| Title | : | The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 234 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2003 |
Borg wants to show us, as today's thinking Christians, how to discover a life of faith by reconceptualizing familiar beliefs. Being born again, for example, has nothing to do with fundamentalism, but is a call to radical personal transformation. Talking about the kingdom of God does not mean that you are fighting against secularism, but that you have committed your life to the divine values of justice and love. And living the true Christian way is essentially about opening one's heart—to God, and to others. Above all else, Borg believes with passion and conviction that living the Christian life still makes sense.
The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith Reviews
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This is a wonderful book for anyone wanting to explore what is termed 'progressive Christianity'....a coming together of Christian values and beliefs, and 21st century ideas. Borg, who died in 2015, was a New Testament scholar and theologian. He also held the post of Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University - and this book very much reflects this. He makes it clear that he respects the gamut of world religions. They are all just different ways of trying to find a path to that ground of our being that we choose to call God, Allah, Yahweh or whatever. We are nevertheless all products of our cultures - and we therefore usually choose to worship within our own traditions - they are often the ones that feel most comfortable.
So many things that he has written about in this book have tallied with my own experiences in recent months, and he has really helped me make sense of my journey into Christianity (and for me it was such a very alien concept to begin with!) I needed help, and people like Borg have been invaluable....perhaps Borg more than anyone else.
Even though I don't agree with all his ideas, he has proved to be an invaluable guide and mentor. I particularly like his generous spirit and inclusiveness.
I will end with a few notes I took, which give a flavour of his ideas... -
This really is an amazing book. Borg offers a vision of Christianity that doesn't require us to check our intellect at the door and that rejects the Christian exclusivism that so many of us find distasteful and irrelevant today. Borg offers a way of seeing the Bible, Jesus, and Christian practices that transcends the literal-factual interpretation that most people in my demographic can't swallow. My favorite thing about this book is Borg's rejection of the question, "Did it really happen?" Was Jesus really born of a virgin? Did he really rise from the dead on the third day? Did he really heal the sick and restore sight to the blind? Borg's answer to this question is, "I have no idea if it really happened, but I know that it is profoundly true." This more-than-literal interpretation of the Bible takes it out of the realm of magical hocus-pocus and gives it tranformative relevance in our context. Borg also outlines the foundational elements and practices of a Christian life, and provides a compelling argument for a passionate pursuit of social justice as an essential component of the Christian way.
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Interesting. I guess liberal Jesus-seminar-types do have faith after all....
I don't necessarily agree with everything, but I can see that Borg is really trying to forge a way of Christian living based on the historic faith. He is especially helpful in understanding that the biblical meaning of "belief" is not simply mental assent. It's not a checklist of right doctrines, but living faithfully, trusting God through Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
I do disagree with some stuff, which is why I'm not a liberal.
For example:
1) I don't think the WHOLE Bible is meant to be taken metaphorically and stripped of its literal meaning. Sure, there are hugely important metaphorical meanings, but that doesn't mean that they have to be seen as unfactual. I understand the corrective of only focusing on literalistic proof-texted facts, but I think Borg goes overboard.
2) The Resurrection absolutely HAD to happen. It's not possible for us to be Christians to day if Jesus had not risen from the dead. Don't try to skirt around this, Marcus! I don't like how he talks about modern people who "can't believe" in things like miracles and the resurrection. I'm sorry, but you can, too.
3) This whole preoccupation with the "pre-Easter Jesus" over against the "post-Easter Jesus". Sure, doctrine took on a much fuller shape in the next 3-400 years of the church's history about what the incarnation meant and what the trinity was all about, but that doesn't mean that Jesus' bones are still in some ossuary in Palestine waiting to be discovered by James Cameron! "I'm King of the World!!!". Nevermind........
Overall, even though Borg has some glaring blind spots in his theology, he still manages to forge a way of living that looks an awful lot like "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself". I'm still grateful for many of his insights.
It's good not to just read stuff you agree with all the time. It makes you remember there's a whole world of ideas out there..... -
Four years ago I read Borg's "Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time," and the result was destructive. I loved and hated the book, not because of Borg but because I felt the Christian church had betrayed me. Borg's language about Jesus rang true--true to my thoughts and meditations, true to the reality I experienced, and true to history. But his language also complicated and even contradicted most Christian teachings I had encountered throughout my young life. "Meeting Jesus Again for the FIrst Time" freed me with new insights, but I also left its pages feeling confused and filled with rage.
The past four years have felt like exile. I had "The Heart of Christianity" on my bookshelf all these years, and despite being told it would "reconstruct" the "deconstructing" Borg did in "Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time," I couldn't pull off the read. I tried. Multiple times. But "now" was different for some reason.
This was a quietly dramatic reading event for me. The book is an affirmation of my faith. Borg's writing isn't complicated nor sophisticated, but he very directly and with clarity of purpose portrays Christianity as the religion I've always hoped it could be. I finished this book with a lighter heart, a commitment to the tradition and practices I cherish, and an excitement for the journey ahead. -
I loved this book. Loved it. It may not appeal to people who are pretty content with their current understanding of Christianity, especially if it's very narrow or conservative understanding. But if you feel like Christianity has lost it's appeal (or that it never had much) I highly recommend this book. It made sense to me on a very deep level. My reaction to almost everything I read was "this is what I've always thought myself, but could never really express well, even to myself."
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I can't even begin to explain how bizarre it feels to me to have willingly read and now review a book of Christian theology, but, well, here I am. I was raised Protestant, but since about the age of eighteen have considered myself a pragmatic agnostic. I still do, actually, but have been... meandering my way back to wrestling directly with my upbringing for years.
There were many reasons why I stopped identifying as Christian, but broadly speaking, 1.) I felt that evangelical Christianity had so thoroughly monopolized the term "Christian" and made it synonymous with reactionary American politics that I could not, in good conscience, affiliate with any denomination, and 2.) There are a lot of pillars of Protestant theology that felt deeply intellectually dishonest to me, even at the age of thirteen. It's actually the latter that I have struggled with the most, to the point that I did not even know how to articulate my reservations until about five years ago when I read Karen Armstrong's "The Case for God" where she began by arguing (paraphrasing), "Religion is something you DO, not something you BELIEVE."
That was a revelation. Because the core tenant of Protestant theology is that Belief is really all that matters. Up until that point, in my mind, Belief (the intellectual assent to a proposition) WAS Religion. (Side Note: Armstrong and Borg both argue that conflating Belief and Faith with "assenting to a fact" or "empirical observation" is a product of Modernism, which I need to explore, because I do not think either articulates the history well enough.) I could not get over the insistence in the Lutheran and Methodist catechisms (I was indoctrinated with both) that you had to take everything in the scripture, as Borg puts it, as "literal-factual." Setting aside that first requirement that "You Must Accept This, in All of It's Contradictions and Absurdities, as Historical and Divinely Legal" made exploring religion, finally, accessible to me.
After reading a lot of Armstrong and western philosophy broadly, I finally felt willing to take another look at Christianity. And so I asked my former youth minister for recommendations, because he was the one who was most willing to engage with and address my adolescent questions directly and fairly, who recommended Marcus Borg.
Reading Borg's "The Heart of Christianity" was moving not so much because it was novel, but because I kept thinking, "Why did no one tell me this was a viable approach to Christianity? I have always felt this." In broad strokes, Borg presents Christianity as a philosophy of living; argues that the Bible should be understood metaphorically/historically; embraces and celebrates the diversity of religions as ways of accessing the transcendental and rejects Christian exclusivity; and affirms that the nature of reality is dualistic, composed both of the material and the Divine.
Borg makes his points better than I can. The endorsement I give is that, as someone who has been frequently accused of being a "Doubting Thomas", I am beginning to feel persuaded. Which is not to say doubt is a bad thing. The opposite, actually. To quote Leslie Hazelton, "The best of us are doubters." I'm not writing that to sound arrogant -- I do not think I would make "The Best of" list of anything. Pursuing Doubt leads to new insight and deeper understanding. It appreciates that the world is imperfect but assumes it can be made better. Doubt rejects and seeks, ultimately arriving at satisfactory conclusions while reserving the right to change and grow.
I am a Doubter and always will be. Because I believe in something "More" (to use Borg's term) that informs me every moment of this unpredictable existence called Life. -
A very inspiring look at Christianity. For such a short book it has a lot of meat. The author's view of Christianity is more open, loving, thoughtful and community based than the traditional perception. This is an honest, if at times a bit intellectual, but open, kind, and logical explanation of the faith. I challenge a bit of this book in my thought but am glad to be exposed to his ideas, his perspectives and his urging me to learn, grow and think.
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I'm so glad I read this. Our new minister told me that this book was singularly inspiring.
The following are lines from The Heart of Christianity that I reread and treasure:
Of course, the earlier paradigm uses the language of God's grace and compassion and love, but its own internal logic turns being Christian into a life of requirement and rewards, thereby compromising the notion of grace. Indeed it nullifies grace, for grace that has condition attached is no longer grace.
The point is, there is no single right way of understanding Christianity and no single right way of being Christian.
You can believe all the right things and still be relatively unchanged.
To think we are primarily the product of our own individual effort is to ignore the web of relationships and circumstances that shape our lives.
Jesus avoided cities, with the exception of Jerusalem. He spoke in small towns, villages and the countryside. The elites heard of him, and a few of them were attracted to him and even supported him, but he spoke primarily to peasants.
And repentance in the New Testament has an additional nuance of meaning. The Greek roots of the word combine to mean "go beyond the mind that you have."
Loving God means paying attention to God and to what God loves.
Religious community and tradition put us in touch with the wisdom and beauty of the past. They are communities of memory. -
Ive seen this guy talk a few times, and read a number of his books. A Jesus scholar, really, and this is probably the one most important book in convincing me that following a "christian" faith, apart from connection to any particular religion, is still valuable to me. I dont know how to explain my complete lack of interest in the Bible as anything more than a literary/political work yet my continued membership in an Episcopalian church and my absolute spiritual hunger for the ritual of communion, prayer, and hymns. There is still a way to find a spiritual path to better wholeness, better peace, better generosity, and if you get the church as a whole out of the way, Jesus still embodies that (as does Buddha and probably lots of others I know less about).
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Marcus J. Borg discusses the practice of Christianity in modern everyday life, drawing from plenty of sources (including the Bible obviously) and his own life. He spends part of the book arguing for his point of view in terms of viewing the Bible within its historical context, rather than as the literal word of God, while still regarding it as a sacred text. The rest of the book provides guidance on how to use that context to practice Christianity.
He’s primarily addressing Christians who don’t take the Bible literally about how the religion can fit into their 21st-century lives. You don’t need to do logical gymnastics to have a rewarding Christina life.
The notes provide an excellent reading list for further examination of modern ways of reading the Bible and living a Christian life. -
If you want one book to help you find a strong foundation for being a liberal Christian in today's society, this one is it. Borg, a Lutheran who at one point left the church entirely and is now back and reinvested in his faith, provides a strong basis for how someone can embrace the lessons of science and modern life and still accept the Bible, the church, a spiritual life and hope for the future.
And there's the added bonus that he's a thelogian that conservatives love to hate. OK, that's a little strong, but he is a card-carrying member of the Jesus Seminar. -
This is a must read for anyone trying to be a Christian in the 21st Century and hasn't been able to adequately describe his or her beliefs.
And you have to read the Kingdom of God chapter twice - its what its all about - living it on the Earth now! Its not so much about salvation as picking up the cross and doing what is right in your time - economically, socially, fraternally, etc.
Awesome, a way to be Catholic and progressive - a must read. -
A sane, beautiful vision of Christianity that manages to be postmodern and deeply traditional at the same time.
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Borg is probably not the best writer in the world, he makes lots of assumptions about the theology and positions of his reader. If only I had $100 for every time he says, "Obviously," "impossible," "makes no sense," "no one can think that way," about something that many people believe and think, sometimes including myself.
He does make some good points. But the points he makes aren't exactly arguments so much as simple descriptions of his viewpoint. If you want to read a book that explains the emerging theology, this is not the book for you. If you simply want to know what the emerging theology is, what it believes and stands for, this is a very quick and simple read. -
I haven't read anything by Marcus Borg before, but wanted to give him a try, so I picked this randomly from what the library had on hand. It was a good read, and I found it very affirming of my style of faith. I know that Borg's ideas are challenging to Christians of a certain mindset, but they don't feel like anything new or revolutionary to me as a liberal Christian. I'm writing this from my perspective as a new-ish member of the United Church of Christ, and I've spent the last few years thinking through the questions of my faith in that context. If I'd picked up this book five or more years ago, I probably would have found the book much more surprising and reassuring.
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I kept hoping to find something to hang onto . . . never did.
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What I learned from this book was not to read anything else by Borg.
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I happened upon this book right after reading Borg's "Reading The Bible Again for The First Time" and I decided to pick it up on the strength of that work and the 50 cent price tag. While I lightly criticized that book for a slight excess of scholarliness that might put it out of reach to the average reader, I must say this book became a barn-burner for me. I read long stretches at a time without wandering. It really spoke to me.
"Heart" is, in many ways, a synthesis of several of Borg's earlier books, including "Again for The First Time", in a concise and elegant presentation. He again picks up the themes of historical and metaphorical reading of the Bible as well as God's passion for systemic justice, but these are just a few of the topics woven into this wide-ranging yet accessible little volume. He looks at the Christian tradition and the Christian life through the lenses of the "older paradigm" (which includes Biblical literalism, Christian exclusivity, and other components of the Christianity that grew out of a reaction to the Enlightenment) and the "emerging paradigm" (which emphasizes the historical-metaphorical reading of the Bible and Christianity's status as one of many faith traditions).
The most resonant part of the book for me was the chapter on practice, with its emphasis on religious practice as a means of mediating the sacred, i.e. getting in touch with God. Borg affirms that Christians who want to deepen their faith and grow in their faith should find a denomination and a congregation that simultaneously nourishes and challenges them, they should join small groups for devotion and fellowship, they should pray, they should set aside time for daily rituals even as they open themselves to the spontaneous ways in which the Spirit moves. And beyond the practices of the individual, being part of a church community opens up avenues to radical servanthood and empowers Christians to take on the unjust power structures of the world, each according to her or his gifts. At the risk of sermonizing, I personally feel that some Christians of the "emerging paradigm" have distanced themselves from anything to which the label "ritual" might be attached, whether it be corporate worship, hymn singing, praying, or other traditional practices. Borg reminds us that such traditions need not be dead legalism or constraining duties, and can, on the contrary, be "thin places" in which we draw near to that which is greater than ourselves.
I could go on, but I'll conclude with this: If you are a Christian who has become disenchanted for whatever reason with the "earlier paradigm" but who still finds nourishment in the idea of Christianity, this little book is worth your time. -
It's hard to overstate what a boogeyman Marcus Borg was within the Evangelical world I used to inhabit. He represented a liberal compromise with the modern, pluralistic, scientific world. Funny to read him all these years later and to find him a little... Ned Flanders?
Borg's attempt to articulate the beauty and appeal of a non-exclusive, non-fundamentalist Christianity appeals to me. However, it doesn't have the depth or mysticism of someone like Richard Rohr. It's all kind of basic. As well as that, Borg's conversation partner is mid-twentieth century modernism, and I just can't bring myself to care as much as he does about whether miracles really happened. I am an English teacher; I like magic and metaphor and I don't feel the need to untangle them like he does.
That said, something I liked a lot was Borg's focus on systemic injustice, and his articulation of a Christian way of life which responds to this. As well, his take on other world religions resonated with me. All in all, a worthwhile read, if a lot blander than I was expecting. -
Borg shared his emerging paradigm way of explaining how Christianity is just one of several mainline religions that are equal in their quest to find God.
The old literalist way of thinking is now replaced by a metaphorical way of interpreting the Bible.
I enjoyed this detour of my 2018 reading with some more Religious ammo for my new way of thinking. Who says old people are too hard headed to change. -
Wow, an amazing book... a new way of living my faith that I will cherish for lifetimes to come. Currently attending a Unitarian Universalist Congregation, but am not fulfilled in my connection to the spirit through this practice... Marcus Borgs writings take me one step further and help my soul to grow and stretch, and become who it is I'm suppose to be. If anyone in Orlando wants to do the course that goes along with the book, contact me!
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I absolutely will not delve into a thick review here because Marcus Borg gets SUPER deep in this one. I will argue that if you are a Christian and you are alive today you ought to read this and consider the diversity and openness amongst believers. It should be required reading and if it were maybe Christians would co-exist more peacefully considering varying denominations and factions within those denoms.
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Marcus Borg presents an alternative vision of Christianity that has, frankly, reinvented my faith. He presents a vision of Christianity that involves my head and my heart. He affirms that faith is about an ever-deepening relationship with God, and that God is all around us, not "out there." All in all, a great book, and a strong vision. I would recommend this to anyone who is seeking to live out an authentic Christian faith in today's world.
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I was extremely disappointed in this book, and not only because it was not what I expected. I disagree with much of the author's theology and found it hard to get into the book as soon as I realized that. I do agree that we as Christians are to reach out to the world and be active participants in justice.
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I was raised Catholic. I went to a Christian nursery school and remember singing Jesus loves me every day...at that time I had know reason to doubt this...but the older I got and the more I learned about God of the old testament..I stopped knowing Jesus loved me and started to fear God...I was particularly traumatized by my children's bible and the Noah story. As I neared the age of my confirmation I was anti religion and found it hypocritical...love everyone...BUT these people. I reengaged with Christianity in college through a close friend and I found a much more accessible Christianity but still found challenging hypocrisy in the old testament and ultimately found Christianity not for me.
In my 30's I awoke to my spiritual path...I devoured books on all types of spiritual texts and found so many universal themes of truth in them I began taking what worked for me and making my own truth that spanned several religious and spiritual disciplines and practices. At this time I began practicing buddhist meditation and had the privilege of seeing his Holiness The Dalai Lama...the last time I was in a concert hall with him he said something that struck a cord with me. He essentially said be the religion of where you are from...of your people...I am from Tibet so Buddhist...but I learn all religion and find many good truth and understand more. After he said this I started to come back around to Christianity...I also for the second time in my life had very devout Christian friend...and was gifted the book Blue Like Jazz. This book also struck a chord with me as did The Course in Miracles...and so I continued to read Christian theology and decided I was a New Testament Christian (Which isn't actually a thing)...
All that to say I loved this book! It 100% spoke to me about how and why I love Christianity. Every chapter was brilliant and captured things I have thought, felt or questioned. Several times through the book I felt the warm fuzzy waves of euphoria much like I do in meditation or at live music. I would say it was a revelation but really it was more a validation...so much of what I believe and practice in my relationship with God was here...and it even gave me a way to revisit The Old Testament with new eyes.
This book will not be for everyone. I think Christianity in the US is a very hot topic so I want to be clear this book is very centered on Christianity as a practice of love and justice...of compassion and grace...as Jesus as an anti establishment transformer. I loved it and want everyone to read it but i also respect that this speaks to me very specifically and will not do so for others. -
My second Borg book, and I'm sold all over again. Borg offers a progressive take on Christianity that doesn't come across as lightweight new age. Yes, I still get that feeling of creative interpretation and interpretive acrobatics here and there, but most of it rings true and is well-supported with historical and theological context.
I especially appreciate Borg's rejection of biblical literalism and the modern Christian emphasis on "faith as believing difficult things to be true."
Some of my favorite lines:
+We cannot easily give our heart to something our mind rejects.
+If God sometimes intervenes, how dos one account for the noninterventions? Given all of the horrible things that happen, does the notion that God ever intervenes make any sense?
+Panentheism does not claim to have an explanation of the God-world relation. It is content not to know.
+[The majority of mainline scholars] do not think that Jesus thought that the purpose of his live was his death.
+Unfortunately mainline Christians have generally allowed their more conservative Christian brothers and sisters to have a near monopoly on "born again" language.
+Spirituality combines awareness, intention, and practice. I define it as becoming conscious of and intentional about a deepening relationship with God.
+The Kingdom of God is what life would be like on earth if God were king.
+Practice is about paying attention to God.
+In the United States, the central values of our culture are the three A's: attractiveness, achievement, and affluence.
+To refuse to do prayers of petition and intercession because I can't imagine how prayer works would be an act of intellectual pride.
+When I gave food to the poor, they called me a saint; when I asked why there were so many poor, they called me a communist. (Borg's paraphrase of Dom Helder Camara)
This book also introduced me to the following:
*Honi the Circle Drawer
*Hanina ben Dosa
*Ken Vincent's book "Visions of God: The Near Death Experience" (Haven't read it yet tho)
*"Practicing Our Faith," a book on practice edited by Dorothy C. Bass (Have not read it yet)
*anamchara
Final note: The last chapter on religious pluralism is a wonderful reflection on the absurd position Jesus is the only way. Read it yourself if you want that unpacked!! :)) -
Jos kristinusko syystä tai toisesta* ei tunnu sinusta uskottavalta, mutta suhtaudut siihen mielenkiinnolla, lue tämä.
* oma suhteeni on traumaattinen teini-iän uskovaisuus aivan siinä evankelis-luterilaisen kansankirkon silmäin alla. Noin 20 vuotta on mennyt siihen, että en syytä itseäni aivan jokaisesta syntisestä hetkestä, jota elämäksikin tavataan kutsua.
En toki ole Borgin kanssa kaikesta samaa mieltä ja monta mutkaa jäi, mutta ensisijaisesti ne mutkat jäi nyt minun ja seurakunnan eli minun ja ihmisten ja vallan ja hallinan välille, ei minun ja Jumalan. -
Read this morning so my mother-in-law can decide if she’ll commit. Unlikely.
Read this book if you want a succinct comparison of mid-20th Christian paradigm and the modern Christian paradigm. He tries to marry the two, leaning modern.
Borg denies Jesus’ literal resurrection, and he chooses metaphor for the hard questions. He writes like a conversational lecturer.
Lukewarm.
