Marcus J. Borg

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born

January 01, 1942

gender

male

website

http://marcusjborg.com/

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Borg was born into a Lutheran family of Swedish and Norwegian descent, the youngest of four children. He grew up in the 1940s in North Dakota and attended Concordia College, Moorhead, a small liberal arts school in Moorhead, Minnesota. While at Moorhead he was a columnist for the school paper and held forth as a conservative. After a close reading of the Book of Amos and its overt message of social equality he immediately began writing with an increasingly liberal stance and was eventually invited to discontinue writing his articles due to his new-found liberalism. He did graduate work at Union Theological Seminary and obtained masters and DPhil degrees at Oxford under G. B. Caird. Anglican bishop N.T. Wright had studied under the same prof...more Borg was born into a Lutheran family of Swedish and Norwegian descent, the youngest of four children. He grew up in the 1940s in North Dakota and attended Concordia College, Moorhead, a small liberal arts school in Moorhead, Minnesota. While at Moorhead he was a columnist for the school paper and held forth as a conservative. After a close reading of the Book of Amos and its overt message of social equality he immediately began writing with an increasingly liberal stance and was eventually invited to discontinue writing his articles due to his new-found liberalism. He did graduate work at Union Theological Seminary and obtained masters and DPhil degrees at Oxford under G. B. Caird. Anglican bishop N.T. Wright had studied under the same professor and many years later Borg and Wright were to share in co-authoring The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, an amicable study in contrast. Following a period of religious questioning in his mid-thirties, and numinous experiences similar to those described by Rudolf Otto, Borg became active in the Episcopal Church, in which his wife, the Reverend Canon Marianne Wells-Borg, serves as a priest and directs a spiritual development program at the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Portland, Oregon. On May 31, 2009, Borg was installed as the first canon theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

Marcus J. Borg is Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, OR. Internationally known in both academic and church circles as a biblical and Jesus scholar, he was Hundere Chair of Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University until his retirement in 2007.

Described by The New York Times as "a leading figure in his generation of Jesus scholars," he has appeared on NBC's "Today Show" and “Dateline,” PBS's "Newshour," ABC’s “Evening News” and “Prime Time” with Peter Jennings, NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, and several National Geographic programs. A Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, he has been national chair of the Historical Jesus Section of the Society of Biblical Literature and co-chair of its International New Testament Program Committee, and is past president of the Anglican Association of Biblical Scholars. His work has been translated into eleven languages: German, Dutch, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, Russian, and French. His doctor's degree is from Oxford University, and he has lectured widely overseas (England, Scotland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Israel and South Africa) and in North America, including the Chautauqua and Smithsonian Institutions.(less)

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Marcus J. Borg's Blog

Marcus J. Borg isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but he does have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from his feed.

Reflections on Easter

Today I read a poll of American Christians about the resurrection of Jesus. It reported that more than 90% of American Christians say that the resurrection of Jesus matters greatly to them. I agree – without the affirmation of Jesus’ resurrection, Christianity makes no important sense. But I was disappointed because the poll reported that [...]

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Marcus J. Borg's Books

Average rating: 4.02 · 8,096 ratings · 930 reviews · 38 distinct works · Similar authors

	Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith 4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 1,716 ratings — published 1994 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith 4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 1,506 ratings — published 2003 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Reading the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously but Not Literally 4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 1,150 ratings — published 2001 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions by Marcus J. Borg, N.T. Wright 3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 706 ratings — published 1998 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Final Days in Jerusalem by Marcus J. Borg, John Dominic Crossan 4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 524 ratings — published 2006 — 14 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings by Marcus J. Borg (Editor), Jack Kornfield (Introduction) 3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 433 ratings — published 1997 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary 4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 343 ratings — published 2006 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The God We Never Knew: Beyond Dogmatic Religion To A More Authenthic Contemporary Faith 4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 279 ratings — published 1997 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon by Marcus J. Borg, John Dominic Crossan 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 276 ratings — published 2010 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power - And How They Can Be Restored 3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 262 ratings — published 2011 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Marcus J. Borg

“More than half described Christians as literalistic, anti-intellectual, judgmental, self-righteous, and bigoted.”
― Marcus J. Borg, Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power - And How They Can Be Restored

tags: kindlehighlight

5 people liked it

“Christianity's goal is not escape from this world. It loves this world and seeks to change it for the better.”
― Marcus J. Borg, Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power - And How They Can Be Restored

tags: bible, christianity

4 people liked it

“So, is there an afterlife, and if so, what will it be like? I don't have a clue. But I am confident that the one who has buoyed us up in life will also buoy us up through death. We die into God. What more that means, I do not know. But that is all I need to know.”
― Marcus J. Borg, Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power - And How They Can Be Restored

tags: afterlife, bible, christianity, death, heaven, hell

4 people liked it

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