Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power

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More About This Book

Overview

Modern Christians are steeped in a language so distorted that it has become a stumbling block to the religion, says internationally renowned Bible scholar Marcus J. Borg. Borg argues that Christianity’s important words, and the sacred texts and stories in which those words are embedded, have been narrowed by a modern framework for the faith that emphasizes sin, forgiveness, Jesus dying for our sins, and the afterlife. Here, Borg employs the “historical-metaphorical” method for understanding Christian language that can restore for us these words of power and transformation. For example,

  • Redemption: now narrowly understood as Jesus saving us from sins so we can go to heaven, but in the Bible it refers to being set free from slavery.
  • Savior: now refers to Jesus as the one who saves us from our sins, but in the Bible it has a rich and wonderful variety of meanings having nothing to do with the afterlife.
  • Sacrifice: now refers to Jesus’s death on the cross as payment for our sins, but in the Bible it is never about substitutionary payment for sin.

In Speaking Christian, Borg delivers a language for twenty-first-century Christians that grounds the faith in its deep and rich original roots and allows it once again to transform our lives.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
Borg (Canon Theologian, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Portland, OR; Reading the Bible Again for the First Time) is an esteemed and much-published author in theology and biblical criticism. As a member of the Jesus Seminar and chair of the Historical Jesus section of the Society of Biblical Literature, however, he is not without his detractors. His latest book will delight his friends and continue to confound his adversaries. Here, he makes a convincing argument for a contextual reading of the words and experience of the New Testament. To Borg, we face a choice between a faith mesmerized by our fate in the next world and a faith that focuses on the transformation of this world. VERDICT Borg's approach makes the complexity of his ideas transparent; his ideas will appeal strongly to individual Christians, as well as the unchurched.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780061976551
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 4/12/2011
  • Pages: 256
  • Sales rank: 47,370
  • Product dimensions: 5.60 (w) x 8.30 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

Marcus J. Borg is Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. He was Hundere Chair of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University until his retirement in 2007. Borg is the author of nineteen books, including the bestselling The Heart of Christianity, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, and the novel Putting Away Childish Things. He was an active member of the Jesus Seminar when it focused on the historical Jesus, and he has been chair of the Historical Jesus section of the Society of Biblical Literature.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Speaking Christian 5

2 Beyond Literalism 21

3 Salvation 35

4 The Bible 55

5 God 65

6 God's Character 75

7 Jesus 85

8 The Death of Jesus 97

9 Easter 107

10 Believing and Faith 115

11 Mercy 125

12 Righteousness 133

13 Sin 143

14 Forgiveness and Repentance 153

15 John 3:16 161

16 Born Again 165

17 The Only Way 171

18 The Ascension 175

19 Pentecost 183

20 The Rapture and the Second Coming 189

21 Heaven 197

22 The Creeds and the Trinity 203

23 The Lord's Supper 217

24 The Lord's Prayer 223

25 Conclusion 231

Acknowledgments 239

Notes 241

Discussion Questions 245

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 12 )

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Sort by: Showing all of 12 Customer Reviews

  • Posted October 21, 2011

    A truly "must read" book!

    Anyone who THINKS they are a Christian, and also those who may think they are NOT, should read this book.

    Language is dynamic and always changing. Words get old and overused, and sometimes hijacked by groups for their own agenda, and thus end up with different meanings than in their original usage. Translations of ancient languages must be made in the context of ancient people's lives to understand word usage and meaning.

    Christian thinking should be a fresh, creative approach to living and this book helps restore a freshness to Christianity.

    Marcus Borg has given us an honest, historically correct viewpoint that could change everything you thought you knew about Christianity.

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 30, 2011

    Great read!

    If you want help unpacking your Christianity, this is a great tool! God bless.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted April 20, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9780195297706 9780674445765 2940000813959 9780061875694 9780664254544

    A few years ago, I would have been quite taken with this book. N

    A few years ago, I would have been quite taken with this book. Now, I realise that I am no longer within the Christian orbit. I have somehow left at least the expressions of it that would have once made this work meaningful to me.

    Professor Borg is a good teacher and a popular writer who does clarify basic words and concepts about Christian experience.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted March 30, 2012

    Quite disappointed after reading this book, I remain confused about its purpose.

    Expository writing should have a discernible thesis;this piece pretends to but ultimately fails in the end. When reaching the end we discover the literal-fundamentalists are appropriating the world's mightiest military and are in fact a tremendous threat to those of correct method and understanding; we liberals. However, if this is so, as I believe he intends, there is no clear direction for redemption of our former status save scholarship which has not worked in the past. I would spend my time reading something with hope and instruction rather than this.

    0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

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