, the subtitle of this book is, "taking the Bible seriously but not literally," and if that makes you really uncomfortable, you should know that it's a fair description of the book. I do think Borg unnecessarily "metaphorizes" scripture a few too many times, when the events simply could be historical, and he clearly is deeply informed by a modern, Enlightened mindset. However, he is tenaciously devoted to discovering what the scriptures MEAN, regardless of the history that may be behind the events, and this is where I find his writing/thinking to be profoundly encouraging. I walked away from this book with a deeper love of many pieces of scripture: the chapters on the Prophetic writings and Paul are both wonderful. If this sounds of interest to you, and if you are a conservative Evangelical who is willing to be stretched a bit, then I highly recommend this.
This all being said, the subtitle of this book is, "taking the Bible seriously but not literally," and if that makes you really uncomfortable, you should know that it's a fair description of the book. I do think Borg unnecessarily "metaphorizes" scripture a few too many times, when the events simply could be historical, and he clearly is deeply informed by a modern, Enlightened mindset. However, he is tenaciously devoted to discovering what the scriptures MEAN, regardless of the history that may be behind the events, and this is where I find his writing/thinking to be profoundly encouraging. I walked away from this book with a deeper love of many pieces of scripture: the chapters on the Prophetic writings and Paul are both wonderful. If this sounds of interest to you, and if you are a conservative Evangelical who is willing to be stretched a bit, then I highly recommend this.
March 14, 2012
The premise of this book was very interesting, but ultimately it disappointed me. Borg argues that we shouldn't read the Bible literally, but instead read it with a historical-metaphorical lens.
The first third of the book is devoted to reasons (some compelling, some not) why a literal reading of the Bible is problematic. Instead, he believes we should read the Bible either as metaphor or as historical or sometimes both at the same time. The remainder of the book goes through parts of the Bible applying this interpretive method.
I found the book frustrating because this historical-metaphorical method raises serious questions about central issues of (evangelical) Christianity. However, Borg doesn't address these issues at all. At best, he occasionally acknowledges an issue, but flippantly dismisses it.
As a side note, the are copious footnotes in this book, but if you take the time to review them, many aren't academic references but merely the author's further elaborations on a point. I this that is a deceptive use of footnotes.
The first third of the book is devoted to reasons (some compelling, some not) why a literal reading of the Bible is problematic. Instead, he believes we should read the Bible either as metaphor or as historical or sometimes both at the same time. The remainder of the book goes through parts of the Bible applying this interpretive method.
I found the book frustrating because this historical-metaphorical method raises serious questions about central issues of (evangelical) Christianity. However, Borg doesn't address these issues at all. At best, he occasionally acknowledges an issue, but flippantly dismisses it.
As a side note, the are copious footnotes in this book, but if you take the time to review them, many aren't academic references but merely the author's further elaborations on a point. I this that is a deceptive use of footnotes.
May 6, 2013
Marcus Borg presents the historical, scholarly background of various books of the Bible like other authors I've read--Etienne Charpentier and Raymond Brown. He tells of the various voices found in the Bible and how they can be used as a "lens for seeing life with God." The use of metaphors is explained. By showing how some parts having meaning as metaphor instead of actual fact, Borg made some things less confusing so that I could see the God I've come to know in them.
The areas covered are the Pentateuch, Prophets, Wisdom, Gospels, Paul's writing, and Revelation. The book has a refreshing look at each of these.
In the Epilogue he says, "...at the core of the biblical vision of life with God: a sacred Mystery at the center of life, with whom we are to be in a conscious relationship and who is passionate about the well-being of the whole creation. We are called to participate in the passion of God."
The areas covered are the Pentateuch, Prophets, Wisdom, Gospels, Paul's writing, and Revelation. The book has a refreshing look at each of these.
In the Epilogue he says, "...at the core of the biblical vision of life with God: a sacred Mystery at the center of life, with whom we are to be in a conscious relationship and who is passionate about the well-being of the whole creation. We are called to participate in the passion of God."
March 28, 2016
This book is a breath of fresh air and shows how the Bible can be read productively and with great spiritual insight, without being bound in the straight-jacket of literalism. There are many portions of the Bible which are obviously not intended to be taken literally, even though many Christians insist on doing so. Borg's primary premise is that the Bible was written by humans, not by God, in the direct sense that many Christians assume. This does not mean that the some parts of the Bible are therefore "correct" and others are not, but rather that the Bible must be read differently. Also, recognizing that some events are fully embedded in the cultures at the time the stories were written, means not that God was different then, but that people of those times saw God differently. I highly recommend Borg's "historical-metaphorical" approach to reading the Bible.
May 31, 2019
This was my first time reading Borg, although I have seen some videos with interviews of him, and his approach to reading and understanding the Bible is woven all throughout contemporary Christian thought, both in the academy and from the pulpit. Therefore I thought it good to dig into his stuff myself.
In this book, Borg first tackles Biblical literalism, discussing it from its roots as a reaction to Biblical criticism emerging in the 19th century, its use as a bulwark against modernity and perceived dilution of the message of the Bible, and the way its rigidity has driven people away from the faith. In light of all these things he suggests a different way of reading the Bible, which he calls the "historical-metaphorical" approach. For the rest of the book, he works his way through the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, treating poignant and important passages by seeking to situate them in their historical context and also delving into the metaphorical meanings they carried for their first hearers and for us today.
The method is extremely illuminating, but what I found even more meaningful was the thread he traced through the entire Bible illustrating the conflict between "domination systems" (like those of Pharaoh and Augustus, where the power elites have established profoundly unjust, ungodly systems and legitimated them by claiming them to be the will of God) and the vision of the Prophets and Jesus of social justice, which calls every believer to work in the name of God to dismantle systems of injustice and challenge the conventional wisdom that "domesticated" society feeds us.
Overall an excellent book, high 4 stars, losing points only because it is frequently lofty material that requires the reader to bring to it some knowledge of theology and historical movements within the Church as well as fairly thorough knowledge of the Bible. Even with the helpful end notes at the close of each chapter, I do not think I would have readily absorbed so much from this book if I had not been steeped in the Biblical stories since my youth.
In this book, Borg first tackles Biblical literalism, discussing it from its roots as a reaction to Biblical criticism emerging in the 19th century, its use as a bulwark against modernity and perceived dilution of the message of the Bible, and the way its rigidity has driven people away from the faith. In light of all these things he suggests a different way of reading the Bible, which he calls the "historical-metaphorical" approach. For the rest of the book, he works his way through the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, treating poignant and important passages by seeking to situate them in their historical context and also delving into the metaphorical meanings they carried for their first hearers and for us today.
The method is extremely illuminating, but what I found even more meaningful was the thread he traced through the entire Bible illustrating the conflict between "domination systems" (like those of Pharaoh and Augustus, where the power elites have established profoundly unjust, ungodly systems and legitimated them by claiming them to be the will of God) and the vision of the Prophets and Jesus of social justice, which calls every believer to work in the name of God to dismantle systems of injustice and challenge the conventional wisdom that "domesticated" society feeds us.
Overall an excellent book, high 4 stars, losing points only because it is frequently lofty material that requires the reader to bring to it some knowledge of theology and historical movements within the Church as well as fairly thorough knowledge of the Bible. Even with the helpful end notes at the close of each chapter, I do not think I would have readily absorbed so much from this book if I had not been steeped in the Biblical stories since my youth.
March 16, 2017
Flannery O'Connor's depiction of the South as "Christ-haunted" is an apt description of my own 20s. While I've departed from Christianity, I can't seem to escape Christ. Borg's a very down-to-earth teacher and theologian so this is a great one to read if you're looking for a less literal, more inclusive and all-around (in my opinion) better approach to Christianity than is typically offered in American evangelicalism. He didn't really show me anything flabbergastingly new here because I'd seen a lot of these basic ideas before in my other reading on the subject (*pretentiously adjusts glasses, makes snooty face*). But seriously, if you've read contemporary, non-evangelical Christian theology in general, you probably have to! With that said, they're just as inspiring to me now as they've ever been before, if not more. I'd highly recommend this over a lot of other books as an introduction to those ideas and modes of interpretation. There were a number of moments where I thought his interpretation of scripture was really stretching so as to fit a more comfortable, progressive worldview but, overall, I found his analysis here honest and intriguing. Essentially, the book makes the argument God is a real force aiming for humankind to adopt a more compassionate and just way of living. In 2017 America, that's the sort of old-time religion I'm more than willing to keep touting the benefits of.
October 2, 2019
Lots to commend about this book. As an overall primer on non literal interpretations of the Bible, it's great, but there's also a lot of grand large statements and personal conjecture that seem to be miscategorized as fact. There are a ton of footnotes the author attaches to big claims that would seem to require citation, but when you review the footnotes at the end of the chapter, it's often just the author repeating the statement without referring you to the source of the info. This seems misleading and is frustrating for a reader looking to find other references to explore on these topics.
July 21, 2025
Good but not great. I think I almost liked a lot of things here. Borgs concept of reading the Bible “seriously but not literally” or “metaphorically” was helpful and would benefit many even conservative Christian’s to read. But honestly I think some of his conclusions just fell flat for me personally. I can see how someone would love this book, I could also see how someone could really dislike it. So 3.5 stars from me!
March 17, 2024
Even though this was one of the most difficult books I've ever read, it's impact on the way I read the Bible will be lasting.
May 20, 2020
Full of excellent insight into how to read and understand the Bible, and take it seriously, without making into something it isn't (namely, straight dictation from God), and thereby hear what it actually says.
May 15, 2018
Big Ideas:
+ A typical faith journey moves from pre-critical naivete (this must be true) to critical thinking (this can’t literally be true) to post-critical naivete (this is true in a different, more important sense)
+ Models of God’s relationship to creation
- Production model: God is separate from creation
- Procreative model: God is present within His creation. Since God is the source of everything, Being as Being is good. All that exists is good, although not all that happens is good
+ Alternative readings of Adam and Eve
- The problem isn’t disobedience per se, but rather hubris/pride understood as self-centeredness
- Letting someone else (the snake) tell you how to live leads to suffering
- Suffering is caused by duality or by a lack of unity
- Suffering is caused by conscious awareness of good and bad and of separation from God and others
+ Theme of the Pentateuch
- A promise is made, the promise is threatened, the promise is fulfilled (God’s faithfulness can be counted on)
- This theme does not depend on historical literalism
+ Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) prophets
- Were criticizing unjust social structures of domination by elites and were energizing people to return from exile
- “Repent” means to embark upon a path of return to God’s presence. It doesn’t mean to feel bad about sin
- Religion provides the path of return, where we know/are reminded of God’s presence
+ “I am the way, the truth, and the life”
- This may have been the gospel writer John’s exhortation to Jews to choose Jesus rather than the letter of the Jewish law, so they could know God through his embodiment. He may be saying that the only way to truly know God is to have a transformed heart from the inside out, rather than following the rules on the outside while remaining sick on the inside. This may not be meant as an absolute rejection of all other religions
+ The afterlife/Revelation
- The Christian preoccupation with the afterlife has distorted Christianity and replaced works with faith as the new requirement for salvation in the afterlife
- Revelation is about Empire as the beast which is opposed to the kingdom of God. In this case Rome is the domination system, the new Babylon. The same class of elites that the OT prophets railed against are ruling in a way that God did not intend and which he will put right
- Revelation is a reversal of the Caesar cult’s myth: Jesus is the one who reigns. He is represented as slaying dragons as Apollo did but this time the dragon is Rome
- 666 is a gematria for Caesar Nero
Potent Quotables:
The historical needs the metaphorical so that the text is not imprisoned in the past. The metaphorical needs the historical so that it does not become subjective fancy.
Within the framework of justification by grace, the Christian life is about becoming conscious of and entering more deeply into an already existing relationship with God as known in Jesus. It is not about meeting requirements for salvation later but about newness of life in the present. And living by grace produces the same qualities as life “in Christ”: freedom, joy, peace, and love.
Compassion without justice can mean caring for victims while quietly acquiescing to a system that creates ever more victims. Justice means asking why there are so many victims and then doing something about it.
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