Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time

I do not agree with Borg on everything, but there are still some interesting things in this book.

I don't agree with his strong distinction between the “pre-Easter Jesus” and the “post-Easter Christ”. Borg is operating from a skepticism that follows from the Jesus Seminar's take on the historical Jesus and historical accuracy of the Gospels

But I really liked the last two chapters of the book:

Chapter 5: Jesus, the Wisdom of God: Sophia Become Flesh

In this chapter Borg connects the language about Sophia/wisdom in the old testament with Jesus. He writes: “the language about Sophia is not simply personification of wisdom in female form, but personification of God in female form. Sophia is a female image for God, a lens through which divine reality is imaged as a woman. In short, the use of Sophia language involves female imagery for speaking of God in the biblical tradition itself.”

Borg continues, “The connection to Jesus' image of God as compassionate, as “like a womb,” is striking. To say that God is like a womb is to say that God is like a woman, just as the personification of God as Sophia suggests that God is like a woman; and Jesus is a spokesperson for the compassion of Sophia/God.”

Chapter 6: Images of Jesus and Images of the Christian Life

Borg claims that there are three “macro-stories” at the heart of Scripture that shape the Bible as a whole.

1. The story of the exodus from Egypt
2. The story of the exile and return from Babylon
3. The priestly story regarding the temple, priesthood, and sacrifice.

Much of Western Christianity has placed most or all of the emphasis on the priestly story, which has led to distortions in our understanding of the Christian life. One of these distortions is a “static understanding of the Christian life” where it is an ongoing cycle of sin, guilt, and forgiveness. It also leads to a misunderstanding of Christianity as “primarily a religion of the afterlife”, where all that matters is “being right with God before we die: believe now for the sake of salvation later”.

I really appreciated his comments on the exodus story and and the exile/return story.

And I really liked one of the last things Borg wrote at the end of the book:

“Believing in Jesus does not mean believing doctrines about him. Rather, it means to give one's heart, one's self at its deepest level, to the post-Easter Jesus who is the living Lord, the side of God turned toward us, the face of God, the Lord who is also the Spirit” (Borg).