Rating: 
Summary: Restored my faith in Chrisianity
Review: This book presents an updated view of a transendent God who lives among us.This is a must read for those Christians who have been tempted to give up their Christian beliefs because they have had their religion hijacked by fundamentalists and biblical literalists. This book restored my faith in a loving,living God. Literally,it gave me back my religion.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought Provoking Insight Into Christian Spirituality
Review: This book really took the wrappers off of dogma and gave me an opportunity to evaluate Christianity with an open mind.The chapter on Panentheism was very enlightening and is excellent for abstract thinkers to consider. The chapter on imaging God as monarch vs. compassionate was also excellent. The chapter on salvation may be uneasy for some as it does depart from dogma that is preached, but it will be interesting to those with an open mind. The chapter on social and political vision was a bit much - I think the church has some work to do in compassion before attempts are made to make it mainstream. If you've had it with dogmatic messages and want to be serious about your Christian beliefs, I believe this book will interest you.
Rating:
Summary: Amen, brother! We really need to get this word out.
Review: This book works like WD-40 on a rusted bolt - short exposure is likely to begin opening closed minds. The first two chapters challenge traditional conceptions of God. Borg argues persuasively that God is not "out there," pouncing on every mistake and blessing every approved action. This "traditional theism" does not satisfy reason or experience. (See Jill Carroll's "Savage Side" for the limits of the revelation of God in nature). Borg argues for a view of God that is panentheistic, that is, God is in everything but not limited to everything. If God is always present, then there is potential for mystical and/or ecstatic experience of God. The third chapter, well worth the price of admission alone, contrasts two images of God. God as King denotes power, separateness, rule, and control. God as Spirit denotes life, enjoyment, intimacy, and belonging. The first leads to an understanding of the Christian life as performance; the second to a life of relationship. The fourth chapter blends Borg's understanding of the pre-Easter Jesus, the post-Easter Christ, and the Bible as meaningful myth into a short synthetic theology that more Christians need to understand and embrace. In the last section, chapters five through seven, Borg discusses the essence of a spirituality that is consistent with his theology, a collective life (social and political) that is consistent with his theology, and a new way of viewing salvation. One need not be a scholar to see that liberal Christian denominations are declining at an alarming rate. After two years of seeking a liberal church to attend, I've concluded that most do not have a clear understanding of the message they want to share. I believe that Borg has provided a good beginning. I hope that many will be moved beyond performance to relationship with this God we can now know.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing view of our relationship with God
Review: This is a great book for understanding our relationship with God. It goes beyond the typical evangelical point of being saved and going to heaven to a life lived for Christ on earth TODAY!! My problems with the book are twofold. Firstly, I do not agree with his view of the pre-Easter Jesus as not being divine. Secondly, he is definitely coming from a viewpoint of getting government more involved to help solve our social problems.. As we grow in Christ, I believe we as Christians need less government involvement because we will feel the need to love others as Christ loves us!!
Rating:
Summary: It was my experience too!
Review: This is definitely a must-read book for open-minded people who have been brought up in the traditional Protestant Church setting. I for one, grew up that way and have been either a member of or have attended just about every denomination of Christian church at sometime in my life. This was because I was on a quest; a quest to find a Christian church that I, a strong follower and avid reader of the natural sciences could feel comfortable attending. It was in vain however, because of all my doubts, questions and alternate points of view to what the churches were traditionally teaching. Reading Borg's book was like looking into the mirror of my own life and my religious quest. We followed a very similar path (until he went to seminary). His 'new' view of God and of Jesus is revitalizing, unless you happen to be a Christian fundamentalist. In which case, you will probably find the book quite disturbing and perhaps even bordering on what you would consider sacrilege. However for the many 'liberal' Christians out there like me, Borg is a writer who is able to explain why we have the questions, the doubts and disbeliefs; from whence they originate and how we got ourselves into the 'dying faith' situation that many of us in main-line churches are now experiencing. With a vast amount of study and Bible scholarship at his command, Prof. Borg arrives at a very credible view of God and a faith 'system' that makes belief in God and the 'Christ' a real possibility for the 21st century faith seeker. I also highly recommend two other books by Borg; " Meeting Jesus Again For The First Time" and "Reading The Bible Again For The First Time". This trio of religious writings gives a fairly complete and comprehensive view of Borg's look at the fundamentals of Christian belief.
Rating:
Summary: A must for the religiously disenchanted
Review: This is possibly the best book on spirituality I have ever read. A must for anyone who has dismissed as "bunk" the beliefs they were taught as a child and found him or herself with nothing to replace the "bunk." Borg calls on his own experiences to suggest ways of viewing God and religion in general that make sense. Even if one doesn't agree with Borg's thoughts, at least he gives the reader something to consider. Marcus Borg has a unique ability to write about complex, scholarly issues in a simple, straightforward style that is easy to understand.
Rating: 
Summary: keep the enemy closer
Review: Typical fare from a postmodern theologian who fearlessly stamps out a version of God the is limited to that which is rationally provable or at least plausable. Physical resurection? Hocus pocus. Orthodox divinity? Clap trap.
I always wonder how modern theologians, 2000 years after the event, claim to have found in the scriptures the "real meaning", which the great minds of the last 2000 years were too stupid to see. How can we possibly read more clearly than those who were from the same culture and period? Can we really look down the well of time without merely seeing our own faces reflected back - seeing what we wish to see.
Marrying the spirit of the age, as this school does, is lonely in the long run.
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