Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Teaser.....
Review: This small book is a high-level overview of the philosophical divide between literalist "Bible-believing" Christians and those who believe that biblical precepts should be believed but interpreted metaphorically. In addition, Borg presents the basic thesis of the "Historical Jesus" movement.
The book is a good introduction for those who are unfamiliar with the core debate. However, those who have already read some of the other books by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan may find this work elementary and sweeping.
Although a challenge to established religious dogma is always controversial, what is not is Borg's ability to break down sophisticated concepts into user-friendly language and to fluidly compress vast material into a manageable but comprehensive summary. In this, he offers new hope to those alienated from the church by providing an alternative path back into meaningful and authentic spiritual inquiry.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Those Potential Life-Changers!
Review: When I fist picked this up, after being conversant with "Meeting Jesus Again, For the First Time" I thot, "Don't I already know how to read the Bible after Seminars & Seminary Profs?" When I saw recently those chapter titles: Reading Lenses: Seeing the Bible Again, (Key Word is Again Fred) Reading the Bible and God, (I hear Brueggemann saying Yahweh!) Reading Lenses: History and Metaphor, (I hear Sallie McFague & Karen Armstrong.) Also my wife, who Barbara loves to read more than I ever do, Thoroughly! We sit at different times to read these last 2 books by Borg for Table Talk! She gets me to place the meatiest middle parts from each chapter into the next sermon for prison inmates!
On p.130 B quotes my favorite Prof Bruegge, "prophetic activity of critizing and prophetic energizing!" Here is Poetry from a really Poetic Prophet! (Finally Comes the Poet!) When I see Bruegge's name I know "Here is a good place for MJB to come from in writing about those 'God-conscious Prophets' rather than the 'God-crazed Prophets!"Then he brings in orientaton/disorientation/new orientation from his example of Psa 137; "The Specter of Death" found in depths of Wisdom Writings; "It is not what you believe it is 'How Will you Live?" That was where the chills up & down the spine began singing & humming like Pooh Bear does in his stories! Borg makes a good bit of "hearing and seeing, in Book of Job." He agrees with Bruegge that Job found no answers from God on Suffering! He does it all but say that Job's "I repent in dust and ashes" (42:6) is translated by Rabbis 19 diffeent ways! (WB) My recent estimation of Borg has risen like the Phoenix!!!
Retired Chap Fred W Hood
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