Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary

This is a well written conscientous work. To those who cannot abide fundamentalism this work is also encouraging and demonstrates how it is possible to still be a person of faith in a postmodern world. I highly recommend reading this.

I loved this book! I am not a fundamentalist, and I am not a progressive reformer. I am, however, an open minded traditionalist, who thinks for herself and profoundly believes IN Jesus. I must admit, I am guilty of reading the Bible so literally that I was arguing with the facts and not feeling the full weight of it's impact. I kept being very frustrated cuz I knew I was missing some hidden point, and I wasn't being given all of the tools the Bible promises to discern God's message to me. I am responsible for learning all I can about issues I am passionate about, and then meditating on these to try to discern God's individual message to me. We all have a duty to make God's world (the vision He has for us, as His children) a better place. Marcus' suggestion that the Virgin Birth may only have been a metaphor (with a very divine inspiration and great meaning) is a well thought out, and not over the top, perspective; for which I must meditate on and digest for myself. Whatever I decide about the Virgin Birth, I have no fear that reading about Marcus' perspective regarding the Virgin Birth will ever hurt my relationship with Jesus. On the contrary, testing and probing new ideas in our hearts only strenghens our faith. Marcus does such a great of sharing his knowledge and perception, that you come away feeling like you know Jesus better. And, if you know someone better, it is easier to build, maintain, and enjoy a solid relationship with them. Regardless of what denomination you subscribe to, or which doctrine(s) make most sense to you, we should not be putting our precious energies into religions and fighting about who's wrong or who's right. In doing so, we are all missing the point of truly loving God because we know Him and like him. Loving God as He loves us. I am excited to read the Bible all over again; because, now, I have new insight into the characters and the stories. If more people knew more about the Old Testament's and New Testament's history and meaning, they wouldn't be so turned off by it as a result of their limited relationship with God, His passion and His character. I am not what some would call a "mature" Christian. However, I am a heartfelt, Christian just the same. God gave me the brain I have to probe and learn, as a way of discerning the message He has for me. I'm seeing my journey, at this point, as a bridge constructed of my knowledge and gifts of discernment. But, at some point, this bridge will end for me. I will no longer be able to walk further based on what I learn with my brain, or feel with my heart. The rest of my journey toward God will be, and can only be, lead by God on the wings of my deep faith in Him. It is a risk-free, intelligent, well discerned, leap of faith. This book, Jesus by Marcus Borg, is definitely one of those boards of knowlege that I patiently build my bridge with. I would hope, Marcus' readers would realize that their bridge is their own, and knowledge and insight can only extend that

Marcus Borg has been fine tuning his view of emerging Christianity for many years and each time he writes another book the message becomes more clear and compelling. This book focuses on Jesus but he also takes this opportunity to once again explain his important understanding about how to read the Bible and about how to live a Christian life. Modern Christianity has lost its ability to tell a convincing story about Jesus but in this book Borg shows us how to tell the story to the many people today that can no longer follow the religious-right. I can't imagine anyone reading this book without making a decision to follow Jesus. The story is compelling once you learn to strip away the dogma and Borg does an excellent job of helping us with that task.

Okay...once I started this book I could not put it down. I just finished it and I don't know what to think about it. I would have to say I'm very contemplative right now. This is a fantastic book, but, dependant on where you are in your journey of faith, you may find it a bit disturbing. I learned so much and it was such a wealth of knowledge. The reason I find it disturbing, even a bit offensive, is because it challenges, persuasively, I might add, alot of the Christian norms. I'm telling you, it addresses probably every subject. These include: scripture, miracles, the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the resurrection and more. The New Testament was a human process mixed with history remembered and early Christian belief about Jesus containing metaphorical meaning. Therefore, miracles, other than healings and exorcisms, were purely metaphorical stories. The virgin birth was a metaphorical tale opposing Roman imperialism. The deity of Christ...Jesus was not divine, essentially he was just a prophet. And the ressurecton did not physically occur, but, happened through visions and experience. I am not saying this is bad, but, for me, it was a big pill to swallow. I mean, it's still caught in my throat and I'm still trying to work it down. I would, however, refrain from reducing this fantastic contribution as simply that. When it comes to Jesus, He paints an incredible, personal and passionate Jesus. Jesus was a Jewish peasant who was deeply compassionate and fought for justice. As a mystic, Jesus was deeply rooted in an experiential knowledge of God and what God's character was. Jesus was in line with other Jewish prophets, like Isaiah and Jeremiah. The Spirit of God was upon him and did mighty deeds through him. Through the Spirit, he had power and authority, so much so, people could sense and experience it. To a mainly Jewish auience, he announced God's justice, he told subversive stories, said controversal wisdom statements, challenged his hearers and taught them the way they could return to where they belonged. He ate and associated himself with the social outcasts of his day. He fought and called for them to leave the dark and blind broad way of life and to journey onto the narrow enlightened way through death, resulting in a new life and new being. He challenged the empire, through nonviolent resistance and prophetic acts, that selfishly oppressed, enslaved and exploited the people. He was then put to death because he protested against the regime. He then resurrected and was vindicated by God. He brought transformation of life and brought us a revelation of who God is and His love for the world. Again, this book is fantastic, yet challenges you at times. I would encourge anybody to get this book. I would also recommend, "Jesus and the Victory of God" by N.T. Wright...fantastic portrait, as well.