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Everyone knows the New Testament begins with the Gospel of Matthew, but how many know Matthew was actually one of the later books to be written? (It wasn't even the first Gospel!) But Evolution of the Word is not your typical New Testament.
Marcus J. Borg, esteemed Bible scholar and bestselling author, shakes up the order of the New Testament as we know it by putting the books in a completely new order—the order in which they were written. By doing so, Evolution of the Word allows us to read these documents in their historical context. For the first time, see how the core ideas of Christianity took shape and developed over time.
Borg surveys what we know of the Jewish community of Jesus followers who passed on their stories orally. Into this context emerges the apostle Paul, whose seven authentic letters become the first collected writings that would later become the New Testament. Borg offers helpful introductions for each book so that as we read through these biblical documents, spanning over a century in time, we see afresh what concerns and pressures shaped this movement as it evolved into a new religion.
In this groundbreaking format, Borg reveals how a radical and primitive apocalyptic Jewish faith slowly became more comfortable with the world, less Jewish, and more pre- occupied with maintaining power and control. Evolution of the Word promises to change forever how we think about this historic work.
Foreword Bishop Lowell Erdahl vii
1 A Chronological New Testament 1
2 Before Anything Was Written 11
3 Paul and His Letters 19
Time Line 31
New Testament
1 Thessalonians 35
The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians 40
Galatians 45
The Letter of Paul to the Galatians 49
1 Corinthians 57
The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 62
Philemon 85
The Letter of Paul to Philemon 89
Philippians 91
The Letter of Paul to the Philippians 94
2 Corinthians 101
The Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 105
Romans 119
The Letter of Paul to the Romans 126
Mark 149
The Gospel According to Mark 157
James 193
The Letter of James 197
Colossians 203
The Letter of Paul to the Colossians 206
Matthew 213
The Gospel According to Matthew 220
Hebrews 277
Letter to the Hebrews 283
John 301
The Gospel According to John 309
Ephesians 351
The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 355
Revelation 363
The Revelation to John 371
Jude 401
The Letter of Jude 403
1 John 405
The First Letter of John 408
2 John 415
The Second Letter of John 416
3 John 419
The Third Letter of John 420
Luke 423
The Gospel According to Luke 429
Acts 489
The Acts of the Apostles 492
2 Thessalonians 547
The Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians 549
1 Peter 553
The First Letter of Peter 556
1 Timothy 563
The First Letter of Paul to Timothy 568
2 Timothy 575
The Second Letter of Paul to Timothy 578
Titus 583
The Letter of Paul to Titus 584
2 Peter 587
The Second Letter of Peter 589
Lanis
Posted September 22, 2012
As always, Marcus Borg has done an excellent job of interpretting the scriptures in the context of the social and political atmosphere of the time they were written. If this approach was used in all of the houses of worship today we would see an awakening and a change in the attitude of those who claim to be Christians. The Bible has been used to teach hate and bigotry based not on fact but on the beliefs of the individuals professing to be called out to teach. I believe Borg's work is part of the evolution of God's people that is occuring and will bring peace and justice to the world.
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Overview
Everyone knows the New Testament begins with the Gospel of Matthew, but how many know Matthew was actually one of the later books to be written? (It wasn't even the first Gospel!) But Evolution of the Word is not your typical New Testament.
Marcus J. Borg, esteemed Bible scholar and bestselling author, shakes up the order of the New Testament as we know it by putting the books in a completely new order—the order in which they were written. By doing so, Evolution of the Word ...