Meeting
Jesus Again for the First Time: the Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary
Faith
Marcus Borg's short book on Jesus begins where many college
students leave off ... with real questions about Jesus that often become the reason
for rejecting Christianity entirely. Borg presents a view of Jesus that will appeal
to those who want to get beyond the doubt and into a deeper, more thoughtful faith.
From
the publisher ... Of the many recent books on the historical Jesus, none
has explored what the latest biblical scholarship means for personal faith. Now,
in Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg addresses the yearnings
of those who want a fully contemporary faith that welcomes rather than oppresses
our critical intelligence and openness to the best of historical scholarship.
Borg shows how a rigorous examination of historical findings can lead to a new
faith in Christ, one that is critical and, at the same time, sustaining. "Believing
in Jesus does not mean believing doctrines about him," Borg writes. "Rather,
it means to give one's heart, one's self at its deepest level, to . . . the living
Lord."
Drawing on his own journey from a naive, unquestioning belief
in Christ through collegiate skepticism to a mature and contemporary Christian
faith, Borg illustrates how an understanding of the historical Jesus can actually
lead to a more authentic Christian life--one not rooted in creeds or dogma, but
in a life of spiritual challenge, compassion, and community. In straightforward,
accessible prose, Borg looks at the major findings of modern Jesus scholarship
from the perspective of faith, bringing alive the many levels of Jesus' character:
spirit person, teacher of alternative wisdom, social prophet, and movement founder.
He also reexamines the major stories of the Old Testament vital to an authentic
understanding of Jesus, showing how an enriched understanding of these stories
can uncover new truths and new pathways to faith. For questioning believers,
doubters, and reluctant unbelievers alike, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time
frees our understanding of Jesus' life and message from popular misconceptions
and outlines the way to a sound and contemporary faith: "For ultimately,
Jesus is not simply a figure of the past, but a figure of the present. Meeting
that Jesus--the living one who comes to us even now--will be like meeting Jesus
again for the first time." |
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