Marcus Borg, 1942-2015

Marcus Borg, 1942-2015

Here at CCS we are noting the death yesterday of Marcus Borg.  Borg was one of the leading progressive/liberal biblical scholars and theologians of our time, and chapters of his books – such as Speaking Christian, Reading the Bible Again For the First Time, The God We Never Knew, and Jesus : Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary – were often on the list of required readings for our students.

“The point is not that Jesus was a good guy who accepted everybody, and thus we should do the same (though that would be good). Rather, his teachings and behavior reflect an alternative social vision. Jesus was not talking about how to be good and how to behave within the framework of a domination system. He was a critic of the domination system itself.”

According to reports, Marcus Borg died after a prolonged illness.  I find this posting from his blog in October interesting and poignant: Remembering Our Death: What May Be At Stake.

“When somebody says to me, “I don’t believe in God,” my first response is, “Tell me about the God you don’t believe in.” Almost always, it’s the God of supernatural theism.”
― Marcus J. Borg, Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary

quote from Marcus Borg